# A big 'ol "Fuck YOU!" to the PETA jackass at the circus **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 25, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945 "2009-01-25T19:54:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/21 "2009-01-25T22:35:42Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Harassing children is illegal in almost every state. If hearing a political viewpoint destined to be on the right side of history is considered “harassment” now, I’m the biggest harassment victim around. Yet somehow, my life isn’t so horrible. Hostile Dialect, Hostile Dialect, Narcissist ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/22 "2009-01-25T22:36:04Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Harassing children is illegal in almost every state. There’s no _specific_ law on the books about harassing MY child, but it’s not a very bright thing to do; I tend to be a very reactionary father. Talking to a child is not harassment, so I think the reactionary self-label is quite apt. In a free society, our children are exposed to ideas we do not endorse. Most of us think that’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/23 "2009-01-25T22:38:50Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I wouldn’t have wasted my pamphlet dollar on someone who’s not old enough to read, but I find the whole concept of circus animals to be disturbing. I’d have given the kid the information verbally. You kidding? The \*best \*time to work on them is when they’re young like that. Or so said the guy handing out scratch 'n sniff NAMBLA flyers in the Chuck E. Cheese men’s room. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/24 "2009-01-25T22:39:29Z")
**Jettboy** , a slow sad head shake, a waggle of the finger, a whispered “don’t go in there” and a pamphlet handed out consititute harrassment in your world? Aren’t you the hothouse flower? Maybe you should avoid public discourse lest you be subject to further indignities. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/73ab20/32.png) [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Tao_s_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/25 "2009-01-25T22:41:42Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Harassing children is illegal in almost every state. There’s no _specific_ law on the books about harassing MY child, but it’s not a very bright thing to do; I tend to be a very reactionary father. Talking isn’t harassment. Now what **Rand Rover** is doing here, now that’s harassment. Ain’t it nice when troll energy can be harnessed for productive uses? ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/26 "2009-01-25T22:43:05Z")
> [@TommyTutone](#): > > We went on our merry way and had a fantastic time. The show was terrific, and my son’s memories of his first **public execution** ever weren’t derailed by some pale, scrawny twit in organic hemp pants trying to ram his asinine viewpoint down our collective throat and say we’re ‘bad’ people, a ‘cruel’ people, because we won’t swallow it. If you’re going to have executions, it makes absolutely no sense not to make them public. If you’re opposed to executions in general, carry on. ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/27 "2009-01-25T22:45:14Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > …by supporting such circuses, you are in fact contributing to the problem. The ‘problem’? What fucking ‘problem’ is that, exactly? Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey are keeping these beasties from an otherwise fulfilling life of drives in the country, reading poetry by moonlight, writing grand novels, discovering a philosophy that will change society as we know it, curing cancer, wearing cute little pants and a crown and being the head of a small nation? Grow up; they’re _animals_. It’s been demonstrated many times that Barnum’s parent company, Feld, treats their animals humanely; they’re all well-fed, healthy specimens who _aren’t_ mistreated. They are inspected in every city they stop in. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/28 "2009-01-25T22:48:11Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I agree. Not just the elephants, but all the mammals involved. Oh sure: it’s all about the mammals in your world, isn’t it? What about the sea kittens and the leglesslithery puppies? ---
**Author:** ![Jettboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@Jettboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jettboy)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/29 "2009-01-25T22:50:38Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#): > > **Jettboy** , a slow sad head shake, a waggle of the finger, a whispered “don’t go in there” and a pamphlet handed out consititute harrassment in your world? When it’s directed at a _FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD_? Fuck yes, that’s harassment. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/30 "2009-01-25T22:51:46Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Grow up; they’re _animals_. It’s been demonstrated many times that Barnum’s parent company, Feld, treats their animals humanely; they’re all well-fed, healthy specimens who _aren’t_ mistreated. They are inspected in every city they stop in. Why would you care about the latter if your former admonition that I should “grow up” indicates that they are, to you, unimportant? ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/31 "2009-01-25T23:00:24Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > I agree. Not just the elephants, but all the mammals involved. I’m pretty sure the poodles love it, actually. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/32 "2009-01-25T23:00:40Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Ringling Brothers/Barnum & Bailey are keeping these beasties from an otherwise fulfilling life of… > \ > …wearing cute little pants and a crown and being the head of a small nation? Well, it worked for Babar. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/33 "2009-01-25T23:01:40Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > When it’s directed at a _FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILD_? Fuck yes, that’s harassment. No. The law doesn’t mean whatever your reactionary mind wants it to mean. > [@](#): > > ‘Harass’ means to engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress in such person and serves no legitimate purpose. Fla. Stat. § 784.048 (2008) There was no “course of conduct”–defined as multiple actions over a period of time–and it neither “cause[d] substantial emotional distress” nor did it “serve no legitimate purpose”. The dissemination of political information is the paramount legitimate purpose of speech under the First Amendment. Was this dude being a jerk? Maybe. But the suggestion that he was doing something illegal is a display of dangerous stupidity. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/34 "2009-01-25T23:03:06Z")
> [@E-Sabbath](#): > > I’m pretty sure the poodles love it, actually. Yeah but they’re French. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/35 "2009-01-25T23:03:32Z")
> [@Jettboy](#): > > Grow up; they’re animals. It’s been demonstrated many times that Barnum’s parent company, Feld, treats their animals humanely; they’re all well-fed, healthy specimens who aren’t mistreated. They are inspected in every city they stop in. Yes, I’m sure Barnum & Bailey is considered acceptable by a society whose standards for such things are influenced by the very fact that circuses are considered tradition. Gee, I wonder why bullfighting isn’t illegal in Spain yet. Hostile Dialect, Hostile Dialect, Narcissist ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/36 "2009-01-25T23:09:34Z")
> [@Richard\_Parker](#): > > Fla. Stat. § 784.048 (2008) > > There was no “course of conduct”–defined as multiple actions over a period of time–and it neither “cause[d] substantial emotional distress” nor did it “serve no legitimate purpose”. The dissemination of political information is the paramount legitimate purpose of speech under the First Amendment. > > Was this dude being a jerk? Maybe. But the suggestion that he was doing something illegal is a display of dangerous stupidity. How do you know **Jettboy** is in Florida? Anyway, it’s by no means certain that PETA guy wasn’t doing something illegal. Courts have consistently ruled that minors’ First Amendment rights to free speech are less protected than those of adults, and, similarly, the right to disseminate expressive speech _to_ minors is less protected. See FCC v. Pacifica Foundation for an example. ---
**Author:** ![Martin\_Hyde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/47e85d/32.png) [@Martin\_Hyde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martin_Hyde)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/37 "2009-01-25T23:09:55Z")
We butcher animals in the billions every year. Animals aren’t people, they are chattel. If someone is entertained by a trained elephant, then more power to them. The only compelling argument I have when it comes to animal cruelty is wanton abuse of animals debases the abuser, and for that reason I don’t think people should engage in it. But as animals are not human I do not feel they should have any legal rights whatsoever. I would still generally agree with laws against the training of fighting dogs and such, not because of any infringement on the “rights” of the dogs, but on the basis that such treatment creates extremely dangerous animals that are a threat to public safety and order. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Parker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/35a633/32.png) [@Richard\_Parker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Parker)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/38 "2009-01-25T23:14:20Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > How do you know **Jettboy** is in Florida? His profile. > [@](#): > > Anyway, it’s by no means certain that PETA guy wasn’t doing something illegal. Courts have consistently ruled that minors’ First Amendment rights to free speech are less protected than those of adults, and, similarly, the right to disseminate expressive speech _to_ minors is less protected. See FCC v. Pacifica Foundation for an example. It is as certain as anything in the law. Minors’ First Amendment rights are not less protected, but there is a lower threshold for obscene or indecent speech directed toward them. _Pacifica_ is about indecency, and distinguishable for that reason among several others. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/39 "2009-01-25T23:14:35Z")
> [@The\_Tao\_s\_Revenge](#): > > Your man-crush adds to the discussion in this thread how? Just thought I’d make sure anyone who chose to respond to gonzomax knew who they were dealing with. ---
**Author:** ![TommyTutone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@TommyTutone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TommyTutone)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945/40 "2009-01-25T23:19:35Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > If you’re going to have executions, it makes absolutely no sense not to make them public. If you’re opposed to executions in general, carry on. Fair enough. Replace executions then with gladiator fights to the death, burning Christians, or bear baiting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-big-ol-fuck-you-to-the-peta-jackass-at-the-circus/482945.md?page=3)