COCKFIGHT SHUT DOWN. BARBARISM IN U.S.
J. Grant swank, Jr.
Tennessee. Roosters killing one another. Humans cheering on the blood letting. That’s democracy? That’s society? That’s culture? That’s civilization?
Not.
It’s amazing what devilment can be set loose among mortals. Of course, Christians present-tense recall their own genre being fed as lunch to starved lions in the Roman coliseum. Then there were the church leaders of both Catholic and Protestant label who tied mortals to sticks, lit the fires and watched them go up in flames.
Then there was the crucifixion scene daily outside Jerusalem. Jesus became one of those strapped to the tree, left to vomit, contours, squirm, and then — belly bloated — die from lack of air to the lungs. Children traipsed by these wretched figures on their way to market, led by parents holding hands.
The biblical theologians speak of this planet as a spiritually fallen sphere. We have plenty of illustrations to back that up. However, I do recall listening to a theologically liberal rector give forth a Sunday morning sermon on “The Original Goodness of Mankind.” It took all the Holy Spirit provided patience to sit through that one!
There is hardly original goodness planted within the mortal at conception. More to the truth is the biblical teaching that each mortal, due to the spiritual rebellion of our first parents, is conceived in the mother’s womb in the carnal state — bent toward sin and selfishness.
Take note of the church nursery during a worship service. Note the little boys and girls. Are they not cherubs or what? Do they not hug and share? Of course they do. And they also bat one another in the head, trip one another up, and scream their lungs out when they don’t get their own ways. That’s evidence that within the little child there is a bent toward something other than “original goodness.”
So it is with the cockfights. But of course more barbaric.
A truly civilized person cannot even imagine for a few minutes what it must be like to be so demented as to yell and holler at roosters in a pit, screaming for them to slaughter one another, spilling blood all over the place. That’s what was shut down this past weekend in Tennessee. As the spring sun shone above and the flowers bloomed in nearby gardens, roosters were slain in pits while humans cried their heads off.
According to the AP, “Law enforcement agents raided an illegal cockfight and arrested 144 people attending what one official said may have been one of the nation's largest such gatherings.
“Several SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of state troopers participated in the raid Saturday on the sprawling Del Rio Cockfight Pit. They seized about $40,000 in cash and killed more than 300 roosters.
"’Reputedly, this was the largest cockfight in the United States,’ said District Attorney Al Schmutzer Jr. ‘It was becoming open and notorious, and you just can't stand back and let something operate like that in the community.’
“The 144 were each charged with being a spectator to cockfighting, a misdemeanor in Tennessee. If convicted, they face up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a $2,500 fine. John Goodwin, of the Humane Society of the United States, who took part in the raid, said it served notice on those conducting such illegal operations. ‘I wouldn't want to be a cockfighter in East Tennessee right now,’ he said.
“David Webb, a gamecock owner from Rhea County, said he lost more than 20 chickens valued at $150 each during the raid. ‘I've been around this stuff all my life. Everything I've ever known is a chicken fight,’ he said.”
Sad.
Tennessee. Roosters killing one another. Humans cheering on the blood letting. That’s democracy? That’s society? That’s culture? That’s civilization?
Not.
It’s amazing what devilment can be set loose among mortals. Of course, Christians present-tense recall their own genre being fed as lunch to starved lions in the Roman coliseum. Then there were the church leaders of both Catholic and Protestant label who tied mortals to sticks, lit the fires and watched them go up in flames.
Then there was the crucifixion scene daily outside Jerusalem. Jesus became one of those strapped to the tree, left to vomit, contours, squirm, and then — belly bloated — die from lack of air to the lungs. Children traipsed by these wretched figures on their way to market, led by parents holding hands.
The biblical theologians speak of this planet as a spiritually fallen sphere. We have plenty of illustrations to back that up. However, I do recall listening to a theologically liberal rector give forth a Sunday morning sermon on “The Original Goodness of Mankind.” It took all the Holy Spirit provided patience to sit through that one!
There is hardly original goodness planted within the mortal at conception. More to the truth is the biblical teaching that each mortal, due to the spiritual rebellion of our first parents, is conceived in the mother’s womb in the carnal state — bent toward sin and selfishness.
Take note of the church nursery during a worship service. Note the little boys and girls. Are they not cherubs or what? Do they not hug and share? Of course they do. And they also bat one another in the head, trip one another up, and scream their lungs out when they don’t get their own ways. That’s evidence that within the little child there is a bent toward something other than “original goodness.”
So it is with the cockfights. But of course more barbaric.
A truly civilized person cannot even imagine for a few minutes what it must be like to be so demented as to yell and holler at roosters in a pit, screaming for them to slaughter one another, spilling blood all over the place. That’s what was shut down this past weekend in Tennessee. As the spring sun shone above and the flowers bloomed in nearby gardens, roosters were slain in pits while humans cried their heads off.
According to the AP, “Law enforcement agents raided an illegal cockfight and arrested 144 people attending what one official said may have been one of the nation's largest such gatherings.
“Several SWAT teams, helicopters and dozens of state troopers participated in the raid Saturday on the sprawling Del Rio Cockfight Pit. They seized about $40,000 in cash and killed more than 300 roosters.
"’Reputedly, this was the largest cockfight in the United States,’ said District Attorney Al Schmutzer Jr. ‘It was becoming open and notorious, and you just can't stand back and let something operate like that in the community.’
“The 144 were each charged with being a spectator to cockfighting, a misdemeanor in Tennessee. If convicted, they face up to 11 months and 29 days in jail and a $2,500 fine. John Goodwin, of the Humane Society of the United States, who took part in the raid, said it served notice on those conducting such illegal operations. ‘I wouldn't want to be a cockfighter in East Tennessee right now,’ he said.
“David Webb, a gamecock owner from Rhea County, said he lost more than 20 chickens valued at $150 each during the raid. ‘I've been around this stuff all my life. Everything I've ever known is a chicken fight,’ he said.”
Sad.
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