Another Day at the Circus

Ookkkkkay… so sorry that I’m posting so sporadically (it’s 1Am on Thursday, but I’m writing about Sunday) Anyway.. so on Sunday Megan and I went for more protesting at the Giant Center, we went to protest the noon show, and then the four o’clock show; it was pretty fun, we handed out more pamphlets, and we even talked to a woman who had two children, and said that maybe one of her sons would even be coming to the protests next year! It was actually really nice to talk to a whole family that supported us, and even wanted to help us. It was so sweet actually, I was holding a sign that said, “Ringling beats animals” and the little boy looked at his mom and was like, “Mommy, why do they beat them?” Megan and I had to explain that that’s how they trained the poor animals how to do the silly tricks that they wouldn’t naturally be doing in the wild, as Ringling claims. Then the mother asked us about being a vegan, and then left.
And before that, a woman walked into our box (protesters are only allowed to stand in a little box, which is generous considering the Giant Center is private property, and they don’t even need to let us in…) and she said, “Alright girls what can you tell me?” it was nice that she noticed us and wanted to know more about our cause. We gave her a pamphlet, and talked with her. She said that the animals were actually the weakest part of the show, which was cool, because if the animals don’t bring in the crowds, maybe they’ll take them out. She even told us that she would find the number for the Cirque and tell them that they should take the animals out of the show! That made me really happy.
Unfortunately, there were still some haters out there. One old man looked at us as though we were hooligans, and he shouted, “Your parents should have beaten you!” What is that supposed to mean? We were not disturbing the peace, we were simply in our little box, protesting abuse against animals, and someone had the nerve to suggest that we needed to be beaten? First of all, child abuse is illegal, and wrong in ALL cases, and secondly: what the heck? Whyyy did we need to be beaten? I will never understand that man’s response, but it’s water under the bridge I guess. Another man saw my sign and asked, “Do they really beat their animals…” At this point I was like, Yes! Another person concerned about what’s really going on in the circus, but then this gentleman asks (while being with his two very young children) “Do they charge extra to let us watch?” I just stared at this creep. I literally did not know what to say to a question like that. I was absolutely disgusted with the human race. Beth couldn’t even control herself, she shot back, “Great parenting sir; really great example for your kids.” And totally I agree, that was so uncalled for, rude, and what are those kids going to end up like with a father that is that outwardly uncaring about abusing animals? I hope they don’t have pets! I was actually so distraught about that, that I went home, and emailed my cousin. Though he claims men need meat, and so will never join me in the vegan cause, he is still sweet. He replied:
“Recently I've seen a girl and an old woman, her hair grey, in piglets' costumes. They're protesting against eating meat. I felt compassion towards them and all the sweet piglets in the world. And even though I love eating pork and stuff, I think those who fight for animal rights are very good people. Warm hearts and pure souls.
You shouldn't care about other people. If you have a hundred of them, there will always be at least 5-10 who are stupid, 5-10 who are mean. Still, it's minority ;)
Btw, I've never been to a circus. I've never wanted to go. I think clowns are not funny at all ;)”
His comment really did make me feel better, because he’s right, there always will be those few stupid people that are just rude, and whatever makes them so rude, you just have to ignore them. So all in all, I’d have to say protesting was a ton of fun, and I defiantly want to do a lot more, whenever I can! Through protesting I even met some really cool people. Saturday Megan and I met Beth, and she was absolutely wicked! Unfortunately Beth had protested alone because of bad planning for the event, and Megan and I having school, but once we showed up, she seemed really grateful. I really hope to see her next year when I protest. I also met Ashley and her mother on Sunday. They were both very nice, and even provided us with some more materials that they had gotten from PETA. So I hope that anyone who actually reads this (if anyone actually does) will consider protesting, because if we’re not a voice for the animals, who will be?