In Memory of Lorenzo, the Doomed but Victorious Gladiator
“Maddened with pain and fearful of the roaring crowd, Lorenzo the tormented, wounded bull managed nonetheless to strike a blow for his species. He killed one of the heartless monsters tormenting him, and I for one celebrate his achievement…”
~ Paul Watson
For the first time in 25 years, a Spanish matador has died in the bullring.
29-year old Victor Barrio was fatally gored in Teruel, Aragon, Spain yesterday by a 1,275 pound bull named Lorenzo.
His shocked wife watched from the crowd of “horrified” fans as the bull’s horn pierced her husband’s lung and severed his aorta.
She wept and lamented that “life is unfair” in response to his death.
As unfair as it may have been for Barrio, life is certainly exceedingly more unfair for Lorenzo and a thousand other bulls that will die this summer to satisfy the blood lust of the sadistic crowds that support this horrendous festival of blood, gore and pain.
Lorenzo’s victory over Barrio did not save his life and the Spanish bull-fighting syndicate exacted further revenge by immediately sending Santa Coloma, the mother of Lorenzo to slaughter, thus ending his bloodline. The newspaper El País reported, “as tradition dictates, the “murderer’s” lineage ends with him.”
Matador Francisco Marco was also gored in Pamplona on Saturday.
On Friday 16 idiots were injured in Pamplona with the running of the bulls. Two more were gored on Saturday in Pamplona and also on Saturday a 28-year old man died in the bull-run in the Spanish town of Alicante.
Last year 10 men were fatally gored in bull runs in Spain.
As unfair as it may have been for Barrio, life is certainly exceedingly more unfair for Lorenzo and a thousand other bulls that will die this summer to satisfy the blood lust of the sadistic crowds that support this horrendous festival of blood, gore and pain.
Yes it is sad that Barrio died and yes it is sad that 18 people were injured (2 critically, one mortally) in Pamplona and Alicante. I am not glad that the matador and an idiot died died nor the 17 other macho fools were injured, but I can’t say that I’m sad or sorry.
[dropcap]W[/dropcap]hat bothers me is the injustice for Lorenzo. Slain if he loses, slain if he wins, plus the slaughter of his mother. The Spanish media actually brands a bull a murderer if he wins and glorifies the serial killing sadistic narcissists called matadors if they win or lose, and for every matador that dies on the horns of a bull, thousands die from the sword of the matador.
This not a sport, it is a bloody archaic slaughter for thrills stemming from the ancient Roman circus days of the bestiarii gladiators. It is not a sport if one side, the bull, is tortured before being killed and has no chance of living, win or lose.
It is brutal, vindictive, vengeful and sadistic and to label a sentient being defending himself as a murderer is a repulsive anthropocentric conceit.
Barrio died because he made the decision to pit himself against a bull whose testicles were being crushed and whose blood was oozing from multiple wounds inflicted by the cowardly picadors. Maddened with pain and fearful of the roaring crowd, Lorenzo managed nonetheless to strike a blow for his species. He killed one of the heartless monsters tormenting him, and I for one celebrate his achievement.
Lorenzo is dead but we need more victories by the bulls until this madness is ended and the torture is no more.
The news media in Spain is attacking the “heartless” critics of bull-fighting for declaring that Barrio and the 17 idiots in Pamplona and the one dead dumbass in Alicante deserved what they got. However the reality is that Barrio and the 18 knuckle-draggers got exactly what they deserved.
A hundred years ago no one would have cheered the death of a matador. But this is not 1916, it is 2016, and this despicable murderous macho charade of courage has no place in the world anymore. Matadors need to be tossed into the dustbin of history along with gladiators, bestiarii, bear baiters, dog fighters, grind masters and cock-fighters.
So the fans of bull-fighting should stop whining about more compassionate people cheering for the bull and jeering the matadors. When they stop their insane orgies of killing, when they stop cheering for blood and death, we will stop celebrating the victories of the bulls.
Toro Lorenzo, I salute you. Well done, you died avenged.
Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a marine wildlife conservation and an environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine conservation. He is a citizen of Canada and the United States.
The Toronto native joined a Sierra Club protest against nuclear testing in 1969. He was an early and influential member of Greenpeace, crewed and skippered for it, and a founding board member in 1972. He has been credited by The New York Times, The New Yorker and other publications with being a founder of Greenpeace, but Greenpeace denies the claim. However the recent release of the film How to Change the World (film) by Producer Jerry Rathwell documents that Watson was indeed one of the original founding members of Greenpeace. Watson argued for a strategy of direct action that conflicted with the Greenpeace interpretation of nonviolence, was ousted from the board in 1977, and subsequently left the organization. That same year, he formed Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The group is the subject of a reality show named Whale Wars.
BONUS FEATURE
A sample of P. Watson’s work, featured on Whale Wars (Animal Planet)
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