Imagine a boxing match between two equally matched heavyweight opponents – let’s say Lennox Lewis and Muhammad Ali (they don’t have to be from the same era).
But before the bell goes for round one, let’s put Lewis in the ring with Ali and George Foreman at the same time, just to get him warmed up and to test him out, take a few hits here and there, maybe a few hard ones to the jaw too. A couple of rounds like this and Lewis should be well and truly warmed up, if not a little light headed. Ok then, let the fight begin!
No, hang on a minute. Let’s now put Lewis up against Mike Tyson. Just a couple more rounds before the big fight kicks off. A few more rock hard punches to the ribs and jaw, maybe a bit of blood showing on Lewis’ face by now as one of his eyes starts to close up a bit, because of the swelling.
Ding, ding, Round one! No, wait, we need to loosen him up a bit more before the big one-on-one starts. Let’s get Wladimir Klitschko in to knock a few shades out of him for a couple more rounds. Lewis is looking a bit tired now, a bit beaten down, a bit light on his feet, a bit bloodied. Oh well.
Now the big face-off can finally start. One against one. Titan against titan. Legend against legend. This is sure to be the fight of the century. After all, Ali and Lewis are equally matched. It’s a fair fight between two of the ring’s true legends!
Oh dear. Ali, wearing the red trunks and for some reason carrying a red cape too, finishes off a weary, tired, bloodied Lewis in less than three minutes. The bell doesn’t even ring in time to save him.
This, dear reader, is the honourable, classical, traditional and fair sport of bull fighting.
But something is happening in two days that might just begin to re-balance the odds. In two days it´ll be January 1, 2012. A big day in the history of bull fighting. For in two days’ time, bull fighting becomes illegal in Cataluña, the first region in Spain
It is my sincere wish that the rest of Spain
Some people say it’s tradition and so it should be protected.
Some other people say that while they don’t support bullfighting, banning it will only encourage those that do support it to fight for its survival even harder, and that we should let it disappear naturally and gradually.
Yet more say that, well, it brings the tourists in and that’s good news for the economy and you can’t argue with that.
Others even suggest that the decision by Cataluña to ban it is no more than a political two-fingers to the rest of Spain designed to push the region’s growing independence movement that little but further. These people, while actively opposing bull fighting, are opposed to the ban on political grounds alone.
Well, let me be absolutely clear where I stand on this subject, so that there’s no suggestion I’m sitting on the fence.
Bull fighting is barbaric, disgusting, cowardly and inhuman. There is no bravery associated with it. I might have an ounce of admiration for the matador if he were to get in the ring with the bull by himself from the start without anyone else’s help, instead of letting the banderilleros, picadors and the horses all loose on the stricken animal as well. Cowards, the lot of them. And I’d say it to their faces as well. I bet they don’t even ask the horse if he feels like going in the ring or not.
Here’s a shocker. I truly believe that the more matadors are gored and injured the better, frankly. It might seem a shocking thing to say, but I don’t care. If it means that people who support it now generally start to question its safety then fine with me. I don´t want to see anyone hurt or injured – but that includes the bull too. I always cheer for the bull whenever it’s shown on TV here – and thankfully that’s not much anymore, although they still show it on Andalucia’s regional channel CanalSur on Sunday afternoons during the season.
The sooner we banish this pathetic excuse for a “sport” to the history books the better. And if a few matadors getting hospitalized along the way helps speed up that process, then the sooner the people who defend this disgusting spectacle might actually realise what a bunch of shameless idiots they’ve been all this time.
There are not many things I feel strongly about. But this is one of them. And I’d be quite happy to defend my position with a few punches of my own if anybody felt particularly strongly about confronting me over my “insults” to one of Spain´s “finest traditions”.
As to tradition? Bollocks. It was tradition in the 19th century to shove kids up chimneys to clean them, it was tradition in the 15th, 16th ands 17th centuries to burn witches, and it was tradition in the Middle Ages for estate lords to have “first night” with any virgin bride.
If it’s just a case of politics, that’s surely the lamest reason to oppose a ban. Come off it! And, as for letting it die a natural death, well that could take generations.
Opposition from Spaniards to bull fighting is growing every day. Yet of course, it’s always the minority in these cases who shout the loudest. It was the case with fox hunting in the UK, but thankfully, good sense won out in that case a couple of years ago when they banned it too.
So, I’m very much looking forward to January 1. May Cataluña be the first of the bull fighting dominoes to fall in Spain
And if you feel particularly opposed to what I’ve said, I’m more than happy to have a fight with you. Only, unlike with the bulls, it’ll be a fair fight. I’ll get in the ring with you all by myself.
Happy New Year!
I agree with you, the comparison you make shows perfectly the unequal fights between bulls and bullfighters. I've talked with people who think it's a tradition and it mustn't be forbidden because it belongs to the history of our country. They also claim that the animal has the opportunity of defending himself from the bullfighter, but it's obviously a poor excuse to defend this "sport". I hope bullfighting will be illegal in the rest of Spain in some years from now, because if it's not, I'll ashamed of living in a country whose tradition includes the animal cruelty.
ReplyDeleteAfter I have read it, I reflected a lot about my opinion of banning the bull fighting, but I continue thinking that this traditional sport, which has defined many aspects of the culture of Spain, shouldn’t be banned. I know that it can be a torture for bulls but when people torture many animals that we eat like chickens, pigs, etc, anyone say nothing because that torture gives you food for eating. I think that many people are so hipocrital because they don’t respect the animal’s torture but only if it doesn’t give them benefits. People who don’t like bull fighting should respect our pleasures.
ReplyDeleteI don't like bull fighting, when I was a child and I had to see a "corrida" I used to cried because it made me feel sad. Now I understand both points of view. I still think is cruel but bull are bred for this, they exist because of bull fighting and sometimes, when they demonstrate they are brave and strong, they are forgiven. They have the chance to fight for their lifes which I think is better than just wait for your death in a slaughterhouse, smelling the blood of your fellows.
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