Tiger King: Murica's Finest

Hi there cool cats and kittens!  Let's talk about the things that really matter*

  Tiger King is great because the train wreck-brand of entertainment it provides managed to distract us from the reality of the pandemic.

  The awful thing about it is everything else. 

  Everyone involved in this perfect shitstorm is in some way culpable.  Everyone has lost something in the process—their integrity and reputation, their sense of right and wrong, their time, their health and even limbs, money, their freedom, and quite literally their lives.  The animals are just the background to which this, at times comical and absurd, tragedy unfolds. 

  By the power of contrast, this is an excellent study in the complexity of human nature and the struggle of human experience.  Animal rights activist/animal lover or not, it quickly becomes crystal clear to all of us that big cats are not supposed to be treated anything like that, or to be left in the hands of people who can barely take care of themselves, can’t run a successful business or maintain healthy relationships, let alone be responsible for the wellbeing of an endangered species... 

  The best thing this documentary does, without overtly stating it, is to shed light on the cruelty of the exotic animal trade, and hopefully more people now understand why they should not endorse and support roadside zoos and pay for play schemes.

  Meanwhile, we are still healthy and doing okay in isolation.  And of course the subject of wildlife welfare is a great part of our homeschooling curriculum.

*irony