Tis the season to be gory

The seasons are changing. Family day trips are coming. It’s time to put on your Sunday best because it’s bull killing time. Well it’s actually called bullfighting but I don’t consider it much of a fight. This opens up a can of worms about whether or not bull fighting should be banned. This is the debate I found myself in last week and it’s one which left me lost for words. I mean what do you do when confronted with nonsense arguments? Nonsense argument numero uno goes like this; if there were no bullfighting in Spain there would be no bulls in Spain because these types of bulls are specifically bred for bullfighting. Now maybe it’s just me but I don’t see how that is an argument in favour of bullfighting. Are we therefore doing the bulls a favour? Ok, we slaughter them in public for entertainment but hey, would they rather not exist at all? I suppose no one has asked them yet. Anyway, that brings me onto nonsense argument numero dos; before the bulls are killed, they live a wonderful life in big open fields with all the food and sex they can manage. Again, being stabbed through the head in public is just the price they pay for the playboy lifestyle they enjoy beforehand. I’m no expert but I’m not sure the bulls are aware of how lucky they are. I wonder if they are capable of weighing such matters up in their heads and coming to a conclusion and whether they would come to the conclusion that it’s worth it in the end. The strange thing about nonsense arguments are that although you know they are nonsense, it’s hard to respond to them in a clear way. Perhaps politicians should start using them. Corruption could be justified by arguing that it provides stories for journalists and work for lawyers. Anyway, to return to the topic, there are other arguments put forward to support bullfighting. One is that it is an art form. Well there are people who think a black dot on a piece of white paper is an art form. I personally see nothing artistic about a man in golden tights and a glittery jacket stabbing a disorientated half dead bull in order to prove the size of his cojones. Perhaps the most convincing argument is the economic one, that it provides people with a livelihood. So would legalising heroin but I don’t think it’s a good idea. So by now you have probably worked out my opinion on bullfighting. I’m against it. Were bullfighting practised in Africa or the Arab world it would be deemed an uncivilised, barbaric activity but because it happens here in Europe, it’s a traditional art form. Now I realise I’m talking about something many Spanish people feel is part of their culture and perhaps one should just keep quiet about such sensitive issues but there are situations when I think you have the right to voice your opinion and say what you think. If I ever move to Japan I’ll write one about whaling and if I ever move to Saudi Arabia I’ll write one about the stoning of adulterers.