2 strikes for DUMBO - Shakespeare, Hip Hop & an elephant

that picture of the elephant bums me out.

did you read the sign in front of where the elephant was painting? It explained the relationship he had with the family. It does not live in a zoo, and is clearly taken care of. When the old man said "give me your trunk", the elephant did just that. i'm typically against having animals do tricks and whatnot, but when the animal is clearly loved and cared for, i think it's ok. is it cruel to expect a dog to grab a frisbee for our amusement?

i was torn when i first saw the crowd standing around, but after what I saw, I personally feel okay with it. but that's just me.

I'm sorry but the thought of that poor elephant being carted from town to town, city to city, to be gawked at by a bunch of people IS cruel. How do you think it gets to these events? An elephant sized tour bus with all the fixins? No, he's cooped up in some awful, noisy, bumpy trailer. That's sounds cruel to me

the difference is, an elephant is a wild animal, and a dog is a domesticated animal. i also dont make my dog do tricks in front of a crowd of hundreds of people.

Sounds like our first two commenters have never been to a good old fashioned elephant fight! Lemme get $300 on Dixie!

Oh, wait. I get it. Dumbo in Dumbo. CLEVER

yo fuck peta

no doubt that shit was the music being performed, if not overtly about race. hip hop police had that shit on LOCKdown this year. good riddance to the sweater set. it actually interefered with the festival (they cut short Ghost, killed the booze license on technicalities).

no need to force it down lame ass dumbo's throats, both parties would be happier if it were elsewhere.

the life of pi has a very interesting and persuasive defense of zoo's. i think it could be expanded to certain performance animals. and how do you think show horses travel? pets?

leigh ann, what is this wild versus domesticated dichotomy you suggest? so a dog prefers to be provided regular meals but an elephant apparently prefers to be left to the precarious survival-of-the-fittest environs of the jungle?

and also, if you made your dog do tricks at a party it would be cruelty? or perhaps the crowd has to reach 100s of people? that's a weak argument.

Show horses arent treated well either. The same goes for them.

And if pets are transported the way these elephants are being transported, then yes, that also wouldnt be right.

also, having your dog do tricks at a party one or two times is very differnt then taking an elephant around doing tricks for a living or for profit or for more than a one-off random party.

what? can you pinpoint the difference between having your dog do tricks at a party and having an elephant do tricks for profit? is it the profit that bothers you?

no, its not the profit. the profit implies that the elephant is doing this on a regular basis. the elephant probably wouldnt even be around if it wasnt going to make this guy money. the elephants soul purpose is to go around performing, much like elephants in a circus.

if someone is having their pet or dog do this, then it would be similar. but i find it hard to believe that someone who happens to have their pet do a trick at a party is the same type of person who is taking their elephant around performing for a living (or for the elephants living).

does this make more sense? this is what i was trying to get at. sorry if i was unclear.

no, the thing that bothers me (us, perhaps?) is that its a huge elephant in the middle of a city, if you dont see something wrong with that, there honestly is no point in defending myself.

dogs are domesticated animals. they have a bond with humans. if i bring my dog to the dog park, eventually after he plays with the dogs, he comes and sits with me, because he is a domesticated animal. when i take my elephant to the park...oh wait!

My companion was pretty outraged about the elephant but I gotta say I was relishing - selfishly perhaps - the rare opportunity to get so close to such a magnificent animal. I did get a photo of their disclaimer sign about the elephant's treatment, which makes it seem not so bad for the elephant considering they (supposedly) rescued it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/fistswithyourtoes/1466445620/in/set-72157602216016286/

And fwiw, that production of Macbeth looks really, really cool: http://www.stannswarehouse.org/current_season.php?show_id=12

The problem is your neglecting of the differences between dogs and elephants.

Dogs have been bred for human companionship and service for thousands of years. It is practically their natural state of being. And they are often treated as family by their owners, though that may not be the case for all performance dogs.

Elephants are wild animals and are in fact among the WORST wild animals to keep in captivity. They require hundreds of acres of land for physical and psychological health. They are well beyond dogs in terms of social behavior and can be extremely and often irreparably traumatized when cut off from other members of their family. Also their size and threat to human safety require that they be contained in a far more extensive manner than any dog.

I can support taking in a wounded or abandoned elephant at a sanctuary and trying to mimic its true lifestyle as much as possible, but carting one around the country in a truck and making it perform is almost reprehensible given what we know about them today. And I'm no PETA extremist.

Not to mention the fact that there is an academy dedicated for encouraging elephants to "showcase their artistic prowess" is just fucking retarded. It has to be a front for some horrible organization.

I was introduced to DUMBO because of the Hip-Hop Festival this year and it is one of the most unnerving places I've been to in the city. It had an urban version of Pleasantville vibe to it, a very artificial feeling.

umm....one of the oldest places in Brooklyn had an "artificial feeling" heh? Umm...do you prefer the new-old style of Las Vegas does NY?

wow, i didn't realize those condos and cupcake shops had been around so long.

Pro Hip Hop was reporting the festival is being moved up a month, same venue.

Arent elephants considered to be one of the most intelligent creatures, other then men? So maybe they would bond with their human keepers? I dont really know, just asking. Also Elephants have been used by men for a very long time like in logging, as war machines, so you could say elephants are almost like horses in that respect. I dont know this is one of those 50/50 deals for me.

Id just be concerned what would happen if the elephant got spooked, I mean a rampage in DUMBO? You guys remember that rampage few years back at the zoo, where was it Prospect Park, I think cops shot him dead. Thats my biggest concern, it wasnt really freaking safe for the people or the elephant

that photo of the elephant is upsetting. :(

I wrote about this a couple days ago on my blog. Before taking up painting Dumbo was a basically a circus animal though the family says they treat her really well..

Did anyone else see the man jump to his death off of the Brooklyn Bridge while everyone else was watching the elephant? What a horrible day.

more dumbo art fest / elephant fotos here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/innuendo/sets/72157602245823560/

circuses, dog racing, horse racing, animal shows and events need to be stopped!...it was fine back in the day when no one knew what an elephant, lion or monkey looked like, but now its totally unnecessary and cruel. why should humans profit and enjoy animals in ways that hurt the animals both physically and mentally?
animals DO have feelings, this is a FACT...if they didn't, why do they meow, purr, cry, or bark? i also think of this scenario: would you want your pet that you grew up with be subjected to all the horrors you see and read about today? if you think about it, animals were here on this planet first, they deserve respect and proper treatment. people are the ones that cause all the problems, not animals.

people need to bloody wake up and end all these horrible acts towards animals, animals do not deserve to be treated badly nor did they ask for it!

was introduced to DUMBO because of the Hip-Hop Festival this year and it is one of the most unnerving places I've been to in the city. It had an urban version of Pleasantville vibe to it, a very artificial feeling.

Seems to be a very talented elephant..Thanks for your nice blog.