Barbaro passes away

I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone that this isn't news. Barbaro was a horse. He's been euthanized. He ran in the Kentucky Derby and won. He broke his leg in the Preakness and it was all down hill from there. End of story.

However, I had to sit through something on NPR today that made me gag. They made him out to be this underdog winner who fought against the odds and inspired a country.

First of all, he's a horse. No one is inspired by a horse any more than they are inspired by a giraffe.

Second of all, he's a horse. He ran in circles so rich people could make money.

Third of all, HE'S A HORSE! He didn't bring attention to AIDS. He didn't bring attention to poverty. He didn't work to balance the wage discrepancies between men and women. He didn't work to protect us against nuclear proliferation. He didn't work to further the work of Dr. Martin Luther King. He didn't travel the world teaching kids about tolerance. He didn't support saving the rain forests. He wasn't even a member of PETA. He didn't do any of the above mentioned things, all of which could arguably require some sort of remembrance with his passing. No, he was a horse. He ran in circles. Now he's dead.

I don't understand why people put so much time an effort into trying to make a story out of this. It's a horse people. It's owners aren't even that remarkable, nor did any of them partake in any of the activities I mentioned in the paragraph above.

There is no touching story about a boy and his horse. There is no benefit to be had from studying Barbaro's life. There's nothing. Just a horse who ran in circles for money.

Instead of spending time covering something that has zero impact on any real person's life, go knock on the White House's door to find out why the price of gas has barely budged even when oil continues to sink. That's a story. A story that the average person could get something out of.

-Steve