I don't disagree that some black people may be afraid of dogs. I loooooooooove dogs. I'm black. Just count it as strange about the ones you know. Can't generalize. It may have something to do with exposure. Having a dog is a big luxury that many people's parents didn't have (unless they lived in rural areas where dogs weren't sold in stores...just lived around neighborhoods) so people's parents didn't raise their kids to think of having a dog as a pet as normal. I don't know. Just a thought.
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Name : Pat Rice, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 21, City : College Park, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : teacher/ student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Yeah it was a K-9 unit.
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Name : Miller20458, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 22, City : KC, State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : IT, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, I think the answer to this question in on the flip side of the coin. Why are white people (i.e. american culture) so in love with dogs? Ive seen white people kiss and hug on stray dogs they dont even know. They also let them eat at the table and sleep with them. Which doesnt sit well with many Black people, especially women. Mainly because its very unsanitary. Even though some dogs are cute they are still animals. I dont think we as Black people share the same affection for dogs as white people, which is why you probably notice that reaction from Black women.
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Name : Sahara-J, Gender : F, Race : Black/African American, Age : 24, City : St. Louis, State : MO Country : United States, It is not that all blacks are afraid of dogs. That is a generalized blanket statement. As children, most blacks are taught to be cautious of our surroundings. I see white people all the time who will bend down and get in the face of a strange dog, then wonder why their face is getting ripped off. It's common sense, basically. Generally, people of lower classes (black and white) have attack dogs, so if you grow up in a low class neighborhood, you come to associate dogs with being attacked...
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Name : Kerrie26479, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 23, City : Raleigh, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : Media Relations Representative, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, What kind of stupid question is that? Seriously, did you put any thought into what you just said? This may go down as one of the most ignorant questions I have ever heard!! But, to answer your question: We are a monolithic group of people who have an unconcious fear of kanines....(im being a smart ass).
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Name : The-Black-Guy, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Funny- I searched the net in hopes of finding an answer to this question and the responses vary in reason. My husband and I recently moved to a predominately black area, from a predominately white area and are experiencing dog phobia every single day...it is rediculous!!! This is surely something our ancestors taught us for one reason or another, a learned, silly, and unnecessary fear. It speaks to the fact that our culture is one in which you judge by what is told or perception, rather than by reality. It is very rare that white people (even poor white people) have a fearful perception of life, I believe that this is why they typically swim with sharks, sky dive, practice extreme sports, and almost exhibit no fear when it comes to nature (dogs) and life in general. Black people have had the cavalier part of life beat out of them for various reasons. We don't trust anything or anybody and like the fear of dogs it comes from our ancestors whose only value of life was survival. The only other people that I have witness display similar conduct are Jewish people, but the major difference is that Jewish people take care of their own. Me...I am not afraid of people, animals, or things that I don't have a personal reason or experience of fearing. What I fear is falling from the grace of God, disaster striking my house, being burned alive, losing my job or my sanity (alzheimers disease, etc). An animal that we are charged to live with anyway, is the least of my worry. And yes, I have been bit by a dog before and bit by a rabbit, and two (2) falconoid birds. As the human bite is the most infectious and dangerous bite in the world, because ticks spread lyme disease and mosquitoes carry west nile, there are better things to fear than a dog bite. I wish Black people were as scared of guns and bullets as we are of dogs...
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Name : Vanity, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 28, City : West New York, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Paralegal, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Ok. I've decided to post on this subject because I have this night done alot of research on the subject of dredas. I am really interested in doing it and I always like to be thoroughly informed when making any life decisions. Alot of what I have read here is factually incorrect. 1. Dreadlocks did not originate in rastafarian culture, nor Jamaica. They originate in Kimet, Africa, and were worn mainly by priests and holy men there. They were worn mostly by Indians (like from India) until the early 20th centrury, also by the preists and holy people. Their God Shiva wore dreadlocks that contained the River Ganges in their mythology. 2. Samson, from the bible wore seven locks in his hair, and that is what Delilah cut off, diminishing his power. John the Baptist also wore them, and Jesus himself was depicted with long hair. Early christians also wore them. 3. The Rastas are a completely different issue. Their reasons were also spiritual. They were against anything from Babylon, including alcohol, cigarettes, red meat, alcohol, etc. Also including the Babylonian standards of beauty and vanity. The main thing here is dreadlocks have intense spiritual implications that have definetly been ignored in our fashionable culture. It is not a hairstyle, it is a spiritual commitment, and you should consider that when deciding whether to lock or not.
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Name : Cassandra, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : Saugerties, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : deli, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, I have had this question burning in my mind for the last several years. I have a black lab named Lexie. Lexie is my third dog. She is the most gentle dog I have ever seen. My grandchildren now play with her but it wasn't always so. One of my youngest grandchildren took to Lexie so much that he tried to ride her like a horse. Grandson and dog stood eye-to-eye at that time. I see this fear phenomenon wherever I go - to the park, walking down the street or at my mother's nursing home. It almost never fails - the very instant another black person sees my dog they are literally griped with an irrational fear and immediately gasp or at least change their direction very quickly. Absolutely no amount of coaxing will change their feelings. Even when they see my frail mother hugging my dog from her wheel chair while Lexie wags her tail and licks her hand, they remain afraid and will not go near the dog. This does not apply to all the black people I encounter. I am almost stunned when one comes up to my dog and pets her. Usually, they have a dog of their own at home. In the park, kids (usually females) 30 yards away will scream and run the other way even if Lexie is playing with her ball and TOTALLY ignoring them. I often wonder if THEY even know why they are afraid. White kids, on the other hand, come up to her and ask me if she bites while simultaneously extending their hands to pet her. Again, this is not across the board but almost always the case. In any case, there is a clear distinction between the way Whites and Blacks react to my dog's presence. Back at the nursing home, 99 percent of the White residents can't wait to touch her and remark about how 'beautiful' she is. In contrast, about 89 percent of Blacks head for the hills at Lexie's approach. I have since made it my goal to research this phenomenon and try to understand it.
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Name : Byron-Hill, City : Calumet City, State : IL Country : United States, My wife is blind and uses a German Shepherd trained as a Seeing Eye Dog. We frequently walk through the city of Birmingham together. Nearly every day she inadvertently frightens people with her dog as they innocently walk down the sidewalk. 99.9% of the people she frightens are black, mostly female, but some men, too. To me it looks like something that is almost instinctual, like fear of snakes. It happens so often that it is starting to get on our nerves. We just want to say to them something like, 'get a life, it's just a dog', but of course we do not. Mostly we just continue on our way to our destination, and my wife being blind is oblivious to the looks and non verbal language.
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Name : Jim, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : Blind, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 51, City : Birmingham, State : AL Country : United States, Occupation : Blind Rehabilitation, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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