# Now PETA has a voice? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 10, 2003, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126 "2003-02-10T16:15:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Hank\_Fescue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@Hank\_Fescue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Fescue)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/41 "2003-02-11T13:19:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silentgoldfish \* > \*\*Um. Yes. So when the bombing kills the civilians that it’s been designed to the 6 year old kid is “less innocent” than the donkey? \*\* Designed is the key here. Did I miss something? Did the animal design the bomb? You can be pissed at the people who designed the bomb, strapped the bomb, sent the donkey. The donkey is innocent. He/she had no malice. ---
**Author:** ![december](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@december](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/december)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/42 "2003-02-11T14:04:10Z")
Thank you, **tlw** for a great rant. **Hank Fescue** , I was appalled by the level of bigotry in your comment, _“When you put Palestinian, next to Israeli, next to donkey, there is only one innocent party I could identify for sure.”_ Is it OK with you if Palestinian and Israeli civilians are killed and maimed? What do you mean by, _“You can be pissed at the people who designed the bomb, strapped the bomb, sent the donkey.”_ Do you think that the appropriate reaction to these mass murderers is to merely be “pissed off”? And, by the words, _“you can be,”_ do you mean that one might not even be pissed off? From your POV, is it optional to even be annoyed by the mass murder of random civilians? ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Kumquat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/4491bb/32.png) [@Gary\_Kumquat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Kumquat)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/43 "2003-02-11T14:19:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hank Fescue \* > \*\*Designed is the key here. Did I miss something? Did the animal design the bomb? You can be pissed at the people who designed the bomb, strapped the bomb, sent the donkey. The donkey is innocent. He/she had no malice. \*\* Do you see anyone above ranting at the donkey? If not, what are you talking about? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/44 "2003-02-11T15:07:06Z")
This just goes to show that if you’re a donkey, it’s much better to be born in Tijuana. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Fescue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@Hank\_Fescue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Fescue)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/45 "2003-02-11T15:32:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by december \* > \*\*Thank you, **tlw** for a great rant. > > **Hank Fescue** , I was appalled by the level of bigotry in your comment, _“When you put Palestinian, next to Israeli, next to donkey, there is only one innocent party I could identify for sure.”_ Is it OK with you if Palestinian and Israeli civilians are killed and maimed? > > What do you mean by, _“You can be pissed at the people who designed the bomb, strapped the bomb, sent the donkey.”_ Do you think that the appropriate reaction to these mass murderers is to merely be “pissed off”? And, by the words, _“you can be,”_ do you mean that one might not even be pissed off? From your POV, is it optional to even be annoyed by the mass murder of random civilians? \*\* I would rather that no one was killed. As it stands, the donkey is the only party I can honestly say does not have hatred for either group. I have a hard time finding sympathy for either side personally. I definitely have more sympathy for the donkey. The Palestinians regularly kill Israeli civilians and the Israelis regularly kill Palestinian civilians. Any sympathy would lie with truely innocent and peaceful people on either side that become victims. That is hard to tell though since both sides have enough hate amidst the population that I really just don’t care. You reap what you sew. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/46 "2003-02-11T15:37:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hank Fescue \* > \*\*I would rather that no one was killed. As it stands, the donkey is the only party I can honestly say does not have hatred for either group. \*\* Do you have more sympathy for a donkey than a child or a baby? ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Fescue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/49beb7/32.png) [@Hank\_Fescue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Fescue)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/47 "2003-02-11T15:41:57Z")
I said I would have sympathy for any truely innocent person. A baby or child I would hold above the donkey. ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/48 "2003-02-11T17:39:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\*This just goes to show that if you’re a donkey, it’s much better to be born in Tijuana. \*\* Groan! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/49 "2003-02-11T17:46:11Z")
“You reap what you sew.” Especially if you’ve sown cotton. ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2003, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/50 "2003-02-11T18:34:32Z")
Suicide Donkeys! Next on Fox! (wouldn’t the world be a better place if all the asses were suicide asses?) ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/51 "2003-02-12T04:31:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Persephone \* > \*\*IAnd **Rick?** You said… > > No shit? If that’s not a joke, could you cite it, or send me an email? Damn, I’d LOVE to see that. \*\* All together now: [SIZE=4]WHOOSH! ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/52 "2003-02-12T04:45:00Z")
_sigh_ Well, it was funny. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![kung\_fu\_lola](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f4b2a3/32.png) [@kung\_fu\_lola](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kung_fu_lola)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/53 "2003-02-12T06:13:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tlw \* > \*\* … Is it sad that a donkey died? Yes. But I’d rather every donkey on the planet die than another child or another grandma on her way to go shopping or a bunch of kids sitting in a coffeehouse. > > If Ingrid Newkirk sees things differently, and clearly she does, bully for her. But that opinion has no place in the midst of the argument. It is a slap, no, a battering ram to the face of every family torn asunder by a cowards’ bomb, every loss-racked parent, every orphan, every young person who will face the rest of their lives maimed and broken. > \*\* Like I said earlier in my post, **To PETA** , the donkey’s life is equally as important as those of the humans involved. To say her opinion “has no place” is just Bill O’Reilly-esque ranting. IMHO, freedom of speech is sacred. PETA’s feelings for the donkey only add to the amount of compassion being shown; they don’t take any away. Why are people so threatened by this? The idea that all life is important? How does feeling more compassion, grief and outrage at the killing of innocent beings somehow detract from everyone else’s grief? This sounds like zero-sum thinking to me. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/13edae/32.png) [@Dewey\_Cheatem\_Undhow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Cheatem_Undhow)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/54 "2003-02-12T15:16:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by kung fu lola \* > \*\*Like I said earlier in my post, **To PETA** , the donkey’s life is equally as important as those of the humans involved. To say her opinion “has no place” is just Bill O’Reilly-esque ranting. IMHO, freedom of speech is sacred. \*\* Nobody’s suggesting that PETA lacks the right to say foolish things. PETA has every right to its opinion. We have every right to point out that PETA’s opinion is stupid, ill-conceived, and lacking moral perspective. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/55 "2003-02-12T15:24:32Z")
I’m reminded of 2000 years ago when a donkey helped ferry Joseph and a pregnant Mary to Bethlehem. Bone-headed PETA comments aside, what a tragic slide their current employer has taken. ---
**Author:** ![slortar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/56 "2003-02-12T17:51:46Z")
As a brief hijack, I’d just like to add that this thread has been a source of great humor to me since I’ve added the “PETA Truth Filter” to my copy of Proxomitron, which replaces all occurrences of the word PETA onscreen with “raving butt monkey.” If there’s one appellation to describe those behind the act which inspire the OP, I believe, “raving butt monkey” would be it. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![THespos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8c91f0/32.png) [@THespos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/THespos)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/57 "2003-02-12T18:57:12Z")
> [@](#): > > “Animal liberationists do not separate out the human animal, so there is no rational basis for saying that a human being has special rights. A rat is a pig is a dog is a boy. They’re all mammals.”(Vogue, September 1989) If this is really what Ingrid believes, then PETA is hypocritical for calling attention to the donkey and not to the human beings that were killed. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/58 "2003-02-12T19:14:29Z")
I new little bit on PETA: They’re starting a campaign that basically says the best way to prevent man-boobs is to not eat meat. (This is from an [Aerosmith news site](http://www.rockthisway.de/news/news.htm), hence the music bent. > [@](#): > > PETA To Use AEROSMITH’s “Dude (Looks Like A Lady)” In Man-Boob Campaign - Feb. 11, 2003 > > To help fight the obesity epidemic in this country, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is producing radio spots telling men that the best way to avoid gynecomastia, the overdevelopment of male breasts, is to avoid meat and dairy products. Two weeks ago, PETA wrote Steven Tyler, AEROSMITH’s lead singer, asking for permission to use the song “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” , which he cowrote, for its campaign. > > “Gynecomastia is the accumulation of breast tissue caused by excessive qualities of estrogenlike substances that can be traced to meat, milk and eggs,” explained Dan Mathews, PETA’s vice president of campaigns, in his letter. “With the use of your perfectly worded song, we could highlight these facts in a provocative yet entertaining way.” ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/59 "2003-02-12T19:25:25Z")
I wonder if PETA would be pleased if the donkey was now looked on as a Martyr? ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2003, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126/60 "2003-02-12T20:31:45Z")
> [@](#): > > I just find it odd that (even though PETA is an animal rights organization), they couldn’t even give a statement about the human suffering that’s been going on for years, but finally open thier mouths when a donkey is blown up. So… you find it odd that an animal rights organization is protesting a donkey being blown up. Sorry **zev** , but what did you expect, you moron? Do you know what animal rights means? Or do you seriously want _PETA_ to be doing press releases about the situation in the Middle East? That’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard in a really long time. If they _did_ try it, they’d get crucified for even attempting to address the topic and you know it. You’d probably be first in line. I know any rant against PETA will go over great here no matter how baseless or completely lacking in evidence it is, but this one is pretty fucking sad. 0 out of 10. -fh [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/now-peta-has-a-voice/154126.md?page=4)