A few years ago I was listening to a public broadcasting radio
station’s call-in program when a male caller made an interesting
comment. He mentioned how he had assumed that the success of the
“women’s lib” movement would result in a kinder, gentler society –
that the influence of women would bring about positive changes.
Instead, women had embraced the “opposition’s” ways. So true! I
couldn’t agree more.
Then in 2004, I saw an advertisement that glorified women in rodeos,
as “a rare breed…competing in calf roping, bull riding and barrel
racing” who have “a passion to carry on an Old West cowgirl tradition.”
So, I wrote a letter stating our opinion to the editor of the
newspaper:
“…rodeos are just another form of animal abuse and exploitation. We
believe the “passion” these women feel for this “tradition” is simply
an addiction to violence.”
“Barbarism clothed in nostalgia and words like “tradition” is still
barbarism. Let’s stop trying to hide the truth.”
“Rightly does Proverbs 12:10 state:
‘A righteous man [woman] has regard for the life of his beast,
But the compassion of the wicked is cruel.’ ”
“In closing, David Starr Jordan, M.D. said, “Be a life long or
short, its completeness depends on what it was lived for.” Is living
for the harassment of God’s creatures a complete life?”
This appears to be the familiar “oppressed becoming oppressor”
syndrome. We have seen this many times before. An example that we heard
so much about not too many years ago is the un-Christ-like “liberation
theology” concerning Central and South America. “Liberation” by violence
simply breeds more violence.
On the other hand, Gandhi’s liberation of India, accomplished by
using nonviolence, was more Christ-like even though Gandhi was not a Christian. Incidentally, Gandhi is quoted as having said
something to the effect of: “Were it not for the Christians, I might
have become one.”
For my Letter to the Editor, Re: Women in Rodeos see:
http://all-creatures.org/letters/dailymail-20040514.html
