It is not a stereotype, but a fact. last year I was invited to a property to perform a quote, I was no sooner out of my Car and was set on by two aggressive pitbulls. Long Story Short, my Achilles tendon was severed and my left arm badly bitten requiring immediate surgery, a week in hospital and it was 3 months before I could begin to walk again. I also developed a DVT during the immobilisation and a cellulitis infection during my stay at the hospital. All in all, a horrible experience that has left me mentally scarred and keen for revenge. F@CK PITBULLS, only F#CKWITS own these dogs, and even greater F#CKIWITS Defend them.
Sorry for what happened to you.
You're right, because of the scumbag types who are gravitating towards owning pitbulls, there are a lot of aggressive dogs out there, right now. Unsocialized, taught to be aggressive, exercised and raised incorrectly. It's more a function of the demographic that are choosing them, than the breed's genetic profile.
A pitbull by nature is not bred to attack humans. That would be counterproductive to those who used them to fight other dogs. Infact, pitbulls are very loyal and tolerant of humans. The problem lies in the fact that they are super tenacious and extremely strong and agile, so when they are owned by the wrong type of person, you have a recipe for disaster -- (as with any powerful dog, Doberman - German Shepard - etc).
This may shock you, but if raised correctly, a pitbull is one of the most loyal, tolerant and loving dogs you can choose. Further more, there are many dogs who are far more aggressive by nature than pitbulls. Pitbulls want nothing more than to please their owner and they are very tolerant of children is raised correctly. Sure, you get your rouge crazy pitbull (just like with humans or any other mammal) but, for the most part, if raised correctly, a pitbull can be a great dog to have.
My brother was just attacked by a GSD. It can happen with any breed.
My guess is that the owners of the dogs that attacked you didn't care much about how their dogs were raised or how they behaved. Unfortunatly, any breed will act aggressive and attack if they are not propoerly trained.
Look, I'm not saying that there are not a boatload of bad pit's out there. All I am saying is that, as a whole, a pitbull is not an evil breed by nature. Honestly, the reason there are problems with this breed is because of the type of people that own them. It's a real shame.