Throughout human history, every culture has established traditions of honor and norms of behavior according to how it evolved and the propensities of it’s ruling class. In some segments of classical Greek society homosexuality among upper class men was part of the social fabric, with women relegated to a very secondary role even as sexual objects. In Rome this changed and the place of women was enhanced. In these societies slavery was not only accepted but was regarded as a necessary and normal human institution so that culture could flourish; the concept being that many must live in slavery so that the elite could advance civilization. Even today those in control of our more powerful international corporations tend to regard themselves as a class apart, above the limitations in behavior imposed on ordinary working men and women.
In 1850 most southern Americans regarded slavery as the natural order of things, and regarded the slave state as natural for black people because of their obvious inferiority. Even those Americans opposed to slavery on practical and political grounds tended to accept the inferiority of black people; these were the values propagated by the culture they grew up in. Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman as young men shared many of these values, yet as mature men evolved and helped bring change. In 1950, a hundred years later, laws had changed but racial oppression and the common characterization of homosexuals as deranged perverts continued. Legal changes, such as emancipation, are only first steps in social evolution.
Slavery and homosexuality are only two examples of cultural phenomena where broadly accepted social mores have evolved and varied over time. Throughout history violence and death as entertainment has been common enough, as in the death combat in the Roman forum and the Bear and Bull baiting common in much of Europe until very recently. This continues, in Spain for instance, as the modern bull fight where the bulls are grievously wounded to make them weaker and then killed in an elaborate ritual. Many Americans, such as Hemingway, have glorified this, others have abhorred it.
Staged combat, involving dogs, roosters, men and other combatants have a long history. Dog fighting in particular has a long history in much of America and has become universally illegal in only the past half century. Cock fighting remains legal in several states.
As with emancipation, changing laws does little to alter the hearts of men. Our black citizens, though having seen much progress, have yet to achieve full parity of opportunity within American society.
Rendering pit fighting illegal in and of itself changed little. In those areas where it was historically accepted there was little enthusiasm on the part of police establishments to enforce laws seen as imposed by outsiders, just as the Ku Klux Klan received de facto support and active participation on the part of law enforcement officers who were first and foremost part of the community.
Just as the failure of state and local police agencies to enforce the rights of black citizens ultimately resulted in Eisenhower and Kennedy sending in federal troops, real enforcement of pit fighting prohibition is beginning to come from the federal level.
The Michael Vick case is the prime example, this has been pursued by federal agents under new federal laws focused on the interstate aspects of pit fighting. The local authorities were in their usual see no evil mode, but even they are now moving against Vick.
The communities at large in all of America find pit fighting abhorrent, and federal action is going to raise new questions. Questions like why the feds can find so much pit fighting while the local good old boys saw no evil. Questions like what are we paying you for anyway ?
Large segments of the Pit Bull community continue to believe that the game dog is the essence of the breed, and that gameness can only be maintained in the fighting pit. Thus for this reason, and the profit from gambling and other ancillary activity, pit dog fighting continues.
Just as society needed to suppress the Ku Klux Klan and other forms of resistance, ultimately resulting in enforcement by federal troops on the streets of southern cities, active measures to eradicate pit fighting and pit fighting dogs will be necessary to complete the legal changes.
For the people involved, this is a paradox. Many are unwilling to accept change, and legal compulsion, as in the suppression of the Ku Klux Klan, will be necessary.
Just as the former slave owning class evolved the share cropping system, it it’s own way as oppressive as slavery itself, the underground dog fighting establishment, with the support of many citizens who publicly accepted the illegality of pit fighting, continues. Many people in the pit bull community resist, just as the white establishment in the south resisted after the civil war.
It has been said that the pen is mightier than the sword, and history has shown that slogans and words are powerful weapons in social struggle. The N word was used as a rallying point for the suppression of the Jim Crow era in America, and the progress for black people in America , incomplete as it might be, has come hand in hand with the term becoming socially unacceptable.
Just as the use of the N word was a fundamental issue in bringing emancipation to fruition, the use of the term “pit bull” is a similar loaded term in the struggle to deal with the evil of pit fighting.
There are no Pit Bulls registered by the AKC, and for once the policy of this flawed organization is correct, in order to leave the fighting heritage behind it is necessary to leave the fighting words behind too.
Rather than having AKC recognition of the Pit Bull, the American Staffordshire Terrier was created from pit bull lines, gaining official recognition in 1936. The primary reason was a desire for a new start, one not associated in the public mind with dog fighting and one not referring directly to the fighting pit.
Having been bred for the better part of a century without screening for gameness, that is, pit fighting, the assumption that the Am Staff would be a more reliably social and less intense dog. Perhaps some will comment that he has become a softer dog, and thus a less desirable dog for protection sport or service. Those wanting to do Schutzhund, French Ring or any of the other sports are probably going to find out that you have to look hard for a good candidate, but this situation is common when seeking good dogs out of any of the secondary breeds, that is, other than German Shepherds or the Malinois.
Early on, our current American Bull Dog was known as the American Pit Bulldog. Enthusiasts dropped the "pit" in the name to get away from association with the fighting pit and to emphasize the traditional farm and stock work the breed was justly famous for.
Those who insist on the words “Pit Bull” are those who cling to the fighting heritage, just as those who used the N word resisted change, the acceptance of equality for all citizens in fact and opportunity as well as in law.
Those who want to move on, who want to leave gameness behind and create a new heritage, need to select new names for what will essentially be a new breed or new breeds. Just as there was no room for slave owners after emancipation there is no room for fighting dogs, or for game dogs, in a world where pit fighting has been rejected by the overwhelming majority.
Those who reject change, and resist by clinging to the words “pit bull” just as the southern resistance clung to the N word, are fighting a hopeless battle against the tide of history and change.
Just as there are no “Pit Bulls” in the AKC, the KNPV, or European FCI show rings, all responsible canine organizations need to put the fighting dogs and the fighting words behind and move on.
Jim Engel, Aug, 2007