Spain Without Bullfighting, is Not Spain

Topic: Bullfighting as a tradition
General Purpose: to Persuade
Specific Purpose: To convince my audience that they should view bullfighting as a tradition (cultural).
Thesis: Bullfighting should be viewed as a cultural tradition and not as an animal cruelty.

Introduction

Attention Getter: How would you feel if you went to Macdonald’s and you can only order fish, chicken or vegetarian hamburgers? That didn’t matter were you go you couldn’t get hamburgers because killing cows was illegal.
Ethos Statement: Bullfighting is seen as a symbol of Spanish culture and it is a very valued tradition because, according to Ernest Hemingway in his non-fiction book Death in the Afternoon published in 1932, “Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter’s honor.”
Exigency: I think most of us are bad inform about what really happens before and after a bullfight. The first thing that comes to our mines when we see pictures or videos about bullfighting is animal cruelty, but this is not true.
Thesis: Bullfighting should be viewed just as a cultural tradition and not as an animal cruelty.
Preview: First we’ll let the beast out to the bullring and explain to what extend bullfighting is so culturally important for Spanish people, then we’ll confront the bull and see what are some lies from the opposition, and finally we’ll conclude our chore and explain you why you should accept bullfighting as a cultural tradition.

(Transition: Lets start by explaining you the value of bullfighting for the Spanish culture.)

Body

I. According to the Total Spain website, last update on 2010, “Supporters of bullfighting regard it as a deeply ingrained, integral part of their national culture.”
A. Bullfighting traces its roots to prehistoric worshiping and sacrificing of bulls.
B. It is not just a Spanish tradition; Portugal, Latin America and a few cities in southern France also have a history of bullfighting.
C. The art of bullfighting is based on the interaction of the man and the bull.
1 Rather than a competitive sport, the bullfight is more of a ritual, judged by fans, based on artistic impression and command.
2 The practice of bullfight is above all about the demonstration of style, technique and courage by its participants.
D. This tradition is so important in Spain that “the bullfights are reported in the culture section of the newspaper, next to the book reviews” according to Justin Roberts in his article published in the Catavino newspaper on February 5, 2010.

(Transition: Now that we have a better understanding of how valuable is bullfighting to Spanish people, we will deny some things people think it happens in bullfights.)

II. A lot of people that are against bullfighting state that the treatment preview to the bullfight is cruel and that the animal is horrendously abused, but is this true?
A. For some people there is a reason why bulls are so aggressive and tried to charge at the matador when they enter to the bullring.
1 They said the bull has wet newspaper stuffed into his ears; cotton is stuffed into his nose to cut off respiration, drugs are administered to pep him up or slow him down, and that he is kept in a dark box to disorientate him.
B. Non of the previous statements are true and moreover there has never been a person who show a video or photo that can confirm this type of treatment. These are just simple rumors in order to make the audience view bullfighting as a horrendous act.
C. In contrast, bulls are well treated and well fed in their ranches for 4 to 5 years before being taken to the bullring. There is also no type of cruelty to the bull before the bullfight and you can actually verify this by yourself if you go to one of these arenas because spectators are allowed to view the animal moments before the bullfight.
D. An important point to know about bullfights is that not always the bulls are killed like most people think.
1 When the bull is considered to have put up a particularly brave and noble fight, it is allowed to live. This is called a pardon, and if granted (usually by the audience), the bull is allowed to leave the ring, return to his ranch and become a stud bull for the rest of its life.

(Transition: Now that we know the real treatment of the bull before and after the bullfight, lets look at some of the reasons why we should accept bullfighting as a tradition.)

III. “Rather than a sport, bullfighting is seen as an art form and a cultural event, like a play or an opera,” according to the Xtreme Sport Website last update on September 14, 2009.
A. Bullfighting certainly has aspects of an art form. The stylized passes with the cape can be expressed in a certain way, a bit like expressing something through dance. Some people find the passes beautiful to look at and ballet-like.
B. The number of bulls that die each year in bullfighting is tiny compared to the number that die in the meat trade, the campaign against bullfighting is seen to be a waste of resources when there are far more animals dying in unfit slaughterhouses than in the bullring.
C. For a city like Barcelona to close this arena is like throwing a Picasso painting into the garbage. As well as foreign people accept and respect our cultural traditions, we should try to understand and respect their traditions too.

Summary Statement: Today I have shown you the significance of bullfighting for Spanish culture, what are some lies that most of people believe about bullfighting, and how it should be accepted and respected as a Spanish tradition.

I encourage you to spread the word and to do some additional research of the bullfighting if you are not fully convinced so you can see with your own eyes that there is not a single video or photo showing that bulls are abused or treated maliciously. Don’t be easily influenced by hasty generalizations.

I think that nobody would like to be banned of doing one of his or her country’s traditions, so we should respect this Spanish tradition too. When one thinks of Spanish culture it’s hard not to include bullfighting in that mental picture.