Is it just me or does it seem like there are a lot of really negative people now-a-days? (free, house)

[PitBullMommie1206]

I know no one is perfect, but it just seems like there's more and more negativity in the world everyday! I mean, you turn on the news and pretty much everything is a horror story! They will make things up or twist things around to make the story more dramatic and negative because that's what gets ratings! That means that people would rather hear the made up or twisted around, over dramatic, horror stories than a truthful positive story?! I get on City-Data just about everyday and no matter where I go or what I say there's always someone that wants to say something negative! Everywhere I go people complain about their jobs, where they live, the weather, you name it, someone will find a way to complain about it! Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect! Like I said, no one is perfect and I think it's only natural to complain sometimes, I'm complaining right now! lol! But I try to be as positive about things as I can. Anyway, I was just curious to see what everyone thought. Is it just me or do other people see this too? Am I just going crazy? lol!

[I LOVE PA!]

Your comments about the news and media twisting stories are so similar to comments in another thread in the Pa forum, also by a pit bull lover. The thread was closed... but very similar.
As far as complaining, I think it is just human nature to complain. If a customer has a negative experience in a retail store, they will complain, if they have a positive experience, how many seek out the manager and tell them? This is why I hardly ever look up any medical information on the internet. You will find most of the horror stories.

[square peg]

I think a great deal of people have unrealistic expectations. Too many hissy fits happening at the same time. Too many folks believing they're the most important person in the universe... Not enough patience... Not enough understanding... What ever happened to do unto others...What ever happened to don't sweat the small stuff...

Many people seem to be realistic in their views in a casual conversation, but give them a problem they can't handle and they seem to lose it. They get mad... They are frustrated... They become desperate...

We all seem to expect instant gratification at one time or another. That's unrealistic. We tend to want for us, not for others. That seems to be human nature. What disturbs me most is that I can see a bit of myself in all of these things. But I'm working on them!

[nilssson]

...one of the worst things about civilization is, that anybody that gits a letter with trouble in it comes and tells you all about it and makes you feel bad, and the newspapers fetches you the troubles of everybody all over the world, and keeps you downhearted and dismal most all the time, and it's such a heavy load for a person.
- Tom Sawyer Abroad by Mark Twain

[jeannie216]

That is one reason while I don't sit and watch the news or read the paper regularly. Way too depressing and I've heard that continious exposure to it can effect your heath also. I do have a recommendation though....you need to hang out with some of these people from this part of the forum... a real bunch of fun, uplifting and positive group of people.....

[Charley]

I think you are right about the number of negative people. I think it comes right from the top! Between the war, the "tactics" used by "politicians" (and please note that I am not blaming a particular party or particular individuals so that this does not denegrate into a political fight), the economy, the distrust of leadership and the general malaise in our country, I think there is much to explain why there is so much negativity.

That's what makes CD so important. Between those forums that allow for appropriate venting and expression of opinion ... and those forums that allow for friendly information exchange ... and the games / other discussions, there's an opportunity to defuse the negativeness AND to have a little fun in the process.

I do enjoy the games very much and the positive interactions amongst the CD citizens and proud to count myself as one of them.

Here's hoping that everyone has a positive day today.

Charley

[mystree]

Definately alot of grumblers and whiners in this world.
I think you hear enough,it sometimes becomes contagious....that whole misery loves company thing.
I think we need more smileys in the world

[PitBullMommie1206]

Originally Posted by I LOVE PA!

Your comments about the news and media twisting stories are so similar to comments in another thread in the Pa forum, also by a pit bull lover. The thread was closed... but very similar.
As far as complaining, I think it is just human nature to complain. If a customer has a negative experience in a retail store, they will complain, if they have a positive experience, how many seek out the manager and tell them? This is why I hardly ever look up any medical information on the internet. You will find most of the horror stories.

Yeah, a lot of the news stories these days have to do with "pit bulls". I wasn't just talking about that though, it seems like almost everything is negative! I watch the Today Show every morning, I use to watch local news, but everything is so depressing! Now I watch the Today Show that way I can still find out what's going on in the world, but the Today Show isn't all news, so it's not as depressing. Watching the Today Show I don't get scared that the world is coming to an end like I do when I watch local news! lol! Plus, we live just north east of Orlando and since Orlando's crime rate has shot through the roof this past year, every time we turn on local news we hear about a couple more murders, robberies, kidnappings, car chases, etc. Back to the whole "pit bull" thing, I don't want to get into that too much because I will go on and on forever, but I do have to say that "pit bulls" honestly do not deserve the horrible reputation they have gotten!

My husband and I are the very proud owners of three wonderful American Pit Bull Terriers! Brooklyn, Destiny and Jayda Image - TinyPic - Share The Experience!™ They have all been properly raised, trained and socialized, and true to the breed, they are extremely friendly! The "pit bull" attack news stories drive me crazy for a few different reasons. First of all, "pit bull" isn't a breed, it's a term used to group three breeds, American Pit Bull Terriers (APBT), American Staffordshire Terriers (AmStaff) and Staffordshire Bull Terriers (Staffie). Now, some people that own APBTs, people that actually know what breed they own and what a "pit bull" really is, will say that they own "pit bulls", but only because it's easier than saying American Pit Bull Terriers! lol! It's like people calling Labrador Retrievers, Labs, you know? But then again, many "pit bull" owners will say they own "pit bulls" and they really have no idea what breed or mix their dog is. They really think that a "pit bull" is a breed of dog. The problem is that most people, even some "pit bull" owners, don't know anything truthful about these breeds, and a lot of that is because of the media!

When you hear a "pit bull" attack story on the news they obviously haven't done their research like they should have. When they say a "pit bull" attacked, basically all they are saying is that the dog could possibly be an APBT, an AmStaff, a Staffie, one of the many other bulldog breeds or "bully breeds", one of the 25+ breeds that are commonly mistaken as "pit bulls" or a mix of any of these breeds! And of course, sometimes the dog isn't even any of those breeds! I have seen many "pit bull" attack stories where the dog was actually a Rottweiler or Rottweiler mix, a Boxer or Boxer mix, a Lab or Lab mix, a Mastiff or Mastiff mix, etc. I have also seen 4 or 5 stories that all used the same exact picture of the same exact APBT!? Obviously that was not the actual dog that attacked! It is extremely rare for a "pit bull" attack to actually be a pure bred APBT, AmStaff or Staffie, and when a pure bred APBT, AmStaff or Staffie does attack it has absolutely nothing to do with the breed they are. It has everything to do with how they were bred, raised, trained, socialized, controlled and treated.

That brings me to another thing. Because of all of this crap, people see "pit bulls" as these vicious killing machines, so sick twisted people like gang bangers, drug dealers, animal abusers, dog fighters or just plain old irresponsible morons will get "pit bulls" or "pit bull" type dogs simply to abuse them, neglect them, train them to be mean and fight, or not train and socialize them at all! Some people will get "pit bulls" just to make the dogs mean because they think it will make them look "cool" or "tough"! The real "pit bulls" honestly do not deserve the negative reputation they have been given. The media says every dog that attacks is a "pit bull" because that's what gets ratings, then because everyone hears all of these horror stories, myths and rumors, every time someone gets attacked or sees an aggressive dog, they automatically assume it's a "pit bull". Because of all of this, everyone is scared to death of and hates "pit bulls", because of that, cities have started to ban them! Now all of these wonderful, friendly dogs are being taken from their owners and being killed! All of the responsible "pit bull" owners and good "pit bulls" are being punished for a few irresponsible owners mistakes all because the media wants to twist things around and make things up, to make everything insanely over dramatic and blow things out of proportion! It's just not right! Whatever happened to mans best friend? Whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty?!

The truth is, "pit bulls", APBTs, AmStaffs and Staffies, are great dogs that make wonderful family pets! For hundreds of years "pit bulls" were bred to bull bait and fight dogs, certain traits were bred into the bloodlines for that purpose, high pain tolerance, high prey drive, etc (many, many, many breeds were bred for the same qualities, the way "pit bulls" are is not something rare). However a quality that was never bred into "pit bulls" was human aggression. Human "aggressive" dogs were undesirable as these dogs required extensive handling prior to and during their fights AND most of these dogs were also family pets so no human aggression was ever tolerated. Dogs that exhibited human aggression were typically culled, meaning that only human friendly lines were perpetuated and desired. It has been said that a "pit bull" never met a stranger. They love and adore humans. They want so much to be apart of your family and spend time with you watching TV, walking, driving, etc. I have seen severely abused and neglected "pit bulls" who see you coming and they can't wait to be petted and loved. Even after the abuse, they want nothing more than to be with a family of their own! As with any breed there are exceptions to the normal temperament and behavior. We see this in humans as well, there are good ones and bad ones.

Like I said, my husband and I own three APBTs. APBTs are one of the most stable, people-friendly breeds in existence, and unlike the most, if not everything, that the majority of people have heard about these breeds, those are facts! Moat of what people have heard about "pit bulls" are nothing more than crazy myths! "Pit bulls" don't have locking jaws, they don't have the strongest bite out of every breed, they don't just turn on people, they are not large dogs, they don't attack more than other breeds, they are great with children, they do make wonderful pets, etc. APBTs are a medium breed (Staffis are small and AmStaffs are medium), an average weight for an APBT is 35-55 pounds. Our dogs are 48, 42 and 38 pounds, and they only come up to my knees! The National Canine Temperament Testing Association tested 122 breeds, and APBTs placed the 4th highest with a 95% passing rate! That's better than most popular family breeds such as Goldens and Beagles. APBTs are known as nanny dogs for their love of children. For hundreds of years the APBT has been bred to have a human friendly disposition and an overwhelming sense of need to please their owners. APBTs are currently used and suitable for all types of service work including drug detection, emergency rescue, service and therapy work, military service, and much more. In fact, Popcicle, the Number 1 US Customs dog is a rescued "pit bull", that was left to die in a freezer. The American Pit Bull Terrier is additionally one of the most intelligent and easy to train breed of dogs. The trainer of the show dog Lassie has even remarked on how the APBT is his choice of breed for training.

Here is some good, truthful info on APBTs.. American Pit Bull Terrier - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Taken From Text:

When treated well, APBTs typically have sunny personalities. They are very sweet, curious, intelligent, and clownish. They are noted for their outgoing, affectionate, eager-to-please disposition and their fondness for people. They adore attention, often relishing the company of humans and are notorious for their loyalty to their masters, even giving their lives for them... Despite the stereotype, the average, sound-minded pit bull is not a threat where children are concerned... APBTs were never bred for human aggression or guarding behavior; generally they only will attack if they perceive an immediate threat to their masters or families rather than seeing every person as an intruder upon their territory. They were originally bred against human aggression because in the pit fighting days the handlers had to be able to handle their dogs as well as treat their wounds, and if necessary, quickly pull the dog out of a fight for various reasons. Any dog that did show the slightest sign of human aggression in that day was 'culled', and therefore, not allowed to carry on its bloodline. For that reason stable examples of the breed are generally not suitable as guard dogs. It is important that APBTs who display any sign of human aggression are not bred, in order to preserve the stable and friendly nature of the breed, and equally important that man aggressive dogs are never kept.

Not to mention, "pit bulls" are American heros, they were once the quintessential icon of American Family life! Staffordshire Terrier, Sergeant Stubby was decorated WWII war hero. He sought out wounded soldiers and caught enemy snipers. The WWI Poster dog was a "pit bull". During the 20's, 40's and 50's the APBT was the number 1 family dog. The second Petey (Lucenay's Peter) from the Little Rascals was a UKC registered APBT, Lucenay's Peter. In 1936 he was cross registered with the AKC as a AmStaff. The APBT is used in all kind of advertisements, like Buster Brown Shoes, etc, and the APBT was the only breed of dog to make the cover of Life magazine three times!

So much for not getting "too into it"! lol! Sorry! As you can see, I'm pretty passionate about this! It's just that it's unbelievable to me how these dogs that were bred specifically to be human friendly, these dogs that are American heros, use to be the most popular and loved dogs in the US, can now be the most hated and feared dogs in the US! They are also the most abused dogs in the world! These breeds deserve so much better than this. Anyway, back to the topic.. lol!

I agree that it's human nature to complain, but I don't think that everyone should feel the need to complain about every little thing all of the time! I have always complained about things, everyone has, but I have never been a very negative person. I have always tried my best to find the positive in everything. It seems like every time I turn on the TV or leave my house all I see and hear is negativity. It's just so depressing! And it's scary how easily it rubs off on people! lol! It use to be pretty easy to be positive, and stay up beat and happy, for the most part anyway, but it seems to get harder and harder everyday! I'm not sure if it's because people have gotten more negative over the years or if I have just started to notice it more over the years, but I just wish people could be more positive about things sometimes! I have always said that if people were more like dogs the world would be a better place! lol! Now, if your not a dog owner or at least a dog person, you might not understand that, but dogs live for the moment. They don't hold grudges, or hold things against people. They are always happy to see you no matter what, and they love unconditionally without judgment.

[Rcm58]

There were horror stories on the news daily when I was a kid during the 70's, much worse than now, riots were commonplace, police were more violent, change was for malcontents. People just are'nt as complacent.