October 26, 2007 04:18 pm
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Hate can happen instantly.
Recently I noticed a man walking a pit bull — not on the Island but Niagara Falls — and it flash-boiled my anger. Why? I thought.
And as my rolling eyes turned away, they settled on a bumper sticker depicting the Confederate flag. “Why?!?” I said out loud this time.
Symbols of slavery and bred-to-fight pets. Is this the state of city streets in Western New York? What could their purpose be other than to trigger rage and hate?
Something broke, though, and other words shot into my mind. I’ve got to celebrate … to celebrate the things I hate … and maybe then I’ll understand what’s wrong with my own faith. (Some song lyrics I had written once)
Why not? Sure, I would look beyond the inflammatory images of trashy white supremacists wrapping themselves in St. Andrew’s Cross and scenes of vicious pit bulls relentlessly tearing the life out of children.
It wouldn’t be easy, but maybe the exercise would loosen some of the scar tissue that has formed around these long-held opinions, which without circulation can resemble nothing more than infectious sacs of stagnant water.
n THE CONFEDERATE FLAG: It’s not a symbol of slavery, supporters say, but a symbol of pride in the South. It’s a representation of the independence of the South and the thousands of veterans who died during the Civil War for what they believed in.
It represents a disappearing heritage, one that was dealt a decisive blow at the end of the Civil War and continues to recede under the power of corporate America and national politics.
Despite the difficult history of the South, I can sympathize with their beleagurement. Thankfully, nobody is trying to erase our heritage on the Island. The only threat we face here is the blur of time. This sense that Southern culture is under constant siege motivates many people to display pride in their roots.
This is despite the fact theirs is a divisive legacy that can anger other groups.
When many people look at the Confederate flag, they see something closer to a Nazi swastika, a symbol of the 300 years of black suffering in America. It is as offensive a gesture as any and should fly nowhere, they say, certainly not on government buildings.
You could argue, however, that removing symbols because they are offensive is un-American. Tolerance, as difficult as it may be to muster, is what will see us through and beyond these increasingly diverse times.
It still makes me wince to look at the festering wound that is to me a Confederate flag. For this Yankee, though, its continued existence represents the diversity of thought and opinion that is difficult but vital.
n THE AMERICAN PIT BULL TERRIER: It was the early 1980s and pit bulls were fashionable. My brother bought one when I was in elementary school to replace our senile poodle Charlie that found himself under the wheel of a car.
The pit bull’s name was Sidney Vicious Theodore Pollock Kissel, and he was as strong as his name was long. Even as a puppy he could hang from a piece of wood far longer than my brother could hold it aloft. It was stunts like that set the family to wondering what we had brought into our house.
Still, Sid wasn’t with us very long because when my brother went into the Marines after high school, nobody could handle the dog. I still can visualize my 100-pound sister being dragged down the street by Sid like a hurricane was blowing her along.
So the pit bull went out to the country to the Marine recruiting officer’s farm.
Although pit bulls were bred from the beginning to fight, that doesn’t mean they are dangerous to humans. In fact, pit bull groups point to statistics showing the breed typically displays the same amount of aggression toward humans as golden retrievers.
The problem is, when pit bulls do attack, the result is often spectacularly bloody and deadly. And despite their far greater numbers, who’s ever heard of a fatal golden retriever attack?
Still, pit bulls are reported as being spunky, affectionate and fiercely loyal — if a bit demanding. Their hardy constitution makes them great search dogs.
When something goes wrong with pit bulls, advocates say it is the fault of the owner. They trained their dogs to be violent or didn’t take steps to ensure other people and animals safety from their pit bulls. Pit bull groups are in firm agreement that dangerous dogs should by euthanized and negligent owners prosecuted.
Whether that means I won’t get cross the street at the sight of an approaching pit bull is dubious, but I suppose it provides some comfort that most pit bull owners are taking responsibility for their animals.
For in the end, this is America. A messy, dangerous mix of ideas and freedoms. There’s a side of me that longs for an antiseptic, inoffensive existence where people are polite and, foremost, respectful of other people’s sensibilities.
But to live that way would be to live by yourself in a stainless white room and never leave it.
People are dangerous. Ideas are dangerous. And history is messy and fraught with emotion.
If somehow we can make the effort to celebrate what we hate, it may not make us like it any more, but somehow make it easier to share space in our great country.
Joseph Kissel covers Grand Island for the Record.
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Joe Kissel