Ride 'em cowboy.

I was forced into watching some wild sports show tonight, and one of the stories was on the Oklahoma State Prison Rodeo. The event touts itself as the only rodeo that takes place inside the prison walls. For a day the prisoners get to forget that they are convicted criminals and forgo the everyday encounters with prison guards to compete in various rodeo events, which include chasing a bull around. For this event, they tie money to the bull's horns and let the prisoners chase the bull hoping to grab the money. The clip on the show showed various prisoners being thrown around by the bull and shoved into walls. And as the crowd was cheering them on I thought, do these people not realize that when the prisoners get hurt, the State of Oklahoma (i.e. the taxpayers) are paying for their medical treatment?

But on the bright side, it gives the prisoners a chance to ride something other than each other for a change.