What Pit Bulls Can Teach Us About Profiling - 1386 Words

For most of my awkward teenage years my classmates were afraid to tell me dumb blonde jokes. When I asked why they were unwilling to share their joke, their eyes would go straight to my hair, implying that I was the dumb blonde. This was the first time I had to question one of the most trivial jokes as if it was a reflection of myself and my mind. It was as if my peers believed my hair color measured the amount of intelligence I possessed. To generalize is â€Å"to make something more widespread or common† (Dictionary). Society had made a generalization about my hair color and now I was experiencing the consequences. Malcolm Gladwell, a writer for The New Yorker wrote the essay â€Å"Troublemaker; What Pit Bulls can teach us about profiling†. He comments on society’s habit to veer into the territory of generalizations and stereotypes. Utilizing examples such as pit bulls, Muslims as terrorists, and the New York Police Department, to convey his point. He first str uctures his essay by agreeing with the judgment of banning pit bulls. Unexpectedly, he takes a turn and declares that it is not the pit bulls that are the problem, but societies assumptions about the breed. His central thesis revolves around the consequences of over- generalization in a society. He embodies this point with the quote, â€Å"It doesn’t work to generalize about a relationship between a category and a trait when that relationship isn’t stable† (Gladwell 4). This claim is backed up through the use of statistics andShow MoreRelatedRevision Memo On The Classroom1711 Words   |  7 Pagesbefore revision, This was implicit from the instructor, I do not think this is effectively important unless there is a small time schedule. One aspect of my essay I struggle to revise is passive voice and sentences beginners. I am so peeved right now about how I could not get better phrases to start off some sentences, and the fact that I was not get this essay on tim e. An aspect of my revision that I am proud of is the little usage of passive voice, weak phrases and the increase amount of transitional