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Want To Be Less Racist? Adopt a Pit Bull
How my dog forced me to face my internalized prejudice
If your goal this coming year is to face your internalized racism, go to the animal shelter and meet a pit bull. Then take that pit bull home, even if you have no experience with the breed. You might feel afraid of your new dog for a while, off and on. You might wonder if she will attack you. You have heard things, after all.
Soon enough, you will hear comments from strangers like, “You’re playing with fire.”
And then, after a few months, you might learn that the fear stems from racism. Then, you’ll become your dog’s biggest advocate.
Also, you will become less racist.
How racism created bans on pit bull-type dogs
You may not believe this because I wouldn’t have, but pit bulls are just dogs. If you are skeptical, I suggest heading to your nearest shelter and volunteering for a day.
There’s also fantastic literature that cuts through the crap. Because a lot of what the media exacerbates, which gives people a reason to believe it, is junk. Seriously, The Guardian reported a devastating loss of thousands of trees in the U.K. that had been mauled by pit bulls. They published this article in 2009, about a…
