Country Article / Postcards
Death in the Afternoon
Date: 09/10/2003Open reply to the animal activists, tofu eaters, weirdy beardies and other outraged readers,
I'm "tactless...offensive...sadistic...insensitive." I flippantly mock people who pay good money to see a bullfight and then have no stomach to watch it.
Yes, yes, yes. Although I'd argue the "sadist" tag, I'm guilty as charged otherwise.
I guessed my recent Los Toros postcard about the Madrid bullfight would open the floodgates, and I wasn't disappointed. While I've received fan-mail, a goodly share of abusive e-mails have been passed on, too.
Like it or not, bullfights are part of the Spanish fabric. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's the national sport (that's soccer), but thousands of Spaniards attend corridas. Some IL readers may disagree with bullfighting, but does that mean we should pretend it doesn't exist? Or not bother providing information about times, ticket prices, or good bars for bullfighting aficionados?
Many people, me included, enjoy the color and spectacle of "death in the afternoon." But if you're horrified by the thought of what takes place in the arena...don't go.
Each IL writer has his own tastes, own preferences. We bring these to our writing. I freely admit to having no mawkish sentimentality about animals. I'll always come down on the side of the hunting, shooting, fishing (and bullfighting) brigade. I've never bought into the Disney myth. Living in a farming area, I know the creatures around me are destined for the dinner table, not the silver screen.
As has been stated before, IL isn't in the business of producing saccharine-coated reports or puff pieces. I don't do apologies either--not unless they're justified. (And I definitely don't do "sensitive.")
Steenie Harvey
Roving Euro-editor, International Living
P.S. Do you have thick enough skin to become an IL writer? Are you ready to be taken to task about your reports on anything from Costa del Sol architecture to the toilets in the Athens bus station (as I have been)? If so, find out more here .
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