Dear China,

What the fuck, China?

TIGER FARMS?

Is there no end to this barbarous world's attempts to snuff out the tiny lights that remain (pulsing weakly) in our souls?

For the love of all that is still good DO NOT lift that ban on domestic trade in tiger goods. And don't even start with the '... but it could help the wild population' bullshit. It is completely crazy that there are tigers in farms right now --and bear farms, alligators, etc.-- because we are so attached to our own cultural traditions that we (still!) just don't mind committing outrageous acts of cruel oppression to foster them. We are all guilty of that. Can't we just agree to keep the good stuff we trade-- the art, the food, beautiful customs, awesome dances, outfits, philosophies, terrible pop music-- and leave off the part where we kill each other for differences in personal beliefs and FARM TIGERS?!

It's like you want to ruin us at our very core, tiger farmers. You will not ruin every one. Not ever. We need what is wild in our world. What makes us feel the earth deep inside of us, and that everything moves to a common rythm. That is the real wildness, that which is the most unaffectedly common in the purity of it's tone. I'm going to continue in this pretentious vein and add that it is NO COINCIDENCE that Blake's famous poem is 'The Tyger', and not a more issue-laden creature.  Anyway, you make me cry.

Now go look at some pictures of tigers, and think about what you're doing.

Angrily,
The D.L.