From the archives - Gladwell profiles Cesar Millan

This fascinating story of Cesar Millan (Dog whisperer) from 2006 by Malcolm Gladwell.

In a typical Gladwellian style, he chronicles Cesar Millian's story from the humble beginnings in Mexico to the rise to current stardom in LA.

It doesn't matter if we like Cesar Milan's philosophy of dogs  or not, but the important lesson and significance of his story is how his relationship with dogs changed his social relationship with humans, saved his marriage and in the process his life.

"Early in their marriage, Illusion got sick, and was in the hospital for three weeks. "Cesar visited once, for less than two hours," she said. "I thought to myself, This relationship is not working out. He just wanted to be with his dogs." They had a new baby, and no money. They separated. Illusion told Cesar that she would divorce him if he didn't get into therapy. He agreed, reluctantly. "The therapist's name was Wilma," Illusion went on. ""She was a strong African-American woman. She said, 'You want your wife to take care of you, to clean the house. Well, she wants something, too. She wants your affection and love.'" Illusion remembers Cesar scribbling furiously on a pad. "He wrote that down. He said, 'That's it! It's like the dogs. They need exercise, discipline, and affection.'" Illusion laughed. "I looked at him, upset, because why the hell are you talking about your dogs when you should be talking about us?"

"I was fighting it," Cesar said. "Two women against me, blah, blah, blah. I had to get rid of the fight in my mind. That was very difficult. But that's when the light bulb came on. Women have their own psychology."
Cesar could calm a stray off the street, yet, at least in the beginning, he did not grasp the simplest of truths about his own wife. "Cesar related to dogs because he didn't feel connected to people," Illusion said. "His dogs were his way of feeling like he belonged in the world, because he wasn't people friendly. And it was hard for him to get out of that." In Mexico, on his grandfather's farm, dogs were dogs and humans were humans: each knew its place. But in America dogs were treated like children, and owners had shaken up the hierarchy of human and animal. Sugar's problem was Lynda. JonBee's problem was Scott. Cesar calls that epiphany in the therapist's office the most important moment in his life, because it was the moment when he understood that to succeed in the world he could not just be a dog whisperer. He needed to be a people whisperer."
Honestly I don't hate or love Cesar Milan, I simply got satiated with his shows. I should rather say I was satiated with the dog owners with their lack of understanding of a creature that co-evolved with us for thousands of years. But I can relate to Cesar epiphany. I have one often after watching Max's frame of mind and sometimes his idiosyncrasies. Not  sure when and how I started doing it but with every issue that pops in the everyday life  or when facing a provocateur  or even during a polemic rhetoric on the air, I think what would Max do and what have I learned from him? It might sound stupid or silly but its leads the greatest introspection I ever had and I get this wake up call to not to get carried away by my passions. It saves me from going through the process of inferred justification (People believe whatever they want, and then search for things to back up those beliefs. They disregard information contrary or challenging to things they believe.) and nudges me to pure reason. 


All my strengths are something that I have learned from Max and all my weaknesses are a remainder to the student in me, the enormity of things yet to be learned. The teaching goes on. (Thank you, Tuesdays with Morrie)