On Sunday in Mexico City, bullfighter Cristian Hernández left the ring in the middle of a fight. After he was arrested and charged a fine for breach of contract, he announced his retirement from bullfighting, saying, “I didn’t have the ability, I didn’t have the balls, this is not my thing.” Well, we don’t think that’s exactly right. I mean, any coward can bully an animal. But it takes courage to walk away despite the jeers of spectators. To send a message to those who deride him, PETA is reimbursing the cost of Hernández’s fine and sending him a “Real Men Are Kind to Animals” certificate that he can wave in his detractors’ faces.
Townspeople may paint Hernández as a coward or imply that he is somehow less of a man for refusing to torment and kill bulls who are physically harmed, driven into an arena with a roaring crowd, run around in dizzying circles, jabbed with knives, and finally stabbed to death at the point of complete exhaustion—but, as we know, bullies are the cowards.
So let’s hope Hernández sees that he can have fans when he doesn’t hurt animals for a living—and to all the “real men” out there who save animals rather than stab them, please join me in giving a big “Olé!”
Written by Jeff Mackey
