Full Reaction to Firefly - Episode 04: Shindig

Hope you don't mind my asking, but do/did you ever use barbed-wire in Spain for cattle? We started using it here in the States because cattle would lean against ordinary wire fences until they fell over... then the cattle got loose (or got into crops). So they started using barbed wire to keep them from doing that. Ranchers hated it because it damages the hide.... yeah not cause it hurts the cow, but reduces its value. Where the cows in your childhood dairy cattle?

Jim Williams

yes they are. The bull doesn't die in the end, for one thing.

Jim Williams

Well, I'm more used to seeing bull-riding here in the States (hey... Oklahoma... we even have a restaurant in town that's a bull-riding arena). Fascinating hearing the facts behind Spanish bull-fighting. I thought the difference between Mexico and Spain was that you did't kill the bull in Spain, but obviously I was wrong. It sounds remarkably cruel, like dog-fighting or chicken-fighting. Also, put that way, it sounds a bit cowardly. I'm glad Catalonia abolished it. (This is only the second time I've seen the word "Catalonia" used... the first being George Orwell's "An Homage to Catalonia"... I love learning about other cultures).

Jim Williams

What a shame :(

Yes, it's years of training where the bull gains confidence with his future assassin. It really hurts my soul. Luckily Catalonia already abolished it, and some other regions as well. But in the south side of Spain the "tradition" is strong :(

Man, I never knew that about bullfighting. I never saw the sense in it myself, but knowing about that "training" just turns my stomach.

crawlie

I do not agree with any of the bull "traditions" in Spain. And yes, they are very tranquil animals, they don't disturb unless highly disturbed. The famous "red provokes them" is a lie. For starters, they use pink and yellow. Second, they are trained to go after it since they were born. But instead of pinching them with swords, they just step aside and touch them with the hand so the animal gets used to it. In other words: they play with the creature, and when the time has come, the poor things keep "playing" without understanding why with every touch they are in pain (they can not see the sword).

Did you say that cattle aren't dangerous? I thought they had bullfighting in Spain? And that other thing, where the bulls run through the streets eliminating the terminally stupid in their path? I found it interesting and amusing that you said each cow knew which house to go to... Took me a minute. I grew up in Iowa (and live in OK...) so I'm used to entire herds belonging to one farmer/rancher, no sharing of grazing land (heck, it could take hours to days to even get to another farmer or rancher's grazing lands). The subtle cultural differences are yet something else delightful about you,

Jim Williams