The AP put out a story this morning about “Big Black Dog Syndrome” – the trend of people fearing big black dogs, no matter how nice they are. I read it and was completely offended. Okay, so not offended in the what-it-says-offends-me kind of way. But offended in that uncomfortable-because-this-sounds-too-similar-to-something-else- that-offends-me kind of way.

Look at the main points from the article:

1.    People are afraid of big black dogs.
2.    When they see big black dogs, they cross the street.
3.    Big black dogs don’t get adopted.
4.    The idea of a big black dog unleashing destruction is a common theme in books, movies and folklore.
5.    People may subconciously snub big black dogs.
6.    "He was just black," Yaffe said. "That was his one offense."
7.    And there's a certain contingent of dog lovers who specifically seek out black dogs because they’re considered trendy in certain neighborhoods.

Now swap out the word “dog” for “man” in every sentence and begin to feel that uncomfortably awkward, too close for comfort, almost-offensive-but can’t-be-because-this-article-is-really-about-dogs feeling.

I know, maybe as a black woman and the daughter of a big, black man that people were always afraid of until they met him, I’m reading too much into it. Or maybe this just confirms my theory that being big and black in this country (no matter what species you are) is really, really hard.