The Principle of Democracy for All is Regression

 

The democratic process was originally conceived to entrust a group of wise and principled people who use their intelligence, reason, and perspective in order to make proper decisions for the greater populace.  To this end and to ensure those principled people were the ones making the decisions, there were various types of qualifications for who could be among the voting population.  Among these qualifications (which varied across time and place) were sex, property or wealth requirements, age limits, citizenship status or military service, race, literacy or competence.

As time passed, in various regions various groups who were not part of the voters wanted to have the vote.  In order to grant the vote to more people, standards for who could vote needed to be changed.  Some of the standards were superficial such as race or sex; some of the standards were substantive such as property, and literacy or competence.  The more people that were to be included, the more the standards had to be changed.

To have refinement replaced with the base is a regression.  To have the average of a group be lowered by din of numbers of the base is a dilution effect.  It is a new population overall.  If a group of people reasoned and found a plan of action was incorrect, the color of their skin or their gender does not matter; if a group of people not as capable of reasoning used their feelings to direct their choices, then their literacy or competence levels did matter.   If people push a plan to have everyone voluntarily contribute to a cause, then property ownership does not matter; if a group without property wants to fund a program and decides that those with property can have it seized to fund it, then property ownership does matter.

Where it took perspective, argument, and reason to sway the minds of some voters who had attained a standard, it takes less to sway the masses who may or may not understand the complexity, nuance, and consequences of various moral, legal, and economic issues.  Their numbers are not close to being equal.  But, they all get to vote nonetheless with each vote carrying the same weight. 

With the masses to be convinced, the candidates themselves are changed.  High-minded reason gets replaced with presence and promises.  The realities of the promises are irrelevant; the voter only needs to believe in them long enough to vote as then the winner is in power and broken promises are forgotten. 

What is even worse than ignorance in the voting block is malevolence.  The malevolent do not see themselves as such, but as righteous.  It takes a critical review to see which side has the moral position and reasoned stance.  But that is the very thing many cannot or will not do in order to justify their position and the programs they want to inflict upon others.  The worst are those who knowingly want to inflict their righteous malevolence, understanding the consequences, as they want to change the system everyone else is part.  These people do not come from a position of ignorance but with the full intention of using the system that they will by din of numbers eventually take over, replace, and deny others the chance of using the system to remove them. 

Democracy is only practical when it involves those who know what they are talking about and understanding consequences and trade-offs.  Democracy is only moral when it involves voluntary participation and is not forcing someone else to lose their rights.  Immorality does not become moral because a larger group has a preference.

However, in the regression from the dilution those who do not understand or accept the practical or moral issues involved want more of their number heard and to have sway over those who do understand.  They are the ones who are the minority who must suffer the consequences to sate the whim-of-the-moment’s mob.

Don’t Buy Pit Bull Fear Porn

 

‘Pit bulls attack!’ is a summarized headline of multiple articles that get advanced by news companies and others whenever a story emerges of one being attacked by a Pit Bull.  The headline is often accompanied with the image of a victim.  Graphic images are included if not too graphic.  Otherwise, the image with the headline is a good profile picture of the victim, or an image of a snarling Pit Bull.  These stories get created and shared to garner support of labeling Pit Bulls as dangerous.  That news agencies and many other creators may be trying to get sales and attention is a distant second concern to the fear-stoking.  What is sold and advanced is often a knee-jerk reaction, and an irrational outcry (American Veterinary Medical Association, 2001; ASPCA, 2023). But, those get attention and sell.

How accurate is that portrayal of Pit Bulls? – not very, but a thing doesn’t have to be true to be believed.  As most of the things in life, there may be glimmers of truth in a claim; however, the truth of a thing needs more than a cursory glance, single claim, or other forms of selection bias.

In the US, Pit Bulls have been responsible for the most killings by dogs of humans over the past decade (DogsBite.org, 2022; McCarthy, 2018).  Descriptive statistics are informational.  They do not provide context and they do not give a predictive value.  Using descriptive statistics to stir up fear and direct behavior is manipulative.  Fear is sold and with the connectivity of the modern world that fear can spread far and wide, and quickly.  More than half surveyed see Pit Bulls as dangerous and would not recommend adopting them (YouGov, 2014). 

If Pit Bulls are so bad and deserving that dangerous reputation, data should reveal it.  Data is more than a descriptive statistic.  Consistency, context, and contributing factors should also be considered.

Fatal attacks, of course are the worst, but they are not the only types of attacks.  There are severe attacks where medical attention is needed; there are minor attacks where medical attention is not needed.  As a point of concern for being ‘dangerous,’ where medical attention is not needed will not be considered.

How do Pit Bulls contrast to other breeds, including those whose reputation is known as being ‘gentle?’  Breeds considered to be gentle include Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, English Mastiffs, and Bulldogs (Moen, 2021).  Gentle ‘giants’ include Saint Bernards and English Mastiffs (H, 2021).  In a study of more than 5,700 dog attacks, severe attacks not only included Pit Bulls, but also Saint Bernards, Cocker Spaniels, Bulldogs, among others (Wright, 1985).  Golden Retrievers can be aggressive, and Labrador Retrievers not only can be aggressive but are responsible for more bites than Pit Bulls (Van den Berg, 2003; Zimlich, 2020).  In a study of 30 breeds (including Pit Bulls), those most likely to bite humans included Dachshunds, Chihuahuas, Jack Russell Terriers, Australian Cattle Dogs, American Cocker Spaniels, and Beagles (Duffy et al, 2008).

If it is the breed that is the issue, then wherever there is a population of Pit Bulls, would not they also be killing there?  Pit Bull carryover does not happen when changing countries to see which breed is responsible for killing the most humans.  For example, in Canada huskies are responsible for more deaths (Raghavan, 2008).  But this issue is not limited to Canada.  Different countries have different breeds as the most likely to bite or are the most deadly (American Veterinary Medical Association, 2014; Mora et al, 2018; Rosado et al, 2009).

We now return to where descriptive statistics are erroneously used as inferential to label a breed as dangerous.  Many stop at reputation in considering if Pit Bulls as dangerous (Barnes et al, 2006).  There are around 90 million dogs in US households (Megna, 2013).  Around 6% of US dogs are Pit Bulls, and that 5 million can increase to 20 million when including mixes (Clifton, 2020; Laybourne, 2023; Pitbullinfo.org, 2022).  However, accurately determining a breed can be difficult (Mora et al, 2018); this is even moreso if the dog is unknown but seen at a distance yet is still reported. 

The dogs are bought or adopted by someone, so who is included in Pit Bull owners?  Pit Bulls are solid, athletic, tenacious, friendly, active, and are medium to large-sized dogs (DogTime, 2023; Robinson, 2022).  Pit Bulls used to be ‘America’s dog’ as was seen being a service dog back in WWI to the celebrity dog Petey from The Little Rascals (Flanagin, 2017; Smith, 2017).  Most people want a good family dog.  However, because of some of those characteristics, there are those who would like to cruelly exploit Pit Bulls.  Pit Bulls have been used to be aggressive enforcers and protectors for drug dealers and criminals, as well for dog fighting (American Veterinary Medical Association, 2014; Flanagin, 2017; Martyn, 2023; Patronek et al, 2000).  In the study of 5,700 attacks, there was evidence that the Pit Bulls had been used for fighting (Wright, 1985). 

The image cultivated through fear porn of Pit Bulls can be something desired along with a dog that is vicious.   Those who engage in antisocial behaviors may extend their actions into dog ownership.  Some Pit Bull owners have been found to be two to nine times more likely to have prior physical or substance abuse issues (Barnes et al, 2006).  People can get dogs for different reasons which may align with the owner’s personality, and those who score higher on psychoticism tend to want ‘vicious breeds’ more than others (Wells et al, 2012).  Combining personality factors along with the intended use of a dog for vicious reasons or intimidation, some explicitly want the dog others fear (Patronek et al, 2000; Ragatz, et al, 2009; Schenk et al, 2011).  To ensure a dog is more vicious as a fighter or guard, abuse and neglect can foster that viciousness (Flanagin, 2017).  Especially if this abuse and neglect are done when the dog is a pup, it can have long-lasting consequences (ASPCA, 2023; Salonen et al, 2023).  One in five pups are placed up for adoption (Clifton, 2020).

“…behavior develops through a complex interaction between environment and genetics. This is an especially important consideration when we look at an individual dog versus a breed.” (ASPCA, 2023).  As was shown earlier, any dog can be a biter and the larger the dog the more damaging its bite can be.  Pit Bulls are not even in the top 10 as a breed with a powerful bite (Malaker, 2023 & Spartacus Law Firm, 2023).  Personality traits in dogs, like humans, have genetic influence; however, some variance is explained by environment, especially in early/formative years (Salonen et al, 2023).  Behavior is both affected by various genes as well as environment, and breed offers a poor predictor for the behavior of an individual dog (Morrill et al, 2022).

Pets are often not just ‘pets,’ as 85% of pet owners consider their pet as family (Megna, 2013).  Contrary to the fear porn perception, Pit Bulls are good pets being affectionate, friendly, and score above most breeds in temperament (American Temperament Test Society, Inc., 2023; H, 2021; Robinson, 2022).  It is unfortunate for anyone to be killed by a dog.  It is also unfortunate and erroneous to label an entire breed as dangerous based upon a couple hundred incidents over a decade from a population of up to 20 million; it is also erroneous to label the breed responsible for the most yearly bites.  Add to this, as aforementioned, how Pit Bulls are treated differently, and we can see that the fear porn pushed should be rightly discounted.  The breed should not be blamed for how humans have misused and abused it.

References

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American Veterinary Medical Association. (2023). Dog bite prevention. https://www.avma.org/resources-tools/pet-owners/dog-bite-prevention#:~:text=More%20than%204.5%20million%20people,of%20those%20bitten%20are%20children.

ASPCA. (2023). Position statement on pit bulls. ASPCA. https://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-policy-and-position-statements/position-statement-pit-bulls

Barnes, J. E., Boat, B. W., Putnam, F. W., Dates, H. F., & Mahlman, A. R. (2006). Ownership of high-risk (“vicious”) dogs as a marker for deviant behaviors: Implications for risk assessment. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 21(12), 1616-1634.

Clifton, M. (2020). 2018 dog breed survey: At least 41% of U.S. pit bull population are seeking homes. Animals 24-7. https://www.animals24-7.org/2018/06/18/2018-dog-breed-survey-at-least-41-of-u-s-pit-bull-population-are-seeking-homes/

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Robinson , H. (2022). Local humane society educating public on true temperament of pit bulls. Fox 59. https://fox59.com/news/fox59-digital-features/local-humane-society-educating-public-on-true-temperament-of-pit-bulls/

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Schenk, A. M., Ragatz, L. L., & Fremouw, W. J. (2012). Vicious dogs part 2: criminal thinking, callousness, and personality styles of their owners. Journal of forensic sciences, 57(1), 152-159.

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