Peruvian Nights and Jamaican Days

Amy and I don't like zoos, either. I have a mind to never visit one again.

Never been to Yellowstone, should I? (Been, that is...)

Man, Married with Children is on. Ed O'Neil is a near-genius.

--gh
 

Yeah, I've always had a weird reaction to zoos. They're pretty horrible in a lot of ways (even the new-improved zoos where they don't just put all the animals in a concrete cube). But then I come back to this: just how much MORE willing would people be to allow habitat destruction and the wholesale decimation of natural areas in the name of the Almighty GNP if they never had been able to see some of these critters up close. People are always more willing to kill abstractions - that's as true when animals are the targets as when people are. We took Marina to her first zoo recently, and she loved it. And I can't help thinking that that will all sink in, and make her less of a humanocentric asshole later in life. I feel the same way about places like Yellowstone: how many protected areas would there be in this country if nobody had been able to feed their candy bars to the bears in Yellowstone before having their arm chewed off. So, in the end, I dunno. I guess I come down on the side of "necessary awfulness."
 

I think we all could agree that circuses with animals are stupid and evil. Don't ever take Marina to a small-time circus, like the ones Shriners put on. You will be appalled and sickened.

-gh