Bull Fighting: Views from an American Outsider by Zack Abu-shanab

On September 25^th I attended the Bullfight in Seville. I personally do not agree with the practice, but I felt it necessary to participate to understand the culture. After 3 hours, 6 dead bulls, and a lot of images that were hard to stomach, I found myself disgusted and confused. How could these people cheer as these animals were slaughtered for a sport? How could a culture support this type of practice? It made no sense, yet I looked towards America and made connections to Dog Fighting. It is not man vs dog like the bull fighting is, but it is a type of sport that puts two beings against together to the death. In my opinion it is horrible, yet in the eyes of some people it’s a great sport. Another thing that I acknowledged was that not everyone enjoyed the sport in itself. People seemed to be split in their reviews. My homestay, for example, dislikes the sport and was horrified when I mentioned that I was going to the event. Others, predominately the older generations, seemed to like it and even cheered the loudest during the event. In the future I see this type of practice dying or maybe adapting in a way that the bull doesn’t die. I recognized the cultural difference, thus the reason why I can’t be too critical of it.