A letter to the editor…
posted in `Roids |Greetings from Tromaville! Below is an exclusive look at a letter I wrote to the New York Times in response to a very unthoughtful editorial published on November 14th…
To the editor,
This is in response to an editorial entitled “Female Heart Down the Homestretch” (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/15/opinion/15sun2.html) that appeared in the New York Times on Sunday, November 14, 2009. In this piece, the author seemed to be touting the victory of female horses in horse races as some sort of abstract victory for feminists. The author also referenced Ruffian’s 1975 final race, which led to her tragic death, as a symbolic triumph of the female character to succeed. In reality, Ruffian’s death is nothing but an example of the cruel nature of horse racing. Science has proven animals, from squids to horses, to be infinitely smarter and emotionally sensitive than anyone could have imagined. Does anyone really believe that horses enjoy participating in these races? On par with dog fighting, a more courageous stance for the author to have taken would have been to denounce those who force both female and male horses to partake in such a medieval activity.
Lloyd Kaufman
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