Image by Victor Troynov via Flickr, Creative Commons License Attribution-Share Alike. There is a fallacy in logic called Hasty Generalization. As the name suggests it is a generalization made about a group of people or things with no scientific proof. For example someone saying “All women are overly emotional” is a hasty generalization about women. This generalization about women is not true and there is no scientific proof that all women are overly emotional. People in the media commit this fallacy often, especially when talking about the issue of pit bull attacks in America and Canada. Pitbulls are often portrayed as evil and unchecked, to the point where pit bulls have become banned in certain states. The media likes to paint all pitbulls as vicious and violent dogs. However, the same could be said for people. The Zodiac Killer in 1968, Jack the Ripper in 1888, and the Tylenol Killer in 1982 were all terrible people. If some people are violent and vicious serial killers aren’t all people? The answer to this question is an obvious no. Nevertheless, the media makes a hasty and harsh generalization about pitbulls that needs to be disproved. The point that the media likes to make about pitbulls the most is that they were bred to fight. Pitbulls aren’t just one breed, though. They’re four: the American Pitbull Terrier, the American Staffordshire Terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier, and the American bully. The American Staffordshire terrier, Staffordshire bull terrier, and the American bully were bred for dog show conformation. The media lumps these breeds together to form the illusion that pitbulls are predatory, flight or fight dogs. The only pitbull breed bred for fighting is the American Pitbull terrier. Although, dog’s personality is often based on their present and past owners. If a certain pitbull has an abusive past or a past in an abusive situation, for instance puppy mills or fighting rings, certain movements or actions could be perceived by this dog as malicious, much like fear triggers in people that suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder. Any breed of dog has the chance of biting someone, abusive past or not. This article isn’t meant to shame or quiet those who have been mauled by pitbulls. Some pitbulls aren’t as friendly as others. This article is meant to disprove the illusion that all pitbulls are violent and vicious. The problem usually isn’t with the pitbulls. People are usually the problem. When people get a dog they have to understand that the dog isn’t a centerpiece to show off to family and friends. A dog is a living animal and when you adopt one it is equivalent to adopting a child. You have to teach it and form it to be a good dog. You also have to adapt your family to it and understand that not all dogs are as friendly to children and other pets. Getting a grasp on a perspective dog’s personality is important. The Hawaiian Humane Society says “You want to ensure the pet is the right fit for your family. We recommend spending at least an hour on campus to allow enough time to get to know your potential new family member. We recommend bringing all members of the family, including all dogs, to meet your potential new pet – we want to make sure it’s a good fit for everyone.” Banning pitbulls wouldn’t just affect their place as family dogs. Pitbulls are working dogs. Some jobs they work as are drug detection, explosive detection, search and rescue, water safety dogs, and therapy dogs. Banning pitbulls would mean finding new dogs who are as willing and ready to fill these jobs. In conclusion, Pitbulls have been painted as vicious and violent because of bad press. The chance of being killed by any type of dog is one in 18 million. All dogs are capable of biting and being violent, not just pit bulls. Pitbulls are loyal, beautiful, amazing dogs and don’t deserve to be slandered and lied about.
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Saturday Newsletter: October 19, 2019
Lady in Red by Alexa Zhang, 9 (Los Altos, CA) illustrating “Windsong” by Emma McKinny, 13 (Old Fort, NC) Published in Stone Soup October 2019 A note from William Rubel I had written my letter to you for the week in the lobby of a Tokyo hotel where Jane Levi (you know her as one of our Newsletter writers) and I were finishing breakfast and waiting to leave to take our flight back to San Francisco. I had wanted to share something of our adventures in Japan, but then, on the train to the airport I re-read the current issue, October 2019. The last story in the issue, “Windsong,” by Emma McKinny, along with its illustration, “Lady in Red,” by Alexa Zhang left me speechless. Both story and illustration are just incredible. I can’t write about both the illustration and the story as the Newsletter would be so long most of you would give up, so I will concentrate on the story. But, please, spend time with painting as well. The story, “Windsong”, is a masterful piece of prose that shakes me to the core. The prose style is varied, the protagonist’s viewpoint as a child insider at the opera is unique, and the author’s command of language is unusually strong. She expresses very complex and meaningful ideas and feelings with grace and ease. It is a powerful personal narrative, and we say more about personal narratives in the details of our new contest, in partnership with Young Inklings, which is discussed below. It also makes great use of framing which is the subject of this week’s activity. “Windsong” is about going to a performance of Dr. Atomic, an opera by John Adams with libretto by Peter Sellers. Her father is the lead singer. You can use your research skills to get information on the actual performance and its reviews online, but I want to focus on one element of the story — the way in which Emma frames her narrative. Framing is, then, also going to be this week’s writing project. The basic history you need to know is that the United States invented and tested the first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico during World War II. The bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were developed in Los Alamos. These bombs ended the war with Japan. Japan surrendered after they were dropped. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of civilizations were killed by these weapons, whole sections of the two cities that were the victims of these bombs were obliterated. These bombs gave humans god-like powers which J. Robert Openhiemer, director of the lab, and the Dr. in the opera’s title, Dr. Atomic, understood. He quickly became concerned about the consequences of his invention. You also need to know that Los Alamos is visible from Santa Fe and this is especially true at night when its lights glow from the mountain ridge where it is located. Back to framing! The story takes place in the Santa Fe Opera House, a fabulous outdoor theater that sits under the distant gaze of Los Alamos, the place where the bomb-making that is the center of the opera’s story took place. With this in mind, please read the first paragraph. Now, please read the story. And, now, please focus on the last three paragraphs. Emma has gone through a huge emotional experience during the Opera. Those of you who attend operas, ballet, and traditional theater may have experienced these deep emotional moments. My daughter has leaned over to me during ballet performances to whisper, “Dada, don’t cry until the curtain goes down.” And then there is the clapping. And the lights go back up. And then you have to get up from your seat and drive home behaving normally with this deeply emotional experience still inside you, “turmoil boiling in the pit of” ones stomach, as Emma puts it. Then, she does something brilliant. She gives feeling and emotion to the wind which blows through the Santa Fe Opera house — it is an open air theater — and picks up her feelings. She whispers to the wind the same phrase she had called out to her father in the beginning, thus transferring the art of the opera to nature. Let the wind howl, like a wolf, adding its voice to the power of theater. You can read and follow this week’s activity here. Please take a look, try framing, and send us what you produce. Until next week, Contests, Partnership & Project News We are very excited to announce that Stone Soup is partnering with Society of Young Inklings in our very first nonfiction contest. You have until December 15, 2019 to write and perfect your personal narratives with the help and support of Society of Young Inklings, which has created instructional games and activities to help you write and perfect your pieces! Finally, the first 150 submitters will receive personalized feedback letters from the writers at Young Inklings. We can’t wait to read your work! Highlights from the past week online Don’t miss the latest content from our Book Reviewers and Young Bloggers at Stonesoup.com! We posted another piece in blogger Marco Lu’s series on science fiction. Check out “Steam and Gleam: A Look at Steampunk” to learn more about the well known sub-genre within science fiction. Our Spring fundraiser, to widen Stone Soup’s access to marginalised communities, is still open for donations! This campaign is to help support us in providing a new benefit for Public Libraries: free submissions for all of their patrons. We want to enable children across the country who cannot have their own subscription not only to read Stone Soup, but also submit their work for free. When you purchase one of the last remaining copies of our archival “Special Navajo Issue” from March/April 1989, all proceeds will be put toward helping Stone Soup reach marginalized communities. You can donate to this campaign via the link below, or visit our store to purchase a copy of our 1989 Special Navajo Issue. From Stone Soup, October 2019
Writing Activity: Using Framing to Add Depth and Power
Emma McKinny’s story “Windsong,” is about going to a performance of Dr. Atomic, an opera by John Adams with libretto by Peter Sellers. Her father is the lead singer. You can use your research skills to get information on the actual performance and its reviews online, but here we want to focus on one element of the story–the way in which Emma frames her narrative. Framing is the subject of this writing project. The basic history you need to know is that the United States invented and tested the first atomic bomb in Los Alamos, New Mexico during World War II. The bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were developed in Los Alamos. These bombs ended the war with Japan, which surrendered after they were dropped. Thousands upon thousands upon thousands of civilizations were killed by these weapons, whole sections of the two cities that were the victims of these bombs were obliterated. These bombs gave humans god-like powers which J. Robert Oppenheimer, director of the lab, and the Doctor in the opera’s title, Dr. Atomic, understood. He quickly became concerned about the consequences of his invention. You also need to know that Los Alamos is visible from Santa Fe and this is especially true at night when its lights glow from the mountain ridge where it is located. “Windsong” takes place in the Santa Fe Opera House, a fabulous outdoor theater that sits under the distant gaze of Los Alamos, the place where the bomb-making that is the center of the opera’s story took place. The author goes through a huge emotional experience during the Opera performance. Those of you who attend operas, ballet, and traditional theater may have experienced these deep emotional moments. And then there is the clapping. And the lights go back up. And then you have to get up from your seat and make your way home, behaving normally, with this deeply emotional experience still inside you: “turmoil boiling in the pit of” ones stomach, as Emma puts it. To help the reader understand her experience, and express it herself, she gives her feeling and emotion to the wind which blows through the Santa Fe Opera house. She whispers to the wind the same good-luck phrase she had called out to her father in the beginning, thus transferring the art of the opera and the performers to nature. Let the wind howl, like a wolf, adding its voice to the power of theater. The Activity Write a story where an element at the beginning–a framing device–introduces a powerful idea into the story, that you can use to develop your story, and then return to at the end to convey even greater depth of meaning to it. To help you see how this can work, read “Windsong”. In “Windsong,” the phrase “in bocca al lupo,” introduces a series of related ideas about sound and the elements: it relates to the wind, a wolf’s howl, the power of art and performance, all of which carry through the whole story in various ways. When the author of the story comes back to that same phrase at the end, we all have a greater depth of understanding that allows us to read even more into it. When you plan your story, think about your key message and image, and think of a way you can introduce it as a framing device early on. Try to carry your framing device through your story, and then, as in “Windsong”, come back to it explicitly towards the end. By this stage, if you have woven the ideas into your story, your frame–and your story–will have great depth.
