Pit bulls can be some of the sweetest, most gentle pets you can get. However, they also have the ability to rip a child to shreds. This disparity isn’t unique to pit bulls, though. Any breed of dog can be a total asshole given the right (well, wrong) circumstances. The difference is that pit bulls have alligator jaws and the potential to grow incredibly strong, drastically increasing their ability to destroy something.
Pit bull owners will tell you the stigma surrounding the breed is completely undeserved. “Look at my dog cuddling beneath a blanket with my baby,” they’ll say. “This is what you’re afraid of?” And of course, they’re right. Their dog is a sweetheart that would never hurt a soul. The problem is that not all dogs are treated so well. And when a pit bull pops off, it’s a hundred times worse than even the angriest chihuahua.
Likewise, there is a massive divide between the ACAB section of society and those that say sure, there’s an occasional instance of bad policing but as a whole, cops are good. This disparity is basically the same as those who have a pit bull sleep in their bed versus those that think pit bulls eat car tires.
Most police officers are not going to pepper spray you for saying the wrong thing. However, their capacity for causing harm is much higher than a normal person because of their utility belt of weapons and their perceived immunity from consequences.
A main reason police officers have no problem beating the shit out of a person even if they’re wearing body cameras is because there’s a long history of cops getting away with it. As a society, we generally side with cops. It’s an impossible job so police are often given the benefit of the doubt. A lack of checks on their power inevitably leads them to push it further and further until it reaches a breaking point.
The problem with stigmas is that they’re based on a small sample size, not a comprehensive study. Some pit bulls eat children. Most do not. Some cops beat people to death. Most do not. But because one side is so much more sensational than the other, it gets more attention and therefore becomes seen as the standard.
Neither side is totally right. And neither side is totally wrong. Pit bulls do eat kids. Cops do kill people without reason. But pit bulls will also shake their butts and lick your face and cops will protect you from a psycho with a machete.
Some subjects are too polarizing for rational discourse. It’s simply much easier to speak in generalized terms. ALL cops are bastards? What about the cops that found two kittens in a plastic bag soaked in gasoline and brought them to a shelter, saving their lives? Or what about the cop that searched a home for monsters so the kid could sleep better at night?
There will always be exceptions that prove the rule. So what’s the exception? The cop that saves kittens or the cop that shoots someone because they felt disrespected? That all depends on your perspective. And we’re unlikely to convince anyone to move from one side of the tug-of-war to the other.
So what can we do? We can recognize that cops are pit bulls. They are powerful and scary if they are turned to the darkside, but most of them want to be hugged and given treats.
Of course, we need to be aware that they should be treated with suspicion, even if only for a moment. But you should never run up to a dog — or a cop — that you don’t know and expect them to be ready to play with you. There’s always a chance you’re running into one of the dangerous ones that could rip your throat out, even if the odds are pretty long.
