Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
My stepfather was a clown in the Shrine circus.
When I was about 23, he invited me backstage.
Remind you, at that time, I had no idea what went on behind the scenes at the circus.
So he said: "hey Gary, come on backstage,
come see the elephants.
You wanna see the elephants, right?"
So, I'll never forget that day,
Michigan state fairgrounds, 8 Mile and Woodward,
I'm standing in the warehouse area
face to face with an 8 thousand pound elephant.
Her front left foot in chains, back right foot in chains.
She was swinging back and forth, neurotically.
Which I later found out, was the neurotic behavior that elephants always get in the circus
from being immobilized and confined all the time(!), when they're not on stage.
And at that time, I also didn't know about the training techniques, which are vicious and brutal.
I mean, you must beat down an elephant to make them submit and acquiesce to the trainer.
Carson & Barnes Circus Elephant Training
"When I say rip his head off, rip his *** foot off...
it's very important that you do it, right?"
"When he starts quirming too *** much,
both *** hands -- BOOM! -- right under that chin!"
"When he *** around too much ...
you *** sink that hook and give it everything you got!"
"Sink that hook into 'em ...
When you hear that screaming,
then you know you got their attention!"
"Right here in the barn. You can't do it on the road."
"I'm not gonna touch her in front of a thousand people.
She's gonna *** do what I want and that's just *** the way it is."
"I am the boss, I will kick your *** ***."
I had an epiphany at that spot.
I mean, common sense took over from there.
I looked into her eyes and I saw nothing but sadness, helplessness and fear.
I looked to the left - I saw lions and tigers pacing in their cages.
I looked to the right - I saw monkeys screaming in their cages, holding on to the bars.
And I walked out in a daze, baffled for the rest of the show.
And the bears came out, wearing yellow tutus and riding tricycles.
At which point, I stood up and I left.
And from that moment on, I wanted to know what else happen to animals,
animals that I thought I cared about.
Because I had a dog,
because I loved my dog, bourbon, and my dog, brandy,
all of a sudden that meant I loved and cared for all animals?
Nonsense! I later I found out what happened in slaughterhouses, and where my food came from.
And I wanted to know.
Where did my food come from? Where did my clothes come from?
Was animal research really necessary?
I knew it was unethical, I later found out it was unscientific. What happened?
I mean, what else happened at the circus, at the rodeo.
And I investigated.
I investigated like crazy, and I didn't believe PETA or any other animal rights person
when they sent me information and told me foxes were being anally electrocuted and fur farms,
Or that, you know, 50% of all the animals in slaughterhouses are dismembered while they're fully conscious.
I was as skeptical as anybody. I'm like:
"No way, there are laws out there, there's no way animals are being treated like this."
Well, I later broke into fur farms, broke into research labs,
went behind the scenes of every circus that ever came through Michigan.
I saw slavery firsthand.
I heard their screams - and it was worse than what PETA told me.
It was worse than what was on the videos.
I did 6 weeks of research.
6 weeks(!) at the Thorn Apple Valley pig slaughterhouse at Eastern Market Detroit, Michigan.
I went there everyday for 2 hours to 6 hours,
just to sit there and watch, and listen.
Listen to the pigs scream one by one as they were being killed.
I was no further than about 50 feet away from the killing floors.
And I was just sit there and listen to them scream, and...
I was not a vegetarian at this time.
No, I was not vegan. I was not animal rights.
But I was learning, and my mind was open.
Ya know that old adage, that minds only work when they're open, they're like parachutes?
My mind was wide open.
And there were always 6 or 7 pig trucks on the road, waiting to be called in.
And I would walk up and down that street, and I'd stand face to face with those pigs.
And I would look at them and they looked back at me
and it was like they were saying to me: "why are you doing this?"
And you know what? I never had an answer.
I said: "I don't know why we do this to you."
And I later found out that there was a bishop from Britain, William Inge,
who in an 18th century(!) sermon once said
that if animals ever formed an organized religion, the devil would be depicted in human form.
I can't argue with that either.
We must be the devil to animals.