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Ringling Bros. Circus to Close After 146 Years[W:30]

haymarket said:
That is a excellent observation. It seems that the Circ soleil has replaced the old style circus format - sans the animal abuse - and that is a good thing.

I do have some wonderful memories as a kid of the circus however. And two years ago I took my grandkids age 3 and 5 at the time to a small touring circus of about thirty performers that came to town under the big top tent and the looks on their faces watching a man blow a cloud of flames twenty feet into the air and feeling the heat was something that was priceless. They trotted out this old ancient elephant who should have been retired long ago and gave the kids rides for five bucks each and that was something they still talk about today.

The Circus was always a combination of magic, wonder and decadence and it will not be forgotten.
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I loved the circus as a kid. About 15 years ago, my gf at the time said she was going to protest the RB Circus when it came to town. She asked me to join her. I hesitated at first because of those fond memories. In the end, I agreed to go, but said I would not be holding a sign.

It was an eye-opening experience. The anger shown the protesters by some of the parents was probably the most memorable. One guy went off so angrily, his kid started crying. He then proceeded to blame the protesters for that. His wife was apologizing for him, which then pissed him off more. So, he yelled at her. The kid cried louder. smh

Anyway, since that night, I started paying attention to the animal cruelty issue. And, I have to say, it is pretty bad.
 
Goshin said:
To me, still kind of a shame. Loss of a piece of history. My Dad took me to see Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey when I was a kid. Kind of a big deal then. ~40 years ago.

Back then, it wasn't widely known how poorly the animals were treated and cared for. Pity the problem couldn't have been corrected, but the viability of traveling circuses has been plummeting since cable TV, internet and Xbox became children's preferred pastime.
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I have a twinge of a feeling of loss, too, but I was never a big fan of circuses, so my nostalgic feelings are mild. I feel more for the passing of an era kind of thing than the circus itself.
 
I went to a circus in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was entirely performed by orphan children who had been adopted into the program, given an education, and taught to perform acrobatic feets over the course of their childhood so when they turned 15 or so they performed for a few years before going out on their own. Maybe the circus can be reenvisioned to something like that here
 
FFS, how did this thread turn into the usual moronic political discussion?

Its a circus people, and its 2017. Circuses aren't very interesting anymore, there are far better ways to be entertained.

End of story, not the conservatives fault, not the liberals fault.
 
calamity said:
I'd like to know how much of a role homoerotica played in the Trump election. Shirtless Putin, young Trump, Milo Boi, Peter Thiel in shades, all of these images grace the front page of Drudge on a regular basis. Hell, even Melania looks like a dude, when you think about it.

Hillary may not be a sex kitten at age 70, but at least she ain't a dude. :)
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LOL-yeah it was the gay vote that gave Trump the election

too funny
 
Gaius46 said:
Assuming the animals aren't mistreated - and I do not accept that merely having is a form of mistreatment - why?
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They *are* mistreated. Living in an unnatural and harmful habitat is mistreatment.
 
While I don't take PETA seriously, the Humane Society is not some radical animal rights group and even they said the elephants were mistreated.

But even if they still had the elephants they were still going to end up going out of business. Times change and what people find entertaining changes.
 
radcen said:
I can't say I'm surprised.
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It probably was inevitable. I'm old enough to remember the freak shows which traveled from town to town, they were the first to go. While many people stated they were exploiting these so called freaks, those part of the show made excellent money. In a way because of an ego trip, someone else's morality, they were done away with and deprived a lot of these freaks a means to a livelihood.

PETA and the circus, it does the same thing. PETA may have good intentions, maybe not. But people and animals will be hurt because of this. The Circus had to take real good care of their animals, they were their livelihood. Failure to do so would hurt them in their pocketbooks. PETA is one of those organizations that gets my dander up. There aren't many, but PETA has always rubbed me the wrong way and this is just another rub.
 
radcen said:
I can't say I'm surprised.
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BrewerBob said:
While I don't take PETA seriously, the Humane Society is not some radical animal rights group and even they said the elephants were mistreated.

But even if they still had the elephants they were still going to end up going out of business. Times change and what people find entertaining changes.
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From my view, leftist agendas such as represented by excessive PC and PETA aren't necessarily bad no their own, they have some good ideas. It's just they've taken far beyond what's reasonable, taken it to extremes, and then are surprised when their support falls off among the majority of the people.
 
Henrin said:
:lol: Democrats are the party of freaks, not republicans. I'm surprised everyone doesn't already know that.
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Nuh uh. It's perfectly normal to identify as a gender you weren't born with. :rolleyes:
 
eohrnberger said:
From my view, leftist agendas such as represented by excessive PC and PETA aren't necessarily bad no their own, they have some good ideas. It's just they've taken far beyond what's reasonable, taken it to extremes, and then are surprised when their support falls off among the majority of the people.
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I agree it can be taken too far, and often is, but do you think this is one of those times. I don't. We aren't talking about doing cancer research on mice or killing animals for sustenance. We are talking about forcing highly intelligent animals to perform and live in misery for our entertainment.
 
TurtleDude said:
LOL-yeah it was the gay vote that gave Trump the election

too funny
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I'm thinking more along the lines of the closeted gay vote.

But, you are spot on with it being funny.

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A Right Wing Hero
 
BrewerBob said:
I agree it can be taken too far, and often is, but do you think this is one of those times. I don't. We aren't talking about doing cancer research on mice or killing animals for sustenance. We are talking about forcing highly intelligent animals to perform and live in misery for our entertainment.
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I believe that those highly intelligent animals can have a good life while entertaining us, but I don't think that this has to be, or should be, a live in misery.

In Asia, these animals are used for work, and while, yes, there are instances of abuse, how productive are abused workers? Hardly ever.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant#Working_animal
 
eohrnberger said:
Well, PETA and the changing of the market's preferences in entertainment I guess.
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Greetings, Erik. :2wave:

I suppose that's true, but I feel sadness that kids of the future won't have the thrill of going to the circus like we did! Where else could you see elephants, lion tamers, pretty ladies standing on a horses's back while galloping around the ring, and lots of clowns - all at the same time - in real life? :wow: Highlight of my Summers back then!
 
joG said:
Then the sounds and smells and spectacle must be there. Or are they lost?
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I have a hard time trying to remember anything from a year ago!
 
polgara said:
Greetings, Erik. :2wave:

I suppose that's true, but I feel sadness that kids of the future won't have the thrill of going to the circus like we did! Where else could you see elephants, lion tamers, pretty ladies standing on a horses's back while galloping around the ring, and lots of clowns - all at the same time - in real life? :wow: Highlight of my Summers back then!
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Greetings, Polgara. :2wave:

Yeah, we've been to the circus as a family when our kids were young. I too will miss it, but then that which the kids considered entertainment in earlier years isn't the same as what kids consider entertainment now a days. Things are changing, and probably always have been.
 
eohrnberger said:
From my view, leftist agendas such as represented by excessive PC and PETA aren't necessarily bad no their own, they have some good ideas. It's just they've taken far beyond what's reasonable, taken it to extremes, and then are surprised when their support falls off among the majority of the people.
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I don't think the concern for animal welfare and opposition to animal abuse is a left/right thing at all. I'm a rightie with a huge soft spot for animals (and I know many righties who are) and I've gotten some criticism by lefties for not having more apparent concern for the adult human animal - a criticism which is not entirely wrong.
 
eohrnberger said:
I believe that those highly intelligent animals can have a good life while entertaining us, but I don't think that this has to be, or should be, a live in misery.

In Asia, these animals are used for work, and while, yes, there are instances of abuse, how productive are abused workers? Hardly ever.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant#Working_animal
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There might be ways to do that. Dolphins seem like they enjoy performing. But most of the tricks they do are similar to tricks they do in the wild. I have been to the circus and I find it hard to fathom that elephants enjoyed doing any of that. The same goes for the great cats and the bears. The only animals at the circus who seemed to be enjoying themselves were the dogs in the dog acts. But then pleasing humans is what comes naturally to most dogs.
 
X Factor said:
I don't think the concern for animal welfare and opposition to animal abuse is a left/right thing at all. I'm a rightie with a huge soft spot for animals (and I know many righties who are) and I've gotten some criticism by lefties for not having more apparent concern for the adult human animal - a criticism which is not entirely wrong.
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Hmm. Yeah, I can see your point on that. Perhaps I was using a bad example. OK. Sorry about that.

I too have a soft spot for animals, having dogs and cats my entire life. They really do become part of the family. This empathy extends to any animals that are under human care. Most distressing when such animals aren't receiving the proper care. This includes proper training for dogs, which should never believe themselves to be the leaders of the family pack. That's a very big mistake.
 
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