Q: How come pit bull owners always say, "My dog is a sweetheart?"
To understand the experience of owning a negatively perceived dog, Tufts Center for Animals and Public Policy did a study on pit bull owners. Researchers found that owners of pit bulls directly feel the stigma targeted at their breed and resort to various tactics to lessen it.
One of the strategies included emphasizing counter-stereotypical behavior. For instance, to offset the popular idea that pit bulls are fierce and predatory, respondents in the study voiced just the opposite: "My dog is the biggest sweetheart in the world."
A related strategy involved emphasizing that behavior, not appearance, expressed their dog's true nature. Such behaviors often involved an overwhelming amount of affection toward people. This strategy is illustrated in the much-repeated phrase: "My dog wouldn't hurt a fly, but she might lick you to death."

Q: Do pit bulls bite more than other dogs?
Depending upon the community in which you live and the ratio of pit bulls within it, yes and no. But whether a pit bull bites more or less than another breed is not the point. The issue is the grave damage a pit bull inflicts when it does bite. The "lock and shake" characteristic of the bite causes severe bone and muscle injury.
When sizing up bite statistics, it is important to understand, What constitutes a bite? A singe bite, recorded and used in bite statistics, is a bite that "breaks the skin." One bite by a poodle that leaves two puncture wounds is recorded the same way as a pit bull attack, which can constitute hundreds of puncture wounds and massive soft tissue loss.8

Q: Why does my friend say, "Pit bulls are animal-aggressive not people-aggressive?"
Due to selective breeding practice, pit bulls are highly animal aggressive. They frequently kill other pets and livestock. Pit bull experts warn owners, "Never trust your pit bull not to fight." They also state that under no circumstances should you leave a pit bull and another animal alone together.11
Animal aggression is unacceptable -- too many of our pets suffer injury and death as a result. The behavior also leads to human aggression. A common scenario is the following: A pit bull attacks a leashed dog being walked by its owner. The owner gets seriously injured trying to stop the attack.
News stories flourish about pit bulls breaking free of their property and attacking children and the elderly. These victims did not have pets with them, nor were they provoking the dog before the attack. The categorical denial by the pit bull community that the breed is not people-aggressive only serves to create new victims.

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"When two people agree on everything, one of them is not necessary" - Arliss