Ingrid Newkirk - Jezebel

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PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
PETA's Treatment Of Women Is A Joke
PETA Disgusts Americans With Adolescent Advertising



Ingrid Newkirk: Even Blood Suckers Are Cuter Than Cheney

PETA Founder Thinks Fur Is Yucky, Alexander McQueen Is 'Desperate'

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clevernamehere
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
I think PETA needs to get in touch with some social psychologists or behavior change experts. Really extreme, off putting attempts to convince people are usually just tuned out. There are loads of theories out there on how to get people to adopt a behavior and none of them say mocking people or being shocking do any good.
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Raised-byHeathens
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
wow-- just read through all the comments and people get CRAZY mad about PETA. Why? They are a weird fringe group that isn't really changing the dialogue about animal cruelty in any real way. People talk about their stunts almost exclusively and none of it opens up any real conversation about factory farming or animal rights or even sustainable food lifestyles. They use hurtful, shaming and often misogynistic tactics to bring attention to themselves, often obscuring the cause they supposedly work for. If we would just ignore them, maybe they would go away.
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WashingMyHair
08/25/09

@Raised-byHeathens: As someone that does a lot of work in the area of animal welfare, I'm no fan of PETA. Though many of my animal protection views fall in line with many of theirs, I'm not in favor with how they carry out their campaigns. Because they're so high profile, they're tactics often give the rest of us that care so deeply about animal rights an undeserved obstacle to overcome.

Plus, they're incredibly myopic and almost hypocritical with their views on the care and welfare of feral cats and pit bulls.

Ingrid Newkirk does not deserve to be the face of the animal rights and welfare movement!
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samethingwedoeverynightpinky
08/25/09

@Raised-byHeathens: The problem is they actually do have some good points about serious issues, which they undermine with all of their stunts, and also that the students themselves can create real fear and pain and trauma. I'm a vegetarian, former vegan who would like to give it another try, am appalled by fur and most animal testing, and would like resources to better understand how to avoid supporting these industries, and to provide to people with questions. But when PETA does things like dress like the KKK, I realize they don't see me, a black woman, as fully human, because if they did the terror I experience seeing from afar a bunch of people in klan robes on the streets of a city where I often presume myself safe from at laeast that kid of violence would matter to them. When they do things like a post a fat woman's body on a billboard to be mocked, I realize they don't care about triggering ed or causing women shame, or even that I've done what I can to avoid supporting cruelty to animals-- I'm bad pr, I guess, because I have the wrong type of body. When they pulled that stunt with the border crossers, trivializing the lives of people who are risking everything to cross, I realized the only people that exist and matter in their world are white people, esepcially thin white people. The hate they put out is disgusting.
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lisas
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
By the way, there's nothing edgy or original about reacting by posting "now I'm gonna eat a big burger". I realize I'm closing the gate after the horse has escaped, but I'm saying it anyway.
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mommy_dearest
08/25/09

@lisas: too late, sadly... the horse has escaped and people are threatening to eat it. I totally agree with you.
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rednrowdy
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
I wish more than anything you can ever imagine that we could not be controversial, and we could not be provocative. I really do.

THEN DON'T. BE. CONTROVERSIAL OR PROVOCATIVE.

nothing sells like misinformation. how about all news and media outlets boycott peta like they have for glenn beck?
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lisas
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
Fortunately for feminist animal rights activists, there are other organizations that work to help animals without the attendant attention-whoring. Even radical ones.
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KelseyElle
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
What a stupid stupid billboard for so many reasons.

Being a vegetarian does not make you automatically skinnier or healthier I know many vegetarians who are overweight because all they eat is bread.

Also why is PETA implying/joking/stating (?) that people EAT WHALE? I get the whale/fatty tie in but come on! fail.
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remedios
08/25/09

@KelseyElle: While I totally agree that the billboard has many problems, becoming vegetarian or vegan generally--not always, just generally--does result in weight loss and better health. But part of this is a chicken-egg question (hmm... maybe not the best reference). Many become veg*n as part or a change to become more healthy. So they choose healthier foods in their veg*n diet.

By and large, veg*ns do weigh less and are healthier. Of course that doesn't apply to every veg*n nor every non-veg*n. A key to being healthier is eating healthier, and one can do that with many different approaches.
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Penny
08/25/09

@remedios: I totally disagree. It does, in no way, guarantee a healthier diet. A lot of vegans/vegetarians have really bad, starch/processed food-heavy diets.
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Lymed
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
That add makes me want to go out and eat meat just to spite PETA.
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BeckySharper
08/25/09

@Lymed: I'll buy you a cheeseburger.
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MissRachel
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
Doesn't PETA realize that when they do this sort of crap, they are a) pushing people away and offending them at the same time and b) tainting what could be otherwise neutral public views on vegetarianism that now might never be swayed in a good direction? Way to make our lives harder, Ingrid.
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boobookitteh
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
Ingrid Newkirk is a total douchebaguette.

mmmmmmm... baguette...
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WaltzingMatilda
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
Mmm... Ethical Eatment of Animals.

I am always very ethical about my consumption of meat. Scout's honor.
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AuntieBee
08/25/09

@WaltzingMatilda: Me too. I wash my hands, so as to not spread germs to others. And I chew with my mouth closed, because I don't want to gross people out. See? Ethical and delicious.
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Eriu
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
I'm getting tired of making this public service announcement, but I have to plead with all the meat-loving Jezzies to try to remember that not all vegetarians and/or animal rights activists are crazies. In fact, maybe this is optimistic, and admittedly based on personal experience, but I'd say most of us do not support PETA. Hate on PETA all you want, but please don't take it out on the rest of us! I swear we're sane, nice people.
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Snowbunny
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
"...a body type acceptable to PETA"

Seriously? Back the FUCK off, PETA.
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Jeff Fecke
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
Sigh. My daughter is a vegetarian, my ex-wife is a vegetarian, and I'm sympathetic to vegetarianism but too weak-willed to give up meat. All of us -- even my seven-year-old -- have strong opinions on animal cruelty and the need to protect creatures in humans' care.

My ex and I both despise PETA, and someday, my daughter will too. They're far more interested in getting publicity than actually helping animals (see also: the Holocaust=Farming comparison). Groups like the ASPCA do far more to actually improve animal welfare than PETA ever will.

Incidentally, both my ex and I are fat; one's a meat-eater, one isn't. Somehow, I don't think meat is the deciding factor here.
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bananaballs
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
I'm sorry, PETA, but any nutritionist will tell you that sugar and processed carbs are the enemy.
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Rooo sez BISH PLZ
08/25/09

@bananaballs: Not any nutritionist, unfortunately. Like any other profession, they're not necessarily all that informed.

(If I'm not mistaken, the standard US curriculum still uses the USDA food pyramid, with the processed carbs on it.)
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Edited by Rooo sez BISH PLZ at 08/25/09 11:28 AM Rooo sez BISH PLZ was starred

Snowbunny
08/25/09

@bananaballs: Both of which, I can tell you as a vegetarian, are quite acceptable in a meat-free diet. My fat ass can back that statement up.
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sybann
08/25/09

@Rooo sez BISH PLZ: You are, sadly, correct. Have another slice of nutritionally useless white bread American diabetics.
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femaledwightschrute
08/25/09

In reply to PETA Founder "Apologizes" For "Save The Whales" Billboard
What even makes this campaign more lame is the fact that being vegetarian does not preclude anyone from mistreating animals. I don't think that one person (heck, one village) going vegetarian has a major impact on better animal care, or ethical slaughtering of animals, or sustainable fishing, and other potential meat-related issue. They should instead be focusing on getting legislation passed to prevent animal mistreatment, or better implementation of regulations on how animals are raised and farmed and fished.
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mwoe
08/25/09

@femaledwightschrute:

It initially seems like a radical notion, but its the people who eat meat and care about animals that can make the greatest impact on the lives of farm animals because we're the ones buying.
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babyruthless
08/25/09

@femaledwightschrute: I was vegetarian briefly because I wanted to eat only ethically raised meat animals--to me, this was defined as living the best possible ________ (cow, pig, chicken, whatever) life possible until slaughter. Yes, the slaughter part would suck, but I think that if the animal's life was worth living up until the last possible moment, then I was fine with that. I couldn't find any of this meat, so I went veg for a year and a half or so.

Then I found a meat co-op that raises cows that eat grass on pastures, and chickens that get to scratch for grubs. I eat this meat. I call it "happy meat." I think that supporting these farmers in their endeavors to raise happy, healthy animals goes farther to promote animal welfare than not eating meat at all. Besides, bacon is delicious. However, their meat is so freaking expensive that we only eat meat once or twice per week. I think it's a nice compromise.
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snark_shark
08/25/09

@femaledwightschrute: "What even makes this campaign more lame is the fact that being vegetarian does not preclude anyone from mistreating animals."

Good point. For example, one can be a vegan yet gleefully euthanize numbers of adoptable animals in shelters: [www.petakillsanimals.com] and [msgboard.snopes.com] or support Breed Specific Legislation, which kills dogs: [www.workingpitbull.com] and [www.realpitbull.com]
So yeah, being a vegan means nothing in terms of protecting animals.
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slowpoke.r
08/25/09

@snark_shark: Way to make a huge jump in logic. Not all vegans support PETA. Being vegan can have a fuckload to do with protecting animals, because being vegan does not equal being PETA. There are plenty of vegans who are animal rights activists and DO make a difference in the daily lives of animals.

I don't go around making irrational blanket statements about how other people's ethical choices are stupid and hypocritical, please stop doing it about mine. (I know you didn't say those exact words, but the message was quite clear.)
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Penny_Esq
08/25/09

@snark_shark: OK. Someone leaves the petakillsanimals link EVERY TIME they come up. IT IS NOT LEGIT. It is run by a trade group that has similar objections to MADD, for fuck's sake. There are plenty of legitimate reasons to dislike PETA, but the bullshit on petakillsanimals.com is NOT ONE OF THEM.

[www.sourcewatch.org]

[en.wikipedia.org]
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slowpoke.r
08/25/09

@Penny_Esq: Excellent, thank you for this! I had no idea. (Saving links now for future use...)
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cwisto moweina has got yer goat
08/25/09

@slowpoke.r: please lay off the logic until you understand it.

Snark_shark just said that being vegan does not imply protecting animals, NOT that being vegan implies not protecting animals.

Big. Difference.
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Edited by cwisto moweina has got yer goat at 08/25/09 1:13 PM

slowpoke.r
08/25/09

@cwisto moweina has got yer goat: You know what? You're absolutely right.

You know why I read it his/her comment the way I did? Because I actually hear that particular sentiment all the time. So I read more into SS's comment than she (maybe) meant because I got pissed. It's easier to get snippy with someone on the web than with your friend, or your neighbor, or your family.

In short, I fucked up and said "jump in logic" when I shouldn't have. But I still have a good point to make, despite my misuse (abuse?) of the word "logic."

Here it is: What I really have an issue with is the idea that being vegan does not imply protecting animals. Veganism is a form of boycotting and boycotting works. Maybe not quickly, maybe not in the most visible or direct way possible, but it does work. So vegans ARE protecting animals simply by being vegan, in the same way that boycotting certain companies protects children or natural resources.

Thanks for calling me out on my imperfect reasoning, thereby giving me the opportunity to clarify my thoughts.
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snark_shark
08/26/09

@slowpoke.r: Sorry, I wasn't specific enough. I was referring to PETA, not vegans/vegetarians in general. I know that many vegans and animal rights activists don't support PETA either. I should have included that in my post.
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snark_shark
08/26/09

@Penny_Esq: Yes, the site is run by a very biased group. However, the source of their info about that shelter is real, even if the presenters have their own agenda. Also, Newkirk has said on her own site that she supports Breed Specific Legislation, which kills dogs: [www.peta.org]
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