litlover12 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
litlover12) wrote2013-06-20 09:35 am
litlover12) wrote2013-06-20 09:35 am
Entry tags:
Pet peeve (no pun intended)
Let me start by apologizing to any pit bull owners among you.
. . . That said, I wish people would quit constantly posting photos of their pit bulls all over social media. I know why they do it, because one of my Facebook friends has spoken more than once about how the breed is just misunderstood and how pit bull owners are constantly trying to reshape public opinion. And even if she hadn't come right out and said it, I would have gotten a clue from the hashtags that people use when they do it (#lovemypit and #pitbullsofinstagram and so forth). And from the things they say in their posts: "Pits are the best! The sweetest! The cuddliest!"
But when you have a phobia, like I do about pit bulls, it's not pleasant to have people shoving it in your face all the time. Especially when they keep telling you, "Oh, it's really nice and sweet and you just misunderstand it!"
As Colonel Potter would say, horse hockey. They have a perfect right to promote their breed, of course. But I have the right to want their breed far, far, FAR away from me.
. . . That said, I wish people would quit constantly posting photos of their pit bulls all over social media. I know why they do it, because one of my Facebook friends has spoken more than once about how the breed is just misunderstood and how pit bull owners are constantly trying to reshape public opinion. And even if she hadn't come right out and said it, I would have gotten a clue from the hashtags that people use when they do it (#lovemypit and #pitbullsofinstagram and so forth). And from the things they say in their posts: "Pits are the best! The sweetest! The cuddliest!"
But when you have a phobia, like I do about pit bulls, it's not pleasant to have people shoving it in your face all the time. Especially when they keep telling you, "Oh, it's really nice and sweet and you just misunderstand it!"
As Colonel Potter would say, horse hockey. They have a perfect right to promote their breed, of course. But I have the right to want their breed far, far, FAR away from me.
no subject
I'm curious whence the phobia.
It's very likely to be justified -- I know some lifelong dog types (not me; I've been scared of most dogs all my life) who are pretty down on pit bulls in general. Even the notorious Rottweilers can be quite well-socialized, well-behaved, and kid-safe, if trained well by experienced dog owners (but they are not a good breed for rookies). But they claim pit bulls are never really completely safe and they wouldn't trust one around their kids even if it seemed sweet.
no subject
I like the majority of breeds, but some of them just scare me. Mostly those that have a reputation for, as you say, never really being completely safe. I did get chased by a Rottweiler once -- my dad had to throw it down and sit on its head before it would stop! -- but not by a pit. But they both scare me. And it makes it worse that the pit advocates are always doing this big whitewashing job about them. I know they can be very nice and friendly when trained, but sometimes dogs' instincts just get the better of them. You can't get away from that. Even my sweet, affectionate Shelties would sometimes snap when aggravated. And the equivalent of that from a pit bull is . . . well, it's not something I like to think about.