Steve Baron: Grabbing a problem by the horns

I have come to realise that some values I once held have changed.

As history has shown, countless mind shifts on societal issues have paved the way for new ways of viewing what is acceptable and what is not.

It was once commonly accepted that enslaving black people was the right of white people - to many, they were considered only three-fifths human - while women were not seen by men to have the political intelligence or inclination to be given the vote.

In my parents' day, it was rare not to see people with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of their mouths. Smoking cigarettes was a big part of our culture, while drinking and driving was acceptable and seen as just a part of everyday life.

Environmental issues have also become an important issue in society. It is no longer acceptable to pollute our waterways (yes, there is still a long way to go), and the public concern for environmental issues has been reflected in our elections, with the Green Party regularly gaining over 10 per cent of the vote and most other political parties having some form of green agenda.

These types of cultural changes are often referred to as post-materialism, a theory developed by Ronald Inglehart in the 1970s.

He argued that Western societies were undergoing a transformation of individual values, whereby people were moving away from economic, materialistic values and becoming more concerned about autonomy and self-expression - with growing concerns about our environment, individual rights and other issues such as the welfare of animals. Which leads me to rodeos.

An acquaintance posted a video of a rodeo on Facebook and I posted that I thought rodeos were animal cruelty - not a belief I once held.

It did not take long before a member of the farming community started propelling personal insults my way.

That is not uncommon for a political commentator and columnist like myself. Whanganui woman Rachel Stewart, herself a columnist and former Whanganui Federated Farmers president, experienced much worse when confronting the farming community on environmental issues.

According to those who did not agree with me, I was speaking without any evidence. What proof did I have? What would I know? As far as they were concerned rodeos were a great family event.

Well, I have had some experience. I have actually ridden in a rodeo and, for many years, I took my children to rodeos without any consideration of the animals' treatment during shows.

But now I have given it some serious thought and, in my opinion, it is simply cruel.

To tie a kicker strap around an animal's flanks to make it kick and buck to an extent that places that animal at extreme risk of multiple injuries, such as breaking a leg or worse, dying, is narcissistic; to lasso a calf running for its life and snap its neck back at full speed is inhumane; to drive metal spurs into an animal is callous when done just for some entertainment. These animals are not exposed to this on a farm, nor in the wild. If you thought about it for just a moment, perhaps you would agree and might think twice about going to a rodeo because by attending you are supporting the maltreatment of animals.

If you would like to see the cruelty and pain inflicted on animals at a real live rodeo just follow this link if you dare: http://tinyurl.com/jyk57n2

In the final analysis, a rodeo is not much different from the barbaric pagan events held at the Colosseum thousands of years ago.

-Steve Baron is a Whanganui-based political commentator, author and founder of Better Democracy NZ, and holds degrees in economics and political science. He is standing for Whanganui District Council in October - feedback to: steve@stevebaron.co.nz