Animal cruelty at forefront of several campus events

Amen.

Rodeos, circuses, and the like are crude, low-class entertainment outlets that have outlived whatever usefulness they ever had. It is high time we close the door on these arcane and idiotic activities.

I have been a bull rider since I was 21 and its because of people like this that I keep a large can of pepper spray in my rigging bag. Since this is my area of expertise, I would like to “call out” this student who is obviously so uneducated that he had to get his talking points straight from PETA rather than form a rational thought using his own sentences (most of this letter to the editor was lifted directly from the PETA website).

I would encourage everyone to check out the website of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association which makes its rules on animal treatment and welfare public knowledge for all to see. Use of electric prods is permitted only when necessary for the safety reasons (e.g. to prevent an animal from stalling at the gate, which can cause serious injuries to the animal and the rider). Spurs must be inspected by the judges and the use of spurs designed to cut animals is strictly prohibited. Hefty fines, along with disqualification, are among the penalties imposed on riders who use spurs that cut rodeo animals. Flank straps, incorrectly referred to as bucking straps, are also regulated. They are not, as many PETA loons improperly state, placed around an animals genitals and may not contain chemicals or any foreign objects designed to cause pain. Straps are removed immediately after the completion of a ride. Finally, ropes for the timed events must be of the “breakaway” variety to avoid injury to livestock.

My guess is that the writer of this letter doesn’t know the first thing about rodeo. He has probably never read anything about rodeo or witnessed a real rodeo.

Nice work Man am I tired. That was funny.

I agree with Juan. Circuses are nothing but low-class, redneck entertainment for people still living in the Roman era. It is barbaric and we could find such better ways to observe these great animals. You want to see them, try a safari instead of watching elephants walk in circles, tigers jump through hoops and men in spandex walking the tight-rope.

Jason: I think you miss the point, which is that there is no useful purpose served by bullriding and other rodeo sports. It exists solely for human amusement at the expense of the animal being ridden about. Nobody asks whether the bull wants you to ride him, you just go on about it because it happens to suit you. This seems just a tad bit inconsiderate, no?

The fact that you can do something does not necessarily mean that you should.

Maybe the PETA sympathizers should do some research and look to see that a PETA rep blew up a research lab in the early 90’s on campus. That was a real human thing to do wasn’t it? It destroyed years of research.

Living in Texas and close to ranches and the rodeo I see the care that ranchers take to protect the animals. It is without question that these animals are not abused.

I agree with Jason in the fact that the comments here are from ignorant people who need to become educated on the subject before cut and pasting comments from PETA.

“the animals have no choice and are not willing participants”
Of course not. If they could make choices they would be humans. I am sorry animals don’t share the same rights as we do.

Now I feel the need to eat alot of meat!

“no useful purpose served by bullriding and other rodeo sports.”

so what. i will leave you alone if you leave me alone.

The problem with this author’s argument is that if we get all excited about irrelevant things like rodeos and circuses, why not get all excited about the fact that MSU is murdering thousands of cows, chickens and pigs every year to feed students in the dorms? It seems to me like killing animals so that MSU students can eat them is worse than riding a bull or watching an elephant prance around the Breslin Center. I’m sure the PETA loons want MSU to ban meat but the reality is that such an argument won’t sway most people, arguing against rodeos can sway the foolhardy. In reality though, there’s no difference between chicken fingers at the dorm and a bull riding show.

Mitch Goldsmith: I would be more afraid of white supremacist individuals like yourself who have a history of violence, illegal possession of a firearm, hording white supremacist propaganda and slurring and inciting minority students.

Wow man, just say what you really feel. Wow.

White supremacy, Mitch? Has Mr. Van Dyke made ANY racial comments here whatsoever?

Reply to Mitch is an Idiot!:

You, my friend, need a history lesson. Use the power of Google to read up on our old friend Jason Van Dyke. In particular, read his bigot rag the “Spartan Spectator” or any of his columns from when he was a SN employee.

Mitch,
The MSU arsonist is a member of ALF. ALF and PETA are obviously not the same, but they have many close ties.

Here is an excerpt from an article on the American Physiological Society’s website regarding an effort by the National Animal Interest Alliance to have PETA’s tax-exempt status revoked because of it’s support of illegal activities:
“In 1995 Coronado was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in a 1992 arson attack that caused $1 million in damage to a Michigan State University fur research lab. The arson was part of a series of attacks in an ALF campaign known as “Operation Bite Back.” The MSU arson is one instance suggestive of a connection between PETA and illegal ALF activities. According to the government’s sentencing memorandum for Coronado, PETA made the public announcement about the MSU attack and said that it was “acting as a media conduit for the ALF.”
...
On its website NAIA noted that while Coronado was a fugitive sought in connection with the MSU arson, PETA gave his father a $25,000 loan that has apparently never been repaid. After Coronado was apprehended, PETA donated $45,000 to the Rodney Coronado Support Fund. In a February 2003 interview with ABC’s John Stossell, 2003, PETA President Ingrid Newkirk called Coronado “a fine young man” and defended the use of its tax-exempt funds to assist him.”

Alright, alright….I shall settle this argument once and for all.
MSU- Cancel the circus, anyone who would enjoy such activities has no place in an institution of higher learning, rather they should be fixing my car, or perhaps having relations with their cousin.
Red-Necks who still want the circus- I propose that Jerry Springer be shown across campus so that you man keep in touch with your family to avoid use of those expensive stamps.

HAIL TO THE VICTORS! GO BLUE! We don’t have shit like this going on at a real University!

Mr. Goldsmith’s use of past events which are completely irrelevant to this conversation is fine with me as it simply demonstrates the weakness of his arguments. But I would like to address his points nonetheless:

1. Getting his information from PETA and the Humane Society is like me citing statistics on gun violence from the NRA. Even though I support the NRA and he supports PETA and the Humane Society – its tainted goods produced by partisans. Perhaps he could cite some real evidence to support his claims that these animals are normally gentle, that the equipment used in rodeo causes severe internal and external injuries, that the feats they perform are painful, or even that the behavior of these animals is erratic.

2. As for the normally gentle argument, I can refute that due to nearly seven years of experience around these animals. While all animals have a “personality”, these are large and dangerous animals. Far more people are injured in rodeo than animals. Most injuries in rodeo I have found actually occur behind the scenes and not in the arena. And besides – lets be realistic here – anything as large as a bull is potentially dangerous.

3. If the equipment used in rodeo caused severe internal and external injuries, how does Mr. Goldsmith account for the fact that most of these animals are bucked once every two weeks – and usually more often than that. If the animal were seriously injured, how it would be able to walk – let alone buck?

4. If the animal was in pain, why would it perform as it does? The act of bucking and kicking is an athletic act. The animal is using its strength and athletic ability to try to get the rider off its back. Mr. Goldsmith expects us to believe that bulls and horses are different from nearly any animal. Every animal I am aware of moves slowly and tends to lie down and not move when in pain. Humans tend to stay in bed and immobile when sick or injured. Does Mr. Goldsmith expect me to believe that bulls and horses are somehow special and that they will buck, kick, twist, and run when they are sick or injured.

5. Watch the bull riding event carefully. Watch the motion of the bull when the rider is on his back compared to his motion when the rider is off of his back. Does the bull still jump, kick, and spin when the rider is off? And look at the flank strap. You’ll notice it’s still on. How can this be if flank straps truly cause pain and torment?

6. How is the behavior of a bucking bull erratic? You will notice from video tape footage that most bulls in the bull riding event do similar things. Some will spin in one direction quickly. Others will spin in one direction and then switch directions. Some will just buck and jump really high. Yet most of these animals do the same thing every time. If the behavior was so erratic, how would one account for this? Also, look at the scoring. 50 of those points in a bull riding score are for the bull’s performance. How could an animal, which according to Mr. Goldsmith must have been tormented and injured countless times over the years, still perform the same feats consistently over such an extended period of time?

Mr. Goldsmith asks how I can “deny” his hypothesis on a sport I have participated in for the past seven years. But he still has yet to state whether he has actually been to a rodeo and whether he is familiar with animal welfare standards in pro rodeo. He has never seen an animal injured in a rodeo – especially from the tools he cites as providing the ‘torment’ in rodeo. He conveniently ignores the fact that prods are in widespread use by large animal veterinarians, that the spurs are not designed to cut or cause harm (they are specifically designed not to), and that flank straps do not and can not cause injury to a horse or bull. His gets buried even deeper in the sand when he realized the kind of monetary investment that a bucking bull truly is and that, regardless of what he things about cowboys and cattlemen, both have strong financial incentives to make sure the livestock remains in top shape.

And unless plans on sabotaging a rodeo (as some of his fellow PETA/ALF buddies have done in the past), he has no need to worry about getting maced anyway. Even if he was, its nothing that a little bit of work and soap won’t take care of….

Jason- dude, come on… you seriously contend that animals are not physically injured in rodeos and circuses. Such a statement is as patently incorrect as it is idiotic. But I would expect nothing less from a proud YAF member and bigot. Your skewed ideas have no place amongst civilized men, rather they should be reserved for your bigot friends in YAF. You demonstrate a shocking lack of knowledge- even more so than the average Spartan- concerning any basic understanding of physiology and psychology with all of your above tirade. Next you will be telling me of your belief that the world is flat, or is orbited by the sun, and so on…

The simple fact is that animal shows, rodeos in particular, appeal to the lowest rung on human society. Masochists and trash who enjoy watching animal abuse should not be the audience MSU reaches to for community involvement. You are stupid. That comment may sound mean, and in fact, that is my intent, but on a humorous note, it is true. Generally speaking anyone who would enjoy watching sentient beings be hurt is not intelligent. More objectively, I believe science would show that people who patron rodeos inhabit the lowest echelons of intelligence- somewhere between brain dead and republican.

So dude, wipe the saliva that is collecting on the corner of your mouth, work on your motor skills, and get your shit together.

Alright- a rodeo is indefensible. Not to mention, and possibly more importantly, by defending a rodeo you announce to the world that you are white trash…probably the result of inbreeding, and are all together dumb…literally.

To close, it would not be advised to threaten well intentioned people, as you have done ever so tacit and tactfully in your last post. I can see how that may fly if you were a well mannered guy, but after a few cross burning you might start to develop a reputation.

GO BLUE!

Goldsmith: I was not “citing” the precise quotes of the PRCA – I was simply stating that guidelines and oversight on treatment of animals exist in the sport. It was in response to your argument that such oversight is was essentially non-existent. At the very least, you have admitted that you have never attended a rodeo which, although not an excuse for your ignorance, surely provides some explanation.

ZBomb: There is so much I could say here, but really, your post speaks for itself. I blame it on that thick foggy blend of self-righteousness and second hand marijuana smoke which perpetually hovers right over Ann Arbor and never really goes anywhere (much like the careers of typical “ethnic studies” graduates from U of M.)

Anyone with a high school reading level can clearly tell that ZBomb, our resident physiologist and psychologist from Ann Arbor, clearly has some serious issues with those whose ideas, opinions, and choices in entertainment fail to conform with his own standards of decency. I wonder how tolerant and multicultural someone like him would be if he visited a state like, say, Oklahoma or Wyoming. Then again, in his drug-induced fantasy world, those probably aren’t even real states. After all, science probably shows him that those states are inhabited by people of “the lowest eschelons of intelligence.” So much for diversity and all of its gilded glory.

For everyone still reading, I can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for Goldsmith and ZBomb who in all of their rantings claim that I am the bigot, the fascist, or whatever. They can keep going with the name calling, of course. I’ve heard them all. They won’t be the first and they certainly won’t be the last. My question is simple: Which side is acting the most like any of you would expect a fascist to act on this issue? Is it “fascist” or “bigoted” to hold the belief that those who want to participate in rodeo – either as fans or contestants – should be permitted to do so? Or does today’s brown shirt go to those who would impose arbitrary bans on forms of entertainment based upon what they read on the PETA website.

I think today’s “Sieg Heil” goes to Goldsmith and ZBomb – the self-proclaimed censors of entertainment in the Breslin Center.

Wonderful letter!
Animal abuse is NOT entertainment, plain and simple!

How ironic Jason Van Dyke turns to Nazi imagery to adress both Mitch Goldsmith and Zbomb. I guess we can now add “Sieg Heil” to the other slurs he enjoys saying to MSU minorities (like “work” and “soap” which he yelled at latino students last year).

Still keeping it classy van dyke.

With pleasure. And about the work and soap comment. What was most entertaining about that particular jab was that people were so offended by it. MEXA managed to get a pretty diverse group of people to put down their Noam Chomsky books to start a small scale riot. Yet everyone assumed the quotation applied only to Hispanics. Look at all the different types of people who were protesting that event. I could see every filthy savage in the room from where I was standing and my comment was directly toward the group as a whole – not toward any one racial demographic. It was directed toward the entire group of savage left-wing criminal filth. So it wasn’t Hispanics. I hold leftists of all races, colors, and creeds in absolute contempt.

Glad to hear it, Jon. All the best to you in your rodeo career and kudos for standing up to the animal rights nutjobs. Unfortunately, getting some of the people in this forum to use some basic common sense is a lot like trying to get a chute fighter to stand perfect for that second or two before you nod: its not likely to happen, so you just have to go with it keeping that in mind.

Hey knena, and whoever else Thinks taht this is abuse to animals, Go back to the city and stay there, people get sick of your stupid remarks, its not gonna change anything, Rodeo is here to stay, Its an american sport! for the members of peta, better not drive cars with “rubber” tires. Or weare make up. why? animal by-products, Look it up, good luck with no make up, half of you people out there depend on it to make yourselfs look half way decent!!!