Melbourne Cup - I Feel Sorry for the Horses
November 5th 2007 20:58
Are my friend, Nim, and I the only people in the world who hate Melbourne Cup? I would really like to know if there are others out there who despise it as much as we do. For starters, I think it encourages gambling – a big no-no in my books. For another, I find the whole celebration thing banal; taking the afternoon off just to wear a stupid hat with a fascinator on top (which makes me look old fashioned and conservative instantly) and some hideous frumpy outfit just so I could watch a stupid horse race. I find what people wear to the races so stuffy and boring. Not only that, I think about the poor horses: Do they enjoy it? Or do they feel pain when the jockeys hit them which is why they run faster? Finally, I have too much to do at work to be able to take the time off, even if I wanted to.
People say it’s worth celebrating Melbourne Cup because it’s tradition. But to me, the word tradition is just a fancy way of saying something is worth doing only because it was done before. And just because something was done previously doesn’t necessarily mean it should be done again. That’s my take on it anyway.
So while everyone else in my office will be stopping work to crowd around the TV set that will be set up in one of the meeting rooms, I will be sitting at my desk, knuckling down to work and trying to drown out the loud cheers. Call me a party pooper if you like. Which is why I’d rather not participate. And I know Nim will be staging a similar boycott at his workplace.
People say it’s worth celebrating Melbourne Cup because it’s tradition. But to me, the word tradition is just a fancy way of saying something is worth doing only because it was done before. And just because something was done previously doesn’t necessarily mean it should be done again. That’s my take on it anyway.
So while everyone else in my office will be stopping work to crowd around the TV set that will be set up in one of the meeting rooms, I will be sitting at my desk, knuckling down to work and trying to drown out the loud cheers. Call me a party pooper if you like. Which is why I’d rather not participate. And I know Nim will be staging a similar boycott at his workplace.
Melbourne Cup photo by Howard Bruce. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
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