Letters to the Editor
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Mary Ann Joseph
I'm defending the "horse gambling industry"? Huh. Who knew? I do support the right of every horse to gamble, but that's about it.
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cognative dissonance indeed
It's funny how no one at all, except one poster, mentioned the Rolex 3 day last month. Two horses were put down during the cross country, but since it wasn't on TV that seems to have been ok. And one of the riders is still in the ICU. Maybe people don't understand eventing, but since they saw the Black Stallion they know all about racing. Would it make people feel better to know that there have been a string of human fatalities in eventing lately, not just horses?
Yes, some things in the horse industry need to change, but making blanket statements about something that not a lot of people know very well isn't helpful. And here's the thing-- how many people who are up in arms over the cruel spectacle of horse racing ate a steak or a pork chop lately?
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To be honest
I swing by this site when I can. I don't have a whole lot of time but I do like the articles and for the most part, the comments by Salon readers. I feel no need to try and explain my point of view, or the validity of my argument, to people who sit behind an opening in the wall only to pop their gun of sarcasm and belittling blather over the side and start shooting. It serves no purpose. If you want me to explain my point, I will gladly do so, but I don't respond well to barbs and chiding. I deal with enough of that in real life.
My point in regards to PETA is that it is an organization that has done an abundance of good - from getting users of gestation crates that are so small that the sow cannot turn or groom, to the reduction of usage in battery cages to going out and providing dog houses to "pets" chained in a backyard with little to no cover or comfort. Do I agree with activists throwing paint on furs? No. Do I agree with all of their tactics? No. But I back them. Because, regardless of the name of the organization (which comes complete with a full set of heavily laden baggage), there is an army of people at PETA who give their heart and soul to the cause of animal rights. They see the worst of the worst and the continue day in day out. Just like Americans. I don't honestly believe that over half this country backs the decisions of the decision makers but my point in comparing the PETA's reputation and people to the America's reputation and people may have not have been clear. I apologize. I was trying to point out that there are thousands upon thousands of decent, hardworking, dedicated citizens that do not deserve the negative labels that are being affixed to Americans by those outside our country based on our policies . Do not paint all Americans with the bush brush and please do not categorize all those people involved with PETA by the fringe activists.
And just for the record - I was saying that PETA does say milk is bad for you, as stated by Lynx, and I gave her one of the many reasons why (pus from infected udders). That morphed into "Yes, and grass is only meant for goats, not cows. How inane to think only one kind of creature can gain nutrition from a single type of food." Changing the argument from why milk is bad for you to the nutritional gain of a single food type.
I see no point in pursing an argument with someone that is changing the origin premise.
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Eight Belle
It's nice (I guess) that Mr. McClelland has "learned to accept injuries as a consequence of a sport." Too bad that in horse racing the horses have not learned that. Unlike other athletes, those horses lack the opportunity to make that choice. Your acceptance of injuries -- or death -- of horses is a bit like Gelrge Bush's acceptance of the deaths of our soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is meaningless and a bit arrogant. Worse yet, it completely misses the point.
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Eight Belles v Barbaro
As Allie and others have pointed out, Eight Belles broke both her front legs. I don't think there's a sling or harness or crane designed that will let an animal that large rest its weight solely on its hind legs. Horses can not lied own for long periods of time. They just can't. Their circulation is impeded (having weight on their feet is what helps return the blood from the feet to the heart) and their ribcage can't handle the sustained pressure: they suffocate.
In addition, Eight Belles had a fracture that broke the skin, and, since she was lying on and trying to rise from a turned-up dirt track, the would was contaminated. Not only was she in pain, unable to be transported into any kind of horse ambulance, but she was doomed to die from infection.
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I'm so sorry Allie
I meant to say "if she was a NORMAL horse she would have enjoyed being outside, where horses live, but since she was bred to be a commodity of the racing industry, rather than a normal horse..."
Yeah, how mushy-thinking and sentimental for me not to remember all the human effort that went into Eight Belles' warped breeding. How foolish of me to think that animals might enjoy being outside. And how ridiculous of me not have stated my opinions according to your standards. You are correct that if I don't participate in keeping horses I have no right to an opinion when something horrible happens to a horse. And thanks for pointing out that horses are not people, your condescension is so enlightening, not to mention being a fine argument for the superior sensibility of humans...
By your logic, people who never kept slaves had no right to be abolitionists. How mushy and sentimental of me to see cruelty and be appalled by it. All of which is pretty funny as "mushy and sentimental" are most definitely NOT terms people who know me would use to describe me, which is why I'm holding myself in check at the discovery that you believe you have the right to dictate the terms of the debate.
Plus I'd much rather have some food and be out in the sunshine, like any reasonable living creature.