Below is the email I sent this morning to Bill White, our very good mayor. Ringling will be here for two freakin' weeks in July, which I believe is the longest engagement they have. Anyway, feel free to use the following as you see fit. I will be there everyday of the circus in the record heat (not related to global warming even in the slightest)....if it isn't cancelled.
email address: mayor@cityofhouston.net
Dear Mr. White
From the moment you took office, you have shown your willingness to not only be a “hands on” kind of mayor but also someone who gets things done. When the Katrina victims needed us, you stepped up and took control. It was a time of emergency and you did what you needed to do to get the job done. It was awesome. I was so proud of Houston! You have lead by example, one that I followed, in selecting a more environmentally friendly electricity company. I have admired your approach as I get a feeling of honor and truthfulness from you as a leader of a major city. I have to say, before you became mayor, I didn’t have the vaguest idea who you were. But you have done wonders for this city and I am hoping that you will continue to do so.
Over the past week or so, the drumbeat towards the impending arrival of the circus to our area has increased. This is a time of dread for me. I am admittedly an animal rights activist and a vegan due to my beliefs. But my aversion to the circus has always been with me. At first, it was the freakish paint on the clowns’ faces that to me felt subversive and scary, but I soon realized it was the animals. Dogs, tigers, lions and, especially the elephants in costumes running around performing unnatural tricks made my young stomach sick. I adamantly refused to ever go to a circus again. Now I know that it wasn't some childhood sensitivity but an insight into the true nature of the circus. This is an archaic form of barbaric animal violence that needs to end. Why do we do this? Aren't we better than this? Beating dependent animals into submission, forcing them out of their natural, God given habitats and social orders, starving, chaining, electrocuting all in the name of entertainment? So someone can make a buck? It's so heartbreaking.
Ask yourself if this is necessary anymore. There are circuses that have been wildly popular that only involve humans. Is it really a 21st century form of entertainment to watch as a terrified animal that has been incarcerated, bull-hooked, cut and torn forced into unnatural poses for the applause of the crowd? Is this an example of what we as caretakers of the dependent world should be giving to our children? This is glorified animal cruelty and it is the shame of our nation that we allow this to continue. The most fundamental question you can ask is - would this animal be performing these stunts naturally or without threat of violence? The answer is a categorical no.
In the past, the abuse and neglect that these animals endured was shrouded in secrecy by the perpetrators, but now there are sites and organizations dedicated to one thing - banning animal circuses everywhere forever. And it has happened. Not only here but abroad as well. Because this is a cruel, horrible exhibition of the worst that we as human beings can visit upon defenseless animals. There is documentation in the form of court documents as well as video that will physically sicken you. If they endure it, and this city sanctions it, then the least you can do is witness it. Below is the link to the video of abuse by Ringling from February of this year.
http://www.circuses.com/ringling_mistreatment.asp
Please, visit some of the sites devoted to exposing the cruelty of the circus. Please look into the record of violence Ringling has. And please use your obvious common sense and decency to reconsider having this abomination of human depravity for FOURTEEN days in this city. I understand that there is a commitment here but you have used your position before to override longstanding commitments in the face of an emergency.
If you were at the circus and you turned your head just in time to see a man bashing a chained elephant with a stick tipped with a metal hook – would you continue to walk or would you intervene? I believe that you would do as I would; I would run to the defense of anyone or anything that needed protection or help regardless of the consequences. This is happening. This is an emergency.
Please look into it on your own. Or if you need any information, I will do everything I can possibly do to get you what you need.
Thank you very much.
Penny Barrett Hornsby
email address: mayor@cityofhouston.net
Dear Mr. White
From the moment you took office, you have shown your willingness to not only be a “hands on” kind of mayor but also someone who gets things done. When the Katrina victims needed us, you stepped up and took control. It was a time of emergency and you did what you needed to do to get the job done. It was awesome. I was so proud of Houston! You have lead by example, one that I followed, in selecting a more environmentally friendly electricity company. I have admired your approach as I get a feeling of honor and truthfulness from you as a leader of a major city. I have to say, before you became mayor, I didn’t have the vaguest idea who you were. But you have done wonders for this city and I am hoping that you will continue to do so.
Over the past week or so, the drumbeat towards the impending arrival of the circus to our area has increased. This is a time of dread for me. I am admittedly an animal rights activist and a vegan due to my beliefs. But my aversion to the circus has always been with me. At first, it was the freakish paint on the clowns’ faces that to me felt subversive and scary, but I soon realized it was the animals. Dogs, tigers, lions and, especially the elephants in costumes running around performing unnatural tricks made my young stomach sick. I adamantly refused to ever go to a circus again. Now I know that it wasn't some childhood sensitivity but an insight into the true nature of the circus. This is an archaic form of barbaric animal violence that needs to end. Why do we do this? Aren't we better than this? Beating dependent animals into submission, forcing them out of their natural, God given habitats and social orders, starving, chaining, electrocuting all in the name of entertainment? So someone can make a buck? It's so heartbreaking.
Ask yourself if this is necessary anymore. There are circuses that have been wildly popular that only involve humans. Is it really a 21st century form of entertainment to watch as a terrified animal that has been incarcerated, bull-hooked, cut and torn forced into unnatural poses for the applause of the crowd? Is this an example of what we as caretakers of the dependent world should be giving to our children? This is glorified animal cruelty and it is the shame of our nation that we allow this to continue. The most fundamental question you can ask is - would this animal be performing these stunts naturally or without threat of violence? The answer is a categorical no.
In the past, the abuse and neglect that these animals endured was shrouded in secrecy by the perpetrators, but now there are sites and organizations dedicated to one thing - banning animal circuses everywhere forever. And it has happened. Not only here but abroad as well. Because this is a cruel, horrible exhibition of the worst that we as human beings can visit upon defenseless animals. There is documentation in the form of court documents as well as video that will physically sicken you. If they endure it, and this city sanctions it, then the least you can do is witness it. Below is the link to the video of abuse by Ringling from February of this year.
http://www.circuses.com/ringling_mistreatment.asp
Please, visit some of the sites devoted to exposing the cruelty of the circus. Please look into the record of violence Ringling has. And please use your obvious common sense and decency to reconsider having this abomination of human depravity for FOURTEEN days in this city. I understand that there is a commitment here but you have used your position before to override longstanding commitments in the face of an emergency.
If you were at the circus and you turned your head just in time to see a man bashing a chained elephant with a stick tipped with a metal hook – would you continue to walk or would you intervene? I believe that you would do as I would; I would run to the defense of anyone or anything that needed protection or help regardless of the consequences. This is happening. This is an emergency.
Please look into it on your own. Or if you need any information, I will do everything I can possibly do to get you what you need.
Thank you very much.
Penny Barrett Hornsby
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