Connemara inspectors could learn something from ‘Sing for the Silent’

I find myself quoting people under the age of 20 more often than not when it comes to bullying. Perhaps because school bullying is under fire, and young people are getting all the attention, while bullying by adults still seems acceptable.

In the case of Connemara inspections, the adults are bullying horses that are essentially children. That seems doubly unfair to me.

My latest inspiration to continue to fight breed standards, or animal bullying, comes from Kirkwood, Mo., high school senior John Bradford, who has been a victim of bullying himself and put his experience into a new song that is likely to get a lot of attention, thanks to the Internet. Instead of firing back at those who bullied him (not that we’re against that), he has written a song to lift those who suffer in silence. The title is “Sing for the Silent,” and proceeds go to an anti-bullying charity in Oklahoma titled “Stand for the Silent.”

The lyrics are below.

Bradford’s mother, Susan Bradford, very astutely summed up what drives bullying in an interview with News Channel 5, a local TV broadcaster.

“Bullies have their own issues, and it’s not really ever about him (John). A bully never bullies because of the victim; it’s always an issue that the bully has.”

Which makes my point about Connemara inspections. These inspections are not about ensuring that Connemaras have quality, and I’ll point out again that a “quality” horse means different things to different people, so there’s no way to have a consensus there.

These inspections are about the personal motives and issues of the people pushing to judge and control others, and you can draw your own conclusions about what those motives might be.

John Bradford told News Channel 5 that the song is designed to encourage students to commit to a change: “Students pledge to no longer stand for their peers suffering at the hands of a bully.”

If only I could get Connemara owners to stand up for the rights of the breed, so these animals are not forced to be shaped according to a set of arbitrary criteria and thrown away when they don’t.

Maybe, one day, someone will sing for the horses.

Lyrics to “Sing for the Silent”:

I remember the tears inside
And everyone standing by
They were so mean, they were so cruel;

For years i just took it
I wish they could look at me now, look at me now;

Now I can stand
Now I can fight
Now I can sing for the silent;

Now I will stand
Now i will fight
To lift my voice for the ones who can’t;
I am strong, I am strong;

Don’t you weep, baby
Don’t you break down
It’s going to be all right;

Been there before
Knocked down to the floor
Picked myself up, so pick yourself up;

You can stand
So you can fight
So you can sing for the silent;

And you will stand
And you will fight
To lift your voice for the ones who can’t;

You will be strong
You will be strong;

I am somebody
You are somebody
We are somebody;

I said, I am somebody
You are somebody
We are somebody
We can’t be silent;

We will stand
And we will fight
And we can sing for the silent;

And we will stand
And we’ll unite
To lift our voice for the ones who can’t;

We are strong
We are strong;

Now we will stand
And we will fight
And we can sing for the silent;

And we will stand
And we’ll unite
To lift our voice for the ones who can’t;

We will be strong
We are strong.