Does PETA make you uncomfortable?

[smbolisnch]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x3627824#top

[SemiCharmedQuark]

1. Same crud, different thread.

Same poster too.

I wonder what "Does Code Pink make you uncomofortable" would get in replies.

[smbolisnch]

2. Good question.

I am thinking of trying it. :banghead:

[CrispyQ]

3. Oh crap . . .

My first foray into the lounge.

:dunce:

[livinginphotographs]

4. I don't know why I bothered.

But I did.

And then it got locked before I could respond to the one ironically named poster.

People like that remind me of my looney fundie grandmother, whose response to a discussion about science was, "The Bible tells me God made the world, and that's all I need to know."

With all those "that's just the way it is" arguments, you wonder why they're the ones calling US fundies.

[Merope215]

5. A little, actually

I think they have better ways of advocating for animals than putting their suffering in people's faces. Maybe I'm wrong. I had dinner a few months ago with a guy from PETA who was trying to turn my college's vegetarian club (which really just involves people cooking food together a few times a month) into an activist group. I was really impressed by how articulate he was. But he and the other activist stood out on campus for a few hours wearing the body-screens playing "Meet Your Meat" (I think it was...I've never been able to steel myself to watch any of those videos). They were also handing out Tofutti "ice-cream" bars. The feedback I heard from my friends later was all along the lines of "I had no idea vegan ice cream could be that good. But that video was disgusting, and it pissed me off that I saw it."

I think, personally, that PETA does a better job pushing veg*anism when it frames it in terms of the fact that all you have to do is walk down a different aisle at the grocery store. People react defensively to being told they support evil (have you ever tried to talk to a Bush voter that way?), and I think they're a lot more receptive if you concentrate on other aspects. Maybe I'm just uncomfortable with making people uncomfortable.

Anyway, the Lounge thread was ridiculous. I hope everyone understands that I'm not bashing PETA; it's certainly done a lot of good, I just think it could be even more effective if it were a bit less controversial. But perhaps I'm wrong, because they've managed to put animal issues into mainstream dialogue. Thoughts?

[flvegan]

6. Good points, but I think

that if PETA DIDN'T do the sometimes wacky, sometimes brash, and/or sometimes over the top stuff, they'd not be as well known. I've found that a good percentage of the folks that are so angry about seeing those videos are the same ones that get angry about being faced with almost any uncomfortable aspect in life. Reality sucks sometimes, and lots of folks don't want to see it.

PETA is a force to be reckoned with, and a household name. They've put animal rights in the living room of every single person with a media outlet. What other AR group can claim that? HSUS, maybe, and they're largely a lobbying group. I mean, here's this fringe topic (animal rights) which gets so much play because of them. If they weren't effective, they wouldn't be around.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

10. Actually on DU, lots of those people mad about seeing the "meatrix" are

the same ones angry at Bush for not showing the caskets of dead soldiers on TV. Or they want to hold up signs showing Iraqi children horribly injured. Same thing. Except apparently it is ok to be confrontational as long as you are advocating the right thing.

[flvegan]

11. Bingo.

Excellent point. Excellent point.

[SemiCharmedQuark]

9. Do you believe Bush is correct to censor the caskets coming back from Iraq

Its the same thing. Sometimes the truth is ugly, but it is still the truth.


The very nastiness of the truth is what made me become veg.


A great discussion though, thanks for it.

[CrispyQ]

12. You have a valid point, merope215 . . .

Now that I reflect on it, PETA has many campaigns where they 'attack' but don't really offer alternative suggestions. I think offering an alternative suggestion make a key difference, like your observation of others reaction to Tofutti bars was.

My post the the OP of the thread referenced was "What can PETA change in their approach so you wouldn't think they were nutcases, but you would still pay attention to their message?" Unfortunately, the thread was locked shortly after, so who knows if the OP would have responded or considered the question.

You suggest a different approach. Maybe what PETA needs to do is combine the two types of campaigns in one. A graphic awareness campaign along with an alternative 'what you can do' campaign.

Chicken campaign: Show & tell how awfully the chickens are treated, (Gene and Lorri Bauston of Farm Sanctuary say that chickens are treated the most horrendously of the barnyard animals.) BUT offer a list of chix alternatives to chicken. Maybe even try to get one of the manufacturer's of these products to offer special coupons for those who have heard the PETA message. (Thanks to a recent Boca thread, I tried the chix patties & they are very good! Yves has a really good chix pattie too.)

Fur campaign: Show & tell the cruelty of fur, (has anyone here seen Tribe of Heart's "Witness"? Very good, not overly graphic, but incredibly moving!) BUT offer fur alternatives. There are lots of fake fur/leather clothing out there & there are some wonderful fake fur/fake leather fabrics by bulk.

I think you have to shock them to get their attention, but then you have to offer an alternative. Just shocking them without an alternative resource leaves them feeling impotent. "I don't want to support this cruelty, but what alternative do I have?" (Granted, most of us were willing to eliminate "previous desirable thing" from our lives without an alternative, but hey, whatever helps the cause, huh?)



A site worth checking out: http://www.tribeofheart.org/




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on edit: added emphasis with BOLD

[City Lights]

7. Lots of "Ignored" appearing on that thread.

I removed the Lounge forum from my Greatest page and have been using the "ignore" and "hide" options more and more lately.

I know I won't change any minds by ignoring them or not engaging in the conversation, but something tells me most of the people who giggle at these types of threads are beyond hope anyway.

I don't spend much time in the Lounge anymore. Too much of it brings back memories of junior high school. :eyes: My junior-high kids are more mature than many who post there.

[Catchawave]

8. That thread is locked now.

YESSSS!

What's with all the hate thread's and posts in the lounge, it used to be stupid fun, not vile. Even the monster movie chain thread is getting slammed now :shrug: Oh yeah, I have a few hundred posts there!

Are *they* tired of being ignored? So sad :(