By Lynn –
A local suburb nearby is considering a pitbull ban. The following letter to the editor was published in the paper today:
Pit bulls inspire fear, must be removed from society Saturday, June 14, 2008 3:08 AM
After World War II, there was a yearning in this country to improve upon our living conditions, to seek greater knowledge, to end the inequities that were subjugating so many of our citizens. In other words, to take civilization to a higher level of existence. That was our desire.
The United States led the way to the formation of the United Nations as a means to settle differences diplomatically, to end violence and to take actions that would improve the lives of all people.
That changed for us with the onset of the Vietnam War and the assassinations of President John F. Kennedy, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. Once again, we immersed ourselves in violence.
Since then, we have been on a downhill race to the bottom, determined to reduce this country to the lowest common denominator. One only needs to turn on the television to see how we have fallen. We are in the midst of the latest manifestation of the age-old battle between civilization and the barbarian.
People keep asking me: “Why ban pit bulls in [Suburb]? Why this issue?” Well, because pit bulls are representative of the new order. Bred to kill, they bring terror into the hearts of those who must live among them. Abused, a twisted status symbol, killer, maimer. That, too often, is the reality of the pit-bull breeds. They are to be pitied, but we are left with no alternative but to remove them from society.
Would it have been my first choice of issues to address legislatively since taking office as a [Suburb] City Council member in January? If not for [Suburb] residents who are living in fear, probably not. But circumstances sometimes dictate how we shall act, and I felt compelled to make a pit-bull ban the first legislation that I presented. It’s just too bad that the majority of members do not see the danger coming and chose to come down on the side of darkness when they voted no on the ban.
I urge the city of [City] to lead the way on this issue. It has the resources to stand up to the pit-bull lobby that typically shows up at council meetings en masse, threatening and bullying communities to bend to its will. Meanwhile, we hear of more and more pit-bull attacks. Recently, two 6-year old children were maimed and a 77-year-old woman was viciously attacked. How much more must we bear?
Let me get some of my guard dog and “vicious” breeds straight:
-Mastiff and Mollosser-type dogs were used as guard dogs in the Roman era.
-Bulldogs were bred for the sport of bullbaiting. Their muzzle is the way it is in order it might still be able to breathe while latched to the bull.
-Dobermans were created to serve as a guard dog for the German tax collector.
-Akitas were used in early Japan as guard dogs for the emperor and his children.
-American Pit Bull Terriers, while created for the sport of illegal dogfighting since that along with bull-baiting was outlawed in 1835, were selected for their nonaggressive traits toward people.
All of these dogs are successful family pets when placed with an appropriate family and trained to be a well-behaved canine citizen in human society.
Somewhere, something went horribly wrong.