Would you have the same reaction towards a mentally retarded orphan growing into a very strong man? Lenny, from Of Mice And Men?

My immediate reaction is horror at the unspeakable cruelty of selling a person - a participant in society - into caged slavery in the circus. Imagine the feeling of confusion and betrayal he must have felt. Imagine the trauma from suddenly having personhood privileges withdrawn. I don't see any justification for that. The article rather lightly glosses over the gory details of that shameful episode.