CALL IT WHAT IT IS

Unfortunately, you got the pronunciation of “rodéo” all wrong; it’s “tor·ture [tawr-cher],” [“Buckle Up,” July 17-23]. Let’s step into the 21st century, and stop finding the entertainment value in cruelty to animals.

INHUMANE, INC.

It’s that time of year again, when thousands flock to Salinas to torture and terrify animals for “entertainment’s” sake. Don’t we have anything better to do than abuse creatures that we have power over? We already get milk and meat from these animals. Do we have to cause them bodily pain?

What distinguishes the rodeo from the dog and cock fighting that we are so disgusted by, other than the fact that humans are directly involved in the fray? Have we not made intellectual progress since the days of battling animals in the Roman coliseum? Have our consciousnesses not evolved?

Would you want your pet subject to the kind of treatment regularly showcased at the rodeo? To be shocked with electric prods, choked with ropes, or savagely thrown to the ground and tied up? Or maybe you’d have Spot subject to a broken tail, neck, or back, or maybe ripped ears and unconsciousness for your entertainment? Calves, bulls, and horses are just as conscious of and susceptible to pain and violence as your golden retriever. They are also as capable of love and affection.

It absolutely horrifies me that our supposedly “civilized society” continues to get its kicks this way.

YOU DON’T KNOW ME

I really enjoyed Ryan Masters article “Slam Dunked: After 10 years, Thompson gives up poetry classic’s reins” [The Local Spin, July 10-16]. I thought it was a very nice tribute to Garland Thompson and all the hard work he has done over the last 10 years. However, I did find some of the piece to be a bit off the mark. First of all, the author and I have never met much less spoken to each other, which makes me wonder how he can assess whether or not I have a good chance of keeping this thing alive or if I have the “kind of passion and commitment” it takes. Secondly, I am not a poet; I am a poetry lover and have a passion for giving poets the opportunity to perform. It is this passion that drove me to take over the event. I would rather the event continue to happen then to not have it happen at all, simply because the organizer has decided to step down. I do not disagree with the notion that Garland Thompson made this event what it is; however, for someone to think that an event shouldn’t happen just because a certain person is not involved in it, is a sad thing to me. It seems to me the author feels that just because producing poetry events is a non-profitable, thankless job we should not continue to do them. I respectfully disagree with the author. Not only do I have the passion and the commitment to do it, but the show must go on.