Malcolm Gladwell and the Public Intellectual
Malcolm Gladwell Football and Dogfighting In late 2009, author Malcolm Gladwell released a New Yorker column titled "Offensive Game" in which he discussed how dog fighting and American football are more closely related than we may think. Gladwell makes the argument that there is a small part of the American population that views dog fighting as a perfectly normal act; it has developed a culture that accepts the violence. The average person finds this culture repulsive, because we love dogs almost as much as we love humans. The author then looks at the recent studies conducted on the brains of former football players. Research is beginning to show that football can cause severe brain damage due to the repeated concussive hits. Gladwell goes on to make the point that dog fighting and football share many qualities. They both promote violence, they both have a devoted group of followers, and these followers see nothing wrong with the promo...