Tuesday, July 17, 2012

part one: of pit bulls and morons and bigots

“A common myth most of us intuitively accept is that there is a negative correlation between intelligence and belief: as intelligence goes up belief in superstition or magic goes down. This, in fact, turns out not to be the case, especially as you move up the IQ spectrum… once people commit to a belief, the smarter they are the better they are at rationalizing those beliefs. Thus: smart people believe weird things because they are skilled at defending beliefs they arrived at for nonsmart reasons.” ~Micheal Shermer, The Believing Brain - How We Construct Beliefs and Reinforce Them as Truths

"I will use whatever argument I think will help get my personal bias/belief across." DR ANDREW ROZSA

every now and then, i come across the author of a pit bull blog, forum thread or an on-line comment that grabs my attention. these pit bull advocates come from all walks of life. some of these pit zealots are teenaged girls, some are unemployed, tattooed losers living in their parent's basement, some are felons, many are housewives and occasionally they are successful, educated, professionals. the rainbow of pit bull advocates always share the following traits; they are new converts completely indoctrinated in the propaganda and completely hand themselves over to the crusade. in essence, they have contracted pit bull fever. this blog post is about one such pit bull advocate.

this is the story of DR ANDREW ROZSA.

on august 21, 2010 i was researching pit bulls when i found his blog, of pit bulls and morons. within minutes, i could see this was one of those devout neophytes we commonly see in pit bull advocacy. ROZSA had a grandiose on-line presence and his arrogance screamed: accident waiting to happen. the more i read, the more i realized this is the kind of pit bull owner who makes headlines. i created a folder and put links and pdfs in it and saved it for a rainy day. i've only done this about a dozen times over the years but this was the first.

as i delved deeper into ROZSA'S on-line pit bull persona, ayjayar, i was almost salivating. i found that ROZSA had signed up for 4 pit forums. even before bringing home his first of 2 pit bulls, he was trying to establish himself in the pit bull community. his intros were garrulous and narcissistic.

his pitbullforum intro was a herculean effort and worthy of its full reproduction here since PBF closed their doors to the public right after the ATTS exposé:
Howdy, folks. Let me introduce myself. I am Andrew; I live in Shelby County, Alabama in a gentrified rural area about 16 miles South of Birmingham. In this area, our major problems are slow moving turtles on the Crest, opossums, squirrels, raccoons, horse people ambling around with their neat little hats and fancy britches. We only have wood fences to keep horses in. The locals call Indian Crest Critter Alley. Dogs are everywhere. No leash laws. I have wanted a dog for years, but never had the time or dedication. Got a little Chow-Husky mix for my son about 12 years ago (from the Shelby Rescue), but he, being the child that he was, took the doggie for granted, not spending much time training her or grooming her. So we ended up with a stinky yard dog with a totally sweet disposition, but with nary an ounce of discipline or training. Not an enjoyable dog for me, but it suited my son. Birtie died last year of kidney failure at age 11. I realized that, although I never really worked with her, I missed her a lot. My wife is a cat person and she is quite allergic to cats, dogs, and most animals. So, because she loves animals, she puts up with her sniffles. The possum that is sharing the food with our outdoor cat seems innocuous, but I had to be very firm with her about not petting the little fossil.

I have a couple of vet friends and I asked them about a dog that I could have, that didn’t shed (there went my German Shepherd), that was intelligent, strong, in a need of firm handling and training, and one that would be happy sitting at my feet while I cruise the Net or work on my hobbies (fixing vintage watches and fountain pens, listenng to prog rock an, jazz, and classical music, and reading). I know dog breeds real well. Originally, being of Hungarian origin, I thought about getting one of the Hungarian breeds: Kuvasz, Puli, Komondor, or Vizsla, but I ended up eliminating them one by one, for a variety of reasons. I studied the Great Pyrenee, and Bouvier de Flandres, Then switched to the Molossers like the Argentine Dogo, Cane Corso, Fila Brasiliero, the Rottweiler, and the Presa Canario. One of the vets suggested I look into a pit bull. For the last 6 months I have read everything I could lay my hands on, watched dozens of videos, and talked to many APBT owners. I knew I found my dog breed. First weekend in October I’ll be picking up an APBT puppy from Tennessee. I did look at local rescues, but I couldn’t come up with a dog that tolerated cats (one of the cats we have, a Ragdoll, is very skittish) and was young enough to allow me to work with from scratch After reading about the plight of the APBT (and other “dangerous” breeds) I still wanted to make home for a “discard.” I also was working up the courage and commitment to walk a dog twice a day for many years, spend a minimum of 30 mins a day training, and going to weekly classes, for months on end. Out of the blue, my son’s friend tells me about his uncle who has decided to quit breeding a pair of APBTs. The dogs somehow “got together” anyway and he ended up with 11 puppies that he doesn’t know what to do with. Coincidence, you say? I think not. ;-)

I am so excited about this coming new member of the family I can hardly wait. I am postponing picking up the puppy by two weeks because we are going (flying) out of town at the end of September and don’t want to leave the puppy behind. He will be better off for 2 extra weeks with his breeder’s family - who socializes the puppies from get-go by keeping them in the house with is family and his other pets.

My wife smiles at me benignly as I accumulate adjustable crate, portable kennel, chew treats, cover for front and back seats for my car, special bully floor cover for the crate, food and water dishes, collar, leash, clickers, etc. I already picked a trainer that I am told handles bullies well and trains owners properly. I bought into Cesar Millan’s approach to Exercise-Discipline-Affection and will be getting a dog-activated treadmill for rainy or stormy days.

I am looking forward to the work that it will take to make an “ambassador for the breed.” I am also looking forward to the companionship, the play, and the pleasure a dog can give his owner. I know it will be a challenge, but I know I am ready.

It was a pleasure to find this Forum. Have been reading your postings with great interest and am looking forward to learning and, eventually, sharing my experiences with you folks.

Kind regards to all,
Andrew

a few observations.
first, ROZSA states that he lives in a rural area where loose dogs are everywhere and there are only wooden fences to contain horses, which means there are only wooden fences to protect horses from all of those loose dogs. (keep that in mind as we go)
second, ROZSA admits his stinky yard chow/husky mix was neglected and spent its life on a chain, yet had a sweet disposition until she died at age 11. he confessed that after she passed away he found that he missed her. this confession of his poor and irresponsible dog ownership habits is ignored by the PBF nutters and his dog's sweet temperament flies in the face of the propaganda ROZSA and the entire pit bull apologia love to cram down our throats, "it's all how they're raised". (more on his chaining practices and philosophy to come)
third, ROZSA'S list of potential breed candidates looks like a BSL who's who. it is abundantly clear that this man is trying to make a statement with dogs.
fourth, his first time dog owner intro directly contradicts his own "primer" which states 1. APBTs are not for everyone. Definitely not for a first-time dog owner. Ownership of an American Pit Bull Terrier demands dedication, a firm hand, willingness to commit to being responsible for every second of every minute, 24/7 of your dog's entire life. (we'll see about that.)
fifth, after he finished patting himself on the back about all of his phenomenal research on dogs and pit bulls, the pbf members chime right in with praise for his diligence and compliment him for such a great intro and they "know" he will be a great bully breed owner, while i am shaking my head and thinking the exact opposite. the camaraderie is just hysterical at the mutual admiration society, especially if you know the not-so-happy ending to the beginning of this bucolic pollyanna tale.
SPOILER ALERT: basing your research on your vet friends' advice and CESAR MILAN, KAREN DELISE and JANE BERKEY'S propaganda will NOT prepare you for the real world of pit bull ownership!

a screenshot from ROZSA'S blog

i'd really like to know... is the acceptance of chaining chow/huskys but not pit bulls a form of reverse discrimination favoring the superior master race of pit bulls?

you can read the rest of ROZSA'S primer here.

lion tamer ROZSA has had a couple of mishaps with his pit bulls. on pitbullforum.com, he started a thread titled "the picture is the answer" with the following image and caption:


barf bags are advised for ROZSA'S blatherings about how his dog's "chomps are sweeter than most women's kisses ('cept my wife's). ;-)" and "Everything Sandor does delights me, even if, sometimes, I have some blood on my arms."

hmmm... everything? keep that question in mind as we go.

ROZSA'S time on gopitbull.com was short lived and even shorter lived on game-dog.com, where the serious dogmen didn't even acknowledge him. like me, it didn't take very long before the more experienced pit bulldog owners at gopitbull to recognize ROZSA as a pompous idiot and a liability to the breed and they ran him off. a couple of the members had some fun at his expense. be sure to click on that link, it's a short but fun read. here's a taste:


ROZSA did not have much of a presence on pitbull-chat.com. i suspect he felt alienated on this forum, as this is one of the more serious, more honest forums. (more is a relative term) but ROZSA did contribute and one pitbull-chat.com thread in particular is worth mentioning.
My nose looks like I have been in a boxing match. Sandor – 6 months old – decided to take off in a different direction than I had intended – he was off “work” - and smacked my face against a tree.
What I want to know, how can a 40-lbs puppy mash a 6-ft, 200-lb man in good physical condition into a tree?
I am sure it does defy some law of physics.
And like the idiot that I am, I run him on the treadmill so that he can be stronger...sheeeesh
comments from others pbc members
Me, too. When I tell people that I was not in a War, was just playing with the puppy, they don't believe me.
So I decided to tell everybody that I am an abused husband.

now we know what a 6 month old pit bull puppy is capable of accidentally doing during rough play. in part 2 we'll explore what two adult unsupervised loose pit bulls are capable of.

"I will use whatever argument I think will help get my personal bias/belief across." DR ANDREW ROZSA

ROZSA fell off of my radar for a year. then last october, regular craven contributor DubV showed up on ROZSA'S blog which had criticized the nanny dog blog post and the truth blog in general. ROZSA was focused on the Goebbels' quote. he failed to see this was referencing propaganda and had nothing to do with nazism but of course took the discussion in that direction (see projection). DubV and ROZSA had been debating on pit bulls and morons about the nanny dog and then ROZSA suddenly just deleted all DubV's comments. if you can't beat 'em, delete 'em! (a pdf with the original comments can be read here) my guess is DubV is a little too sharp for this nutter but ROZSA is smart enough to know when he is losing. like ryan and hal, and so many other pit nutters, ROZSA'S only remaining weapon is the deletion of evidence. while i was finding and saving the evidence in web cache, DubV was finding the most delicious scandal to date.

DR ANDREW ROZSA has made statements comparing BSL to racism "do not pass Breed Specific Legislation that bans a specific dog because of the criminal miscreants who abuse the dog and the law – that’s tantamount to racism;" and sweeping statements that imply nature is nothing and nurture is everything "Quite simply, normal, well-cared-for, trained, neutered or spayed Pit Bulls Do NOT ATTACK people. EVER! There is not a single documented case in the history of Planet Earth. Not one!" (actually there are but that is straying from topic)

enter the truth, ie "an ugly, ugly political agenda"

the following is the last paragraph of a long-winded comment ROZSA left on a wired article. DR ANDREW ROZSA defends IQ differences among races of people.

On the bases of 30 years of education and 25 years of clinical practice, I will tell you, without hesitation, that anybody who thinks that there are no differences between races is either ignorant or has an ugly, ugly, political agenda. You want to set someone up for sure failure? Expect him to deliver something that he cannot. Maybe that's where Mr. Keim is nowadays, too, trying to deliver something that he cannot: the truth.

Respectfully submitted,

Andrew J. Rozsa


this comment sparked a followup article, in which the author lead with another portion of ROZSA'S comment:
It is a fairly primitive bit of knowledge that in any situation, including scientific research, the observer’s bias frequently determines the conclusion," commented reader Andrew Rozsa on the James Watson controversy and my dismissal of science that purports to show racial patterns of biologically-based differences in intelligence.

the exposure on wired lead to a disgruntled letter to the editor of the birmingham times drawing attention to the social security administration's consideration of a racist for employment.

in one of ROZSA'S blogs, he quotes the CDC, "But they also emphasize that one cannot ascertain "viciousness" based on breed."

so, here we have a highly educated man stating that genetics do not play a part in viciousness among dog breeds but genetics do determine intelligence among human races. hmmm.... "in any situation" one's beliefs determines one's conclusions.

"I will use whatever argument I think will help get my personal bias/belief across." DR ANDREW ROZSA

the blog i had planned for ROZSA never came to fruition for one reason or another and again he fell off of my radar, until may 27th, when the doctor showed up at craven desires and left the following comment on the alabama stand your ground blog post:
You are giving people bad legal advice. I proved it in Court only two months ago that shooting Pit Bulls it's going to cost you the MAXIMUM allowed by law. I hope that someone who follows your advice and gets put in prison for cruelty to animals (AND fined) will sue YOU.
i immediately emailed him, "please send me the link and i will post a retraction."

this lead to an interesting exchange between ROZSA and i. the next couple of weeks were spent researching alabama law and ROZSA's case. the short version is ROZSA'S two pit bulls were shot and killed by a neighbor on the neighbor's property when the neighbor found 2 of his sheep dead. the long version will be the subject of part two.

unskilled and unaware

of pit bulls and morons

projection

30 comments:

Miss Margo said...

Jeeeeeeeeezzzzus, Craven.

I have insomnia tonight and was hoping a little web-surfing would take my mind off of it. NEVER MIND.

Fetching "Monster Lo-Carb Energy Drink" right now. Who am I kidding?

I'm scared to read how the story ends, even though I think I know, because it's SCARY ALREADY.

(DubV thanks for your contribution!)

I will share my thoughts about Ph.D.s and academia and...well, this, once I've finished and digested this story.

**Guzzling Monster Energy Drink**

Miss Margo said...

"I will use whatever argument I think will help get my personal bias/belief across."

What a disgusting and reprehensible betrayal of social sciences research values.

This statement is enough to shitcan (or at least cut the fellowship grant of) a lowly grad student at the Universities I've studied and worked for. No one can conduct research and contribute to their discipline with this attitude.

Miss Margo said...

"Ya know what I think Andrew? You got this breed to be different, seem enlightened about something, and draw attention to yourself. Now your ego and emotional attachment to an animal are on the line."

DubV, if you're ever in the Tri-State area, dinner is on me. Steak, sushi, Italian, vegan, whatever. I insist.

Okay that's it till I finish this story.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

DubV is the master of logic. reading his debates with this nitwit is one of my guilty pleasures. and i think i have read them all.

Small Survivors said...

Thank you Dawn and DubV! WOW! just WOW!

I can't really dig in now. Your post has already made me late, but every link I scan, I just get gobsmacked.

He is a nitwit. Other than his facility with language all I see is the idiocy and lunacy of a racist clinging to long obsolete notions of intelligence and the ability to measure it.

The fact that he would and could swallow all the pit propaganda whole without noticing that he had compromised his beloved racist beliefs betrays the lunacy of a disordered mind.

I also caught a clip of him saying a "balanced" pit bull wouldn't bite after he displayed his bite.

And the part about him adoring everything his pit bull does even biting him started my gag reflex going. Its got that gross fetishistic ring to it.

The most bizarre thing - he keeps betraying himself while attempting to edumacate and berate people. I can't believe he betrayed himself to craven like that. He can't stop talking.

Way to go DubV for bringing this guy out like that. And for uncovering the racist issue. wow!

I can't wait for part two but i'm very upset thinking he may have gotten the better of the horse owner...

pit bull owners are nasty

Rumpelstiltskin said...

Snack,

His reaction to his pit bull biting his arm is scary. You can tell by his comments and lack of concern, he's a pit nutter. I think he's proud of what his pit bull did.

Not surprised his pit bulls killed sheep.

Very scary.

Anonymous said...

this guy make me sick , his pompous attitude is so typical of the breed of pitter. words are just words but proof is in the pudding as my dad used to say . proof is in the dead pit-bull/s but unfortunately only after the fact . dead pets and even people come first then the mutants get their turns. lol @ windy pitters.

safer midwifery utah said...

jeez dawn, you should really be a private investigator or something. You are so good at looking into things, especially specific people.

Jewel Jade said...

Thank you so much, Craven, for exposing this BIG FAT LIAR!!! I'm not great with words, like you and your commenters are, I just want to punch him in his fat, lying face!!!

Thank you!

DubV said...

Thanks Dawn for all your hard work in taking down Rozsa, a nutter for which I have a special dislike. He had the habit of removing or not publishing my comments and then later addressing blogs specifically to me without giving a chance for any rebuttal or to state my own case.


Your skewering of Andrew here reminds me of something Hitchens said about a debate in which he took part.

Found in the first 30 seconds here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqgQIRphX6U

"We massacred them, by the way. We left them for dead."

DubV said...

In one of my linked comments, it only showed part 7 of a 7 part comment (yeah, I spent a bit too much time on Rozsa). Andrew was deleting my comments, but then strangely re-published parts 1 to 6. If anyone is interested in the full context for that comment, you can find it here

http://andrew-rozsa.blogspot.com/2011/10/to-nanny-dog-or-not-to-nanny-dog-that.html

in the comment section.

By the way, Andrew retroactively edited his blog to correct a few obvious errors he made, so some of what I wrote no longer corresponds to what is published at his blog.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

holy cow! the highest of all praise. to be compared to hitchens in any way is a huge honor. he is one of the people i admire MOST. brilliant funny foul mouthed atheists - George Carlin and Christopher Hitchens. i love them.

thank you DubV. i feel like i have just won an award with that comment.

DepthCharge said...

Great expose!!

What, exactly, is he a "doctor" of?

This guy obviously gets off on the multiple injuries that his "tough" dog inflicted on him. That, coupled with his off the charts narcissism (among other things), leads me to the conclusion that he has serious worries about the size of his.....dog.

Bagheera Kiplingi said...

Dr Rozsa is a punctual psychologist by day and Robert Goulet impersonator by night.

april 29 said...

A psychologist came up with this crap??? WTH?

Interesting rating, he is on time... but not helpful or knowledgeable.

Wait, this is pretty much exactly what he has presented in the pit bull world. Nice to see a professional with a dependable skill set.

Anonymous said...

these same idiots that actually like the pit bulls potential , at least, for violence, are the same ones that look at you like you'r crazy when you talk about it . you are ignorant , "bias" , racist ect, while all the while they are denying these mutants even have the traits that make them attractive to pitters. how can anyone reason with people who lie and deceive like nasty children .

DubV said...

Looks like ol' Andy is batting 0 for 3. His first dog was a yard dog. I don't care if he blames his son or not. People that leave dogs tied up like that and uncared for are lower than whale shit.

Then, he got 2 pits, crowed over about how you have to be "special" to really handle these dogs, and then he messes up and it gets both his dogs killed and 2 sheep killed. So really, he is batting 0 for 5 if you include the sheep. Now, he had to get 2 new mutants. Is he trying to prove something to himself and everyone else?

I must not be very special. I've never had a dog of mine killed like this and none of my animals have ever injured another living thing. Huh, funny that.

Rhea said...

This is almost hilarious if it weren't for the damage his two dumbass dogs caused to a neighbor with sheep. Its like watching reality unfold around this guy and he's oblivious.

"Duuuh the doooog bit my arm because I didn't throw the frisbee"

Lets see I must be doing dog ownership wrong, especially designer dog ownership wrong because my chihuahua is supposed to be yappy and more vicious than a pitbull and I've gotten bitten for not throwing his toys all of.........
0 times.

This guy is a creep and now I am thoroughly engaged in this saga so off to read part two!

I think the authors at Craven should collaborate on a non-fic/ humor book about Pitbulls.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

rozsa is lower than whale shit. he is shit of the organisms that eat whale shit.

most of us don't own dogs that are physically or psychologically capable of killing.


"Its like watching reality unfold around this guy and he's oblivious."

YEP!

"I think the authors at Craven should collaborate on a non-fic/ humor book about Pitbulls."

i've wanted to create a "onion" web news site just for pit bulls for a long time. i have an idea for a spoof magazine in development as well as serious book, mainly about pit nutters. so many nutters, so little time...

Anonymous said...

PITTERS : the clowns that infuriate us and makes us laugh and rejoice too. unfortunately there is too much of the former and not enuf of the latter. in other words there are not nearly enuf DIRT-NAPPINGS being awarded and few and far between, DARWIN ATTACKS.

DubV said...

"rozsa is lower than whale shit. he is shit of the organisms that eat whale shit."

And the only reason the microbes that shit Andy out are in the whale shit right now is.....because they wanted to go somewhere special for summer vacation.

Packhorse said...

Yes, we need a factual book please. The amount of nutter books out there is astonishing.

Miss Margo said...

I am a competent writer. I have formal training in writing and research methodology. I also edit and proof-read manuscripts professionally.

I could not write this hypothetical book by myself at this time, but I would contribute to it.

DubV said...

"There is this mosquito, or is it a troll, that keeps buzzing in my ear... its latest inquiry is whether I have a break stick or not. Apparently, not only is it a nuisance, it is also ignorant. This is unfortunate... a mere 10 minutes reading a posting on this blog would have assured it that its poodle's life would be spared if my dog got hold of it. Oh, wait... that can NEVER happen, because my dogs don't make choices. I do.

But those of you who missed my post about three years ago, can get proper instruction on American Pit Bull Terrier ownership by reading my "primer."
http://andrew-rozsa.blogspot.com/2009/06/andrews-primer-for-having-american-pit.html "

from

http://andrew-rozsa.blogspot.com/2012/04/break-stick.html

It seems he at least admits that his dogs chose to dig under his fence.

Dawn, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Rozsa posted the above AFTER his dogs were killed by the farmer.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

~ten months after his mutants killed the sheep.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

it looks like all but one of those nanny dog blogs he wrote after the slaughter.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

rozsa pulled that same dog whispering bullshit with the gopitbull crowd. he made a comment about how his dogs don't fart without his permission. then he proceeded to show photos of his dogs with other dogs that lead to his public humiliation. if you haven't watched it, please do so now. Did you command the bulldog to lunge at the retriever or was that him "farting" without asking? .

nothing has changed, he hasn't grown. he is just as arrogant and uneducated and as dangerous to the community now as he was then.

scurrilous amateur blogger said...

sorry, that should have read, if you haven't READ it.

vintage said...

GREAT DISASTERS IN PIT ADVOCACY HISTORY:

1987 Pit Advocate Ruth Teeter‘s prized American Staff-shredders shot killing sheep


But wait!...There's more!:

Top Stunt Pit Backfires in History


You Can't Make This Stuff Up!

Miss Margo said...

The man is a clown. Truly.

And deeply, deeply unlikable.