Negative Media Creates Negative Behavior
I'm walking down the street on a sunny afternoon, happy joyous and free. Suddenly, dead ahead, eyeballing me intently, was a pretty nice-sized pit bull. Oh expletive deleted, I thought, I'm fixing to make my debut on the 6 o'clock news: Man mauled by ferocious pit bull." Before I could develop an exit strategy, he lunged at me. I don't need to tell you what I almost did.
Well, turns out that all he wanted was to say hi and get a pat on the head. But because the breed has been demonized by the press, I assumed that he wanted a piece of my expletive deleted.
After telling this story a couple of times, I realized that this friendly rascal was the victim of bad press. I'm sure there was a pit bull out there somewhere mauling somebody, but not this one. My fear was rooted in the many negative news stories that I have heard about pit bulls, so I reacted based on this unwarranted fear.
I can relate. I can't tell you how many times I have been standing on the corner waiting on the light and a car pulls up and the driver locks the doors; or how many times a white person has crossed the street to avoid me. My reaction was to get insulted and say a few unkind things under my breath. I had them all wrong. Maybe not all of them but certainly most of them. In all probability these were not racist acts, merely reactions based on the negative portrayal of black men by the news media.
This was a life-changing revelation. Now, when a white person crosses the street, I wave and shout hello. When the driver locks the car doors, I give a little salute and smile. I realize that a negative reaction to these affronts will only serve to validate their fears. My job is to invalidate them. Thanks doggie for a valuable epiphany.
Recent Comments
6
Cal. Awesome article. Pitbulls are amazing animals. I love them. Your underlying message is one that is needed in this day and age.
It is a message like this that can create revolutionary change in people's thinking.
I think if we need more personal engagement with people to realize that we have more in common with each other. Regardless of what the media portrays.
Maybe less news and more socializing with your neighbor and others would be a good start.
Thanks again for the article.
Mark Gootee
markgootee.com
Thank you, Mark. It's all about communication. The more we know about each other, the less we are inclined to believe anything we hear about each other.
Love it, and I agree. My neighbor has a pit bull named Nyla. One afternoon I came home to find Nyla in my backyard. At first, I was alarmed until I saw her playing with my two Chiweenies. LOL. It was too funny.
Thanks for sharing.
See more comments
Prejudices are made on not much sometimes
and it can ruin a life.
Have a great day!
Ingrid