Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
I’ve never had a Hemingwayesque attraction to bullfighting. Usually one is forbidden from judging the barbarities of other cultures, lest that suggest a hierarchy of civilizations, but we’re in luck: it’s a tradition of Western Culture, so one can slam it as much as one likes.
Hard to feel a great deal of sympathy for these maroons:
PAMPLONA, Spain — One runner was gored and at least three other people injured in a busy running of the bulls at Spain's San Fermin festival, officials said Sunday.
Navarra Hospital doctor Fernando Boneta said one well-known runner was struck by a bull's horn in the right leg and was taken to the hospital in an ambulance.
At least three other people were receiving medical treatment after tripping and falling in the path of six animals from the Miura ranch, renowned for breeding Spain's largest and heaviest fighting bulls.
Being gored in the street by a bull falls squarely in the category of “avoidable.” But I’ll give them this: I doubt anyone who ever got a horn up the fundament or tripped and was trampled by a herd of sangria-infused runners ever sued. It would be hard to convince a jury you were unclear on the concept. But the ticket said the running of the bulls, not the running from the bulls! I demand compensation!
If the event was held in America the bull would be in the back of a pickup truck going five miles an hour, and all the runners would have to wear helmets. The bull would wear a helmet.
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May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
I bet you have been in the very same parking lot where I was chased by a bull when I was a kid. My mom's family lives near Como Park, so every summer included trips to the Minnesota State Fair. One year a bull got loose and came bursting out of the building and into the parking lot at full speed. Let me tell you, I found out the hard way that a bull does not run in a straight path. So, getting out of its way is based on dumb luck or the opportunity to run between parked cars. I got both, along with a lesson in respecting the power of a bull. Growing up in Iowa with all my friends' farms, I guess the law of averages for getting chased by some giant animal caught up with me. Anyone choosing to run in front of a bull has a partial death wish.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Until the sport of bullfighting is universally banned, I say let the bulls have at least one day to themselves.
Jun '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
True fact: When Neanderthal remains are examined forensically they most closely match injuries sustained in a certain American (and American only) profession. Any guesses?
If you said rodeo, you would be correct. Talk about ancient roots! Of course, Neanderthals probably lacked strategy because apparently their well-muscled throat structure made it difficult to articulate. Planning an an attack probably sounded something like, "Look, boys, a wooly rhinoceros, get him!"
There's something about bull fighting that strikes me as just a little bit . . . gay. Maybe it's the costuming. Whereas American rodeo is a sport where real cowboys engage in a wrestling match with livestock weighing sometimes thousands of pounds. Bull riding is a wonderful display of pure American male virility. You have to develop a taste for the sport, true enough, kind of like the taste of a cold Pabst Blue Ribbon on a hot Saturday afternoon.
Of course, I would only express my thoughts on a conservative blog. I don't reckon many people from PETA read ricochet, and we certainly don't to give them any more dumb ideas.
~Paules <OUT>
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Andrea, that happened *again* two years ago at the Fair. A bull got loose, ran madly down the street, and as if to fulfill the cliche he headed for something red. I know, I know, they're supposed to be colorblind - but this was the only obviously RED thing around, and he went at it full speed. Unfortunately for him, it was a fire hydrant.
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
There's something about the Running of the Bulls that I like, despite its idiocy. There's something so wonderfully Latin about it all -- the brave talk, the strutting, the swagger of the participants.
Until the bulls are let loose. And then it's a mad, cowardly scramble to run away. They should call it The Running Away from the Bulls.
But then, our own Joe Escalante is an actual bullfighter. Joe, hello? Get in on this conversation and explain yourself.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
As opposed to what happens in Washington which is the running of the Bulls**t, followed by the running of the running of the incumbents, followed by... well, it gets a bit redundant, doesn't it?
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Uh oh, ~Paules, I think you called Joe a little bit gay.
Jun '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Andrea Ryan
Uh oh, ~Paules, I think you called Joe a little bit gay. · Jul 11 at 12:23pm
Oh, cool, I'll run to the store real quick for a bottle of brown liquor. It's the weekend, so I can break my own rule. Maybe I can bait Rob into it as well? Hear that, Daddy Fatback, I wanna piece of you, dude!
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Considering the damage he caused goring and trampling all those parked cars, I'm morbidly curious how it played out with a fire hydrant. But, you said "unfortunately for him", so I can guess. Now that I think of it I did eat an entire bag of red-dyed pistachios. Those were the days before wet wipes and we just wiped our hands on our clothes.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
You know, ~Paules, Mr. Charm and Mr. Intellectual don't get their own Ricochet accounts. Your Impulsive Dude's going to get the rest of you in trouble.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
I don't know if bullfighting is "gay" but I offer the following observation:
What happens to the bull if he loses? Hamburger.
What happens to the bull if bullfighting is banned? Hamburger.
So, if hamburger is inevitable, why not give the bull a sporting chance? If gets the guy in the silly hat and the cummerbund, more power to him.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Much like Andrea's childhood in Iowa, my childhood in rural Missouri also taught me to respect - nay, fear - the power of a bull. So we steered clear of the bulls but enjoyed a similar diversion - cow tipping. Like the Running of the Bulls, it typically involves unwilling bovine participants and loads of indigenous alcoholic beverages. You also may have to run for your life, except you're usually not running from a cow or bull but from a highly agitated farmer with an old 12 gauge Remington and an itchy trigger finger.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
That was definitely a sport for teen-aged boys. I got yelled at enough for agitating my friend's chickens, I wasn't going to mess with their cows. I didn't have enough strength, mass or stealth to tip them over anyway. I did secretly think it sounded like fun, though. Of course, as an adult, absolutely not...right? ;-)
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Andrea Ryan
That was definitely a sport for teen-aged boys. I got yelled at enough for agitating my friend's chickens, I wasn't going to mess with their cows.
Another sport for teenage boys, Andrea, is New Orleans' running of the bulls. It's a little different, see...
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Ricochet exclusive: Me in the ring at Tijuana.
~Paules' is actually correct. It is a "bit" gay. The goal during a typical pass is to aim your testicles, which are quite discernible in the tight pants you earn the right to wear squarely at the bulls horns.
Once during my training my instructor tried to get through to me that I needed more style during a particular move or "suerte." He actually said, "Joe, do it like that, but put more "fag" in it."
It's macho, but there is that metrosexual undercurrent because of the vanity involved. They risk their life. They want a good photo out of it.
Bulls meant for the ring live a glorious 4 years roaming free with their families and humans are rarely allowed near them their entire lives. The last 20 minutes I admit are unfortunate, but if you would ask these bulls if they would rather be bulls meant for hamburger; to be castrated with no anethsesia, to live in a pen, separated from family, fed chemicals, and live for only a fraction of the 4 year alternative, 100% of them would vote to go to the ring.
Jun '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Thanks for the back up, Joe. We could discuss this at length, but I need to pop over to another thread. Rob needs to understand why dogs are noble, cats are regal, but a llama is just a gay camel. Maybe I'll see you there.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Well, at l,east you are all macho, including Andrea. The last animal I was chased by was an angry swan in Davenport, Iowa. And that bird was as tall as I was.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
It's a rare event that I can freeze my expression and shake my head at the same time. That one qualified. I'm not so sure about teenage boys, though. I think the New Orleans' version requires a bit of ~Paules' brown liquor. Probably a whole lot, in fact.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Really?? This is such a huge aha! moment for me. Usually, information just filters through, but this one is swirling around a bit. Now, it aaaaaall makes sense...it's all about the cojones. So, what do you mean "tight pants you earn the right to wear"? How do you earn it? Why don't you all just cover that part with sparkly red bling? Then you don't have to worry about the posing. I'm absolutely dying of curiosity about how and why you became interested in bull fighting.
May '10
Re: Running of the Bulls ends as you'd expect
Do they hiss like geese? That goose in "Friendly Persuasion" was nothing compared to a mad goose in real life. I can't imagine a swan.