P
|
ost-Holiday
doldrums have arrived at my farm. I
can’t say the horses are sad that the
lighted, animated deer are gone from the gardens. It’s always a kick to watch the equines
watching the fake deer on the first night they notice the change, but even that
gets old after a couple of days. So I,
for one, am ready to move on into Political Silly Season.
Zip for Barn President! |
If
you think politics and horses are strange barn-fellows, you are only scratching
the tip of the manure pile. The current
uproar over the restoration of funding for slaughterhouse inspectors is one of the biggest I’ve
seen since…well, since the removal of funding for slaughterhouse
inspectors. There are petitions galore
online and elsewhere touching on that topic from both sides and addressing
myriad others that are more local in nature.
I’m not going to list them all.
Sorry if that disappoints anyone. I'm taking the stand that "politics" has deeper meaning than just what's zipping around our heads under the guise of "reality". That's where I want to go today.
This
morning I posted on Facebook a video of our esteemed New Jersey Governor Chris
Christie making a fool of himself and all Jerseyans at the Iowa Pre-Caucus Slam
Fest. In that news clip he threatened
the State of Iowa with “Jersey-style” repercussions should they fail to support
his chosen candidate. It doesn’t even
matter who that candidate is. What
matters is that Christie is fostering a stereotype that we here in the Garden
State could easily live without.
That
got me thinking about other stereotypes and the damage they do. Since this is a horse-business blog, I’ll
stick with those. These should sound
familiar:
- All horse people are crazy.
- Horse lovers are basically hoarders who will consistently over-extend themselves in ridonculous ways to keep their horses.
- Farmers are uneducated, incoherent, shotgun-toting rednecks who should not have a say in the political arena.
- Emotionality rules when it comes to sorting out the mess that the horse business has created for itself.
- Most farmhands are illegal immigrants and horse people are fostering the illegal immigrant problem.
- Equestrian sports are only for the rich.
I could go
on, but I think everyone reading this can add to the list with more astuteness than
I possess.
Stereotypes
are rarely a good thing. I believe it
would behoove each of us to think carefully about whether or not we as individuals are perpetuating a stereotype that would be
better buried with our first pony’s remains never to be ridden into a lather again.
Do you
scream endlessly about the problem of homeless horses (or other animals, for
that matter) while you step over the homeless guy who sleeps in front of your
bank? Do you have more horses than you
can really care for but ample excuses for why this situation is necessary? Have you ever
talked a friend into taking ownership of a horse you knew s/he wasn’t capable
of maintaining? Have you bothered to
educate yourself on the truth about the racing industry (or any other dark
alleys in our business)? Do you make
some effort to be involved in local politics in realms that don’t directly
affect agribusiness and the horse world?
When was the last time you caught yourself speaking loudly (that always
helps) or in Spanglish to your neighbor’s barn hand? Have you “signed” and forwarded
more than two online petitions in the past month without checking the details or considering the repercussions?
On that last, about horses and money going hand-in-hand, well, that's a little hard to argue against. Either that's just a statement of fact, or perhaps some stereotypes really do serve a purpose as more and more horse owners find themselves over their heads in debt in an effort to prove the belief wrong.
This morning
I’m smarting over the whole “Jersey-style” thing. I can’t
handle another stereotype that I need to fight. To be a Jerseyan is trouble enough. To be
Jersey horseman with all the nonsense that’s become attached to both designations is
more than I want to deal with before my morning coffee.
So I’m
asking that all of us horsemen think twice about the kind of example we’re
setting. Christie makes New Jersey sound like a haven for the brow-ridge boys. What are you making Horseman sound like? If you can do better, I hope
you will. Keep your horses, but keep
them properly and responsibly without putting an untenable financial burden on yourself and
your family. Reach out and mentor
newcomers who might be strong of heart but weak of mind when it comes to the
business of horses. Work within the
system for the changes you want to see.
Make the title “Horseman” mean something that dispels all of the
stereotypical BS we’ve come to hate.
It’s up to
each of us to husband our own space on the planet. Do so with true Horseman's flair and an eye to the future. It sure can't hurt.
2 comments:
There are many undesirable aspects of being from New Jersey, especially when talking to one from another State. Yet, keep your faith in it and all will come to fruition.
My most favoritest people in the whole world live in New Jersey and New York--between the two, a little piece of heaven.
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