I don’t want to make any person, animal, or any other thing furious or raise their ire enough to ‘see red.’
The myth about the rage of bulls and their charging fury at seeing the color red may be the origin of the expression, ‘seeing red.’ Being as angry as a raging bull, whether he sees red or not, is pretty angry.
I know different colors affect people’s moods and energy. Maybe colors have a similar effect on animals.
But let’s be real, do bulls really get fighting mad when they see the color red?
I have a first-hand account or my own viewpoint about the answer to this question. And this is a true story.
I was in a neighbor’s pasture…
First, let me preface the story. I was a teenager in the country when I had a ‘too-close-for-comfort’ encounter with a very large bull. I was in the field walking toward the exit gate. I stayed a great distance from the cows and minded my own business. But I had my eye on this bull because I was conscious of my red shirt. To my surprise, the bull also had his eye on me.
I felt like a bullseye or a red cape stand-in.
The bull didn’t charge, but he ran toward me. My legs felt like sponge sticks, and my heart raced ahead of me as I tried to reach and exit the gate.
I can’t remember if he had horns or was hornless. All I knew was that 2,000 pounds chunk of beef wasn’t harmless.
I don’t have lucky stars. Thank God, I escaped!
His advance toward me is proof enough for me that bulls don’t like the color red. What else could have made him chase me?
How many times have we seen movies and cartoons of enraged bulls, and every time the color red is present? The matador always uses a red cape to agitate the bulls and cause them to charge. The agile dance with danger excites spectators.
The scientists cite that it’s the movement and irritation of the cape, not the color of the cape, that anger the bulls.
Contrary to my close encounter and the many entertaining bullfight shows, scientists state bulls are colorblind to red. The American Science Guide contends bulls and other cattle have red-green colorblindness. Colorblindness is color vision deficiency, and red-green deficiency is the most common form.
I’ve never been to a bullfight. Who wants to watch someone toy with a bull and slay it for sport and entertainment? Of’ course this is a tradition of the Spanish culture. They love this stuff.
But why do the bullfighters use red capes, which are called muletas? Maybe the crimson color gets the spectators excited and charged. Perhaps they ‘see red’ before the bull does.
Many say the red caper masks the bull’s splattered blood when it’s killed.
Did my red shirt agitate the bull in the field?
How do I explain what happened in the pasture? I can’t.
I’m older, wiser, and I live in the city. But if I’m ever in the vicinity of a bull, I’m going to be ‘red cautious.’ I’m not saying anything against the science.
I like wearing the color red.
A little extra caution doesn’t hurt anything, right?