Houston Rodeo Demonstration

It is that time of year again, no not tax season (I always wait till the last day to do mine), but here in Houston it is Rodeo time again. Growing up here, rodeo was the time of year that it was acceptable to wear your boots, super-tight jeans, and western button down shirts to school (no... we don't wear that all the time here), you were forced to square dance with the ickiest boy in school, and all your friends were planning which rodeo show they attended. The only attraction for me at the Rodeo was the big name singers, and since I'm not really a country music fan, that wasn't much of an attraction. I don't think I ever came early enough to see the broncing bucs, calf roping, or horse races for the few rodeos I did attend.

Last Sunday, I participated in my first demonstration against the rodeo. Actually, it was my first demonstration ever. I must say, I went it to it with a bit of anxiety. In talking to others who had attended the demonstrations in previous years, it seemed like there could be some tense situations. This tends to happen when rodeo, testosterone, and alcohol are in the mix. Luckily, I chose to attend the evening of the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus concert, so the majority of attendees were families with young children, tweens, and teens. We held up our anti-rodeo posters while standing on the public sidewalk. The cops directing traffic at the intersection appeared to have no problem with us being there (which I've heard isn't always the case either). The poster I held I thought was very powerful "Rodeos are Legalized Animal Abuse". Quite a few people took the time to read all the posters, some took some of the anti-rodeo literature, and we even spoke to a few of them the abuse that rodeo animals endure. I think the part of the demonstration that really touched my heart though, was seeing all of the children (maybe from 8-16) who would read the signs and you could tell it registered to them that this was wrong. Those parents likely had to do some explaining after the rodeo. Hopefully many will never return.

I won't go on about the reasons of why rodeos are so cruel, since I'm sure many of you already know. I will give you a link to this video that I thought was extremely powerful, I actually couldn't bear to watch the whole thing. The calf roping was just too horrific.

To end on a bit of a happier note, I brought some cookies for the other demonstrators, the mochadamia bars from Damn Tasty Vegan. Next time I think I would add more instant coffee mix, to bring out the mocha flavor a bit more. I loved the combination of macadamia nuts and chocolate chips though (so did the other volunteers) And finally, just a question for everyone. Have you ever attended an animal rights demonstration? Did you enjoy it? I think we all have our own forms of activism (all of are blogs and vegan food are definitely activism!), and depending on our personalities and strengths, we are comfortable with different methods. What is your favorite form of activism?