Filed under: Black Beauty
Holding Out for a Hero
There are several things that come to mind when I think of the word “gentleman.” My mom always told me it’s someone that will treat me like a princess. In the modern sense, I think of a gentleman as someone who opens the door, offers their help, and is well-mannered. In retrospect, I think of a gentleman wearing the tailed coat and top hat who is from a good family.
Jerry teaches his daughter, Dolly, that a gentleman “has got time and thought for the comfort of an old cabman and a little girl.”[2] For Jerry’s family, a gentleman is someone who is considerate towards people lower class than themselves. Black Beauty notices the man’s consideration when he patted him, saying, “but ninety-nine out of a hundred would as soon think of patting the steam engine that drew the train.”[3]
But the man raises the bar for the idea of a gentleman. Compassion and sympathy are not enough. “’If we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt.’”[4] The gentleman becomes a hero by taking an extra step to help those he sees are in pain or need. He does everything in his power to ensure the safety and quality of life for others.
“’Do you know why the world is as bad as it is?’
“‘No,’ said the other.
“’Then I’ll tell you. It is because people think only about their own business, and won’t trouble themselves to stand up for the oppressed, nor bring the wrong-doer to light.’”[6]
But is being a hero so difficult? Do we need super powers in order to help the weak?
So, how do we become heroes? Well, Students Against Cruelty to Animals is protesting the Austin Rodeo this Saturday from 5-7. If you want more information about animal abuse at rodeos, any of us who saw Earthlings can tell you about it. Other issues SACA actively protests are foie gras and the KFC distributors. If you’d like to get involved, you can contact the organization at utsaca@gmail.com.
Filed under: Black Beauty
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Free-Lucky
“Training and Retaliation”
1:40-7:15[1]
The elephant from Earthlings reminds me of Ginger’s story. They are both mistreated and retaliate. The difference is that Ginger is saved. Every time she retaliates, she is given another chance with a different master. At last, she finds someone that cares for her. Unlike Ginger, the elephant does not find refuge. Instead, he is killed when he retaliates. When the elephant was shot down in the film, that’s where I broke down crying. If Ginger had not been rescued by the master, John, and James, she would have retaliated like the elephants from the circus and been killed for misconduct.
This is a photo of an elephant I saw at the San Antonio Zoo in January 2008. We stood there for nearly twenty minutes watching the elephant go back and forth, raising his right hoof, and picking up the stick with his trunk. Parents told their children he was a dancing elephant, and they laughed and took photos of him. I knew that he was probably an old circus elephant, but I didn’t realize the abuse he went through. No wonder, even when he was safe, he continued his circus routine. The fear of punishment controlled all of his actions.
This is why I’m surprised Ginger was able to bounce back from her abuse so easily and quickly. “The blood from my tongue coloured the froth that kept flying from my lips, as I chafed and fretted at the bits and rein.”[3] She tells Black Beauty that her master had no care for her. None of her masters did until she arrived to Birtwick Park. How could years of abuse not mentally damage Ginger as it did to the elephants? Although James and John were kind to her, was that enough to reverse the effects? It seems highly unlikely that a kind word would be able to mend years of neglect. People go through years of therapy to over come equally scarring cruelty.
Many of these training abuses are hidden. The end justifies the means, right? But as James’ teacher says, “cruelty was the devil’s own trade mark, and if we saw any one who took pleasure in cruelty, we might know who he belonged to, for the devil was a murderer from the beginning, and a tormentor to the end.”[4] So if more people knew of the exploitation of animals, would they want to stop it? Or would they continue because it’s “fashionable?”
