It has never been more clear in our world today that one of the number one selling items is violence. Some of our favorite sports are Football, Boxing, and one rapidly growing sport is the Ultimate Fighting Championships. Better known as the UFC. We love the excitement of football season. Nothing like the thunderous crashing of helmets, and shoulder pads. My favorite of all it boxing. Who doesn’t love a good fight? Seeing your fighter win by decision is OK, but what do boxing fans really want? A knockout. As long as your fighter is on the giving end. How about UFC? Now we’re talking real warriors. Those who endure the physical pain of being choked out, ground and pounded, and often having blood pouring from their faces. Yet still refusing to quit. Boy, talk about gameness. In our society it is clear that violence and gore have become very profitable. The movie making industry has proven this to be true for many years. Even the makers of video game have been cashing in on this theory for quite a few years now. Think back to the late 70’s and early 80’s. the number one selling video game was Pac man. A harmless little ball eating dots. Then the makers of these games realized what our teenagers really wanted. By the early 90’s the number one selling game was Mortal Combat. In this game you could cut off your opponents arms, legs, head, or completely cut them in half while watching blood squirt from the severed body part. Wow, a far cry from Pac man. Today the top game is Grand Theft Auto. An even more violent game that quenches our children’s thirst for gore. What’s my point? Violence sells. There are many victims of our society’s love for blood and guts. One in particular is the American Pit bull Terrier. The news media has made our breed out to be a modern day monster. If a Pit bull runs into a burning building and rescues a child, that might make the evening news. But if a dog of any breed mauls a child, believe me, that would be the top story of the day, and on the front page of the local newspaper. Why? Because violence sells. What do we do as Pit bull owners? Portray our dogs in a more positive manner. Mainstream society is often ignorant in many ways about our breed, and it’s history. They only go off what the news media feeds them. Many years ago I purchased a shirt at an ADBA event that showed two dogs in combat. It read “Till Death Do Us Part.” I thought that was so cool. Well times have changed. In this day and time, that is completely unacceptable. Why? Because that is the fuel for an ignorant society, and the news media who would love to see our breed become extinct. The American Pit bull Terrier is constantly being used as a status symbol. Example, Look I’ve got a Pit bull. That makes me tough. Another is, Look I’ve got two Pit bulls faced up on my Rap video. That mean I’m hardcore. As Pit bull owners we MUST show our breed in a more positive way. We MUST get involved in our local clubs, or at least take part in the events that these clubs hold. Whether it’s weight pulls, treadmill racing, conformation, or whatever. It is our job to make sure that the American Pit bull Terrier does not continue to become a VICTIM OF SOCIETY.
