A Cockadoodledoo For Rights

Every community has a culture; some list of attributes that make a place a home for its residents. 

But what happens when that culture is threatened? Maurice wasn’t looking for fame, but the lawsuit against him brought the clash between townsfolk and city dwellers to the front of mainstream media. 

An interesting fact about Maurice: he’s actually a rooster. No one could have predicted that the lawsuit filed against this innocent feathered-friend could become so much more than a noise complaint. All was fine in Maurice’s chicken coop, until a “pair of vacationing retirees arrived next door.” When does the noise complaint stop and the battle of lifestyles begin? What were the reactions of the townspeople? Why were locals so upset by the lawsuit against this local rooster?

These are just a few questions touched upon by Meagan Flynn, a writer for the Washington Post, in her article, “Judge rules for rooster in lawsuit pitting city against country”. This is one of the quotes that really caught my eye: “All over France, they've [city people] filed complaints against noisy cows in the French Alps, croaking frogs in a garden pond and a flock of ducks in a woman's backyard. Tourists have asked one mayor to stop church bells from ringing and another to silence cicadas by killing them.”

Flynn then dives deeper into the mystery of tradition, going on to write about the decreasing tolerance these city dwellers have for life in the country. Although it may seem meaningless, this struggle drives a wedge between the people of France—and all over the world—creating an environment where understanding a different way of life seems unnecessary (CLICK HERE to access the full article).

Maurice became a symbol all across France for the cultural rights of local villages and farming communities. People rallied around the rooster to protest intolerance as a whole. Even animals showed up to the trial: “Other roosters and their owners even attended Maurice's court hearings, to show solidarity.”

A few questions to consider: what is the line between complaining and intolerance? How might Maurice’s story impact not only France, but the world?  Why did it take a rooster for this problem to come to light? What can we do to ensure we don’t become the “city dwellers”? And, finally, how do we spread this message to the people least willing to understand it?