Jezebel 
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New York, 1:24 AM
Sun Dec 20
19 posts in the last 24 hours
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This is the only way my mind is making sense of this. I think it's time for me to go home.
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Which was set to November Rain.
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At least people like me (older, wiser, less tolerant of this BS and who have disposable income to contribute) who love animals and regularly contribute to the Humane Society and the ASPCA. I am an athiest and have no love for the Catholic League or the Catholic church, but this is offensive to mature people everywhere.
I get what PETA is trying to do and I agree with much of what they work for, but this is just stupid provocation that takes press and attention away from the good parts of their message.
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I also agree with their goal of ending cruelty to animals, but they get too much press for their crazy antics. I'm not going to enable that behavior. I'll donate to our local shelters instead.
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Look, I hate PETA's sexist tactics, too. Their marketing arm is completely out of hand and this type of campaign is pretty indefensible. But it's absolutely ridiculous to assert that they're not serious about animal rights or that everyone at the organization is a hypocrite. PETA does an ton of work that has nothing to do with their questionable marketing campaigns.
12/02/09
I don't think it's inaccurate to call PETA hypocritical for euthanizing pets, particularly when there's such a large number of no-kill shelters in this country. For an organization to be invested in the perfectibility of the human-animal relationship, to the extent that they officially object to therapy dogs of all goddamn things, and operate a euthanizing shelter, yes, it is hypocritical.
And hey, I eat meat and then go to work and play with puppies. I'm definitely a hypocrite. But I don't take it upon myself to preach to 99.999% of the world that they're unethical and immoral and involved in a Holocaust-level atrocity.
12/02/09
And of course there are no-kill shelters, and every single one I know of is overflowing and turning away dozens to hundreds of animals daily.
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Oh, whatever, you're entitled to your opinion.
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But I cannot tell you how negatively its marketing and Newkirk's statements affect my view of PETA, particularly when so many other organizations do such amazing work with so much less. I don't feel that strongly about no-kill shelters, but when I learn about an organization like PETA, an organization that presents such an extreme image and is wildly, inappropriately critical of private citizens, operating a shelter that euthanizes, it prompts a response that is perhaps out of proportion with my actual feelings. Extremity provokes extremity!
You're right, leveling the charge of hypocrite at everyone in the organization is a bit much. I just re-read a NYer profile of Newkirk from a few years ago, and maybe she and PETA have made a difference in how people treat animals or perceive animal rights, which is certainly worthwhile, despite the fact that I could not more vehemently disagree with most of their tactics.
My apologies for being a smart-ass (emphasis on ass).
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I agree with a lot of your points. I'm pretty conflicted about PeTA and Newkirk for many of the reasons you cite, but I do think that the organization as a whole is sincere in its mission. And they really have made a huge difference in the treatment of animals, particularly those used for research and food. But their ads...ugh.
12/02/09
I had an argument with someone in class once that PETA does more harm than good in terms of recruiting people for the animal-rights cause, which I don't really believe anymore, but I do think they are betraying one of the largest animal-rights constituencies (women) with their constant emphasis on sex and appearance.
Have you ever read Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee? This thread keeps making me think of it, it's about a woman who is a Ingrid Newkirk-level activist/scholar, who actually has a really complicated philosophical discussion about the ontological dilemmas of the human-animal relationship...oh, it's really good. Anyone interested in animal rights should read it, or the shorter version in his The Lives of Animals.
12/02/09
And yeah, judging by the general Jezebel commenter reaction to any PeTA post, you were arguing a very sound point.
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