MY banners scream "See the Strange Thing" I work the west coast---I can tell you that pc has run amok. I am in the last generation of showmen and show-women. After centuries of history, our lot is being slowly outlawed by one regulation or another.
I educate, entertain and fascinate, all for a single dollar. But, the resistence I have by some fairs is incredible and defies logic.
By definition, I am sideshow. On the west coast sideshow has all but disappeared over the last 30 years. There are only a couple of big shows left, Ward Hall and his World of Wonders and Bobby Reynolds and by extension, John Strong Jr.
The powers that be and the do-gooders do not realize who their customer base is--what folks want to see and do. What I do is no different that what Ripley did back in the 30s, although on a smaller scale.
The elephants and Ringling Bros....Its all part of the same effort to stamp us out for good. To santitize and control us. We are the last of a wandering tribe of showfolk that has had a long and proud line of tradition dating back eons--and in the end it will be regulated out of existence.
This lawsuit is just one of many acts in recent years. In one state attemtpts were to outlaw exotic snake/animal shows and relagate such view to the local museum or zoo... (MA, I think).
Years ago an old carnival operator told me: "If they still didn;t think we bit the heads off of snakes, they wouldn't come." He was right then and he is right today. Folks want a little brush with danger, the unseemly, the odd and the bizzare.
My museum works today, even in the day and age of modern media and the flow of information. Folks want to see a crypto-zoological wonder--they want "To become a witness to the unkown, right before their eyes."
I hope Ringling wins the lawsuit and marches those elephants right on down to the courthouse--Imagine, putting the Circus on trial--kinda like putting Santa Claus on trial... Prof. J.M. Reid America's Smallest Travelling Museum/See The Strange Thing
"Its all part of the same effort to stamp us out for good. To santitize and control us."
Dont feel isolated. Their goal is to santitize and controll all of us.
I think America will really lose something if circuses and carnivals are forced out of business by the Animal/Safety Nazis. So much for live and let live. Best of luck to you Sir--I always respect people who strive to make the world a more interesting place (in a good way).