You are fucking kidding me.

[kierthos]

PETA gets upset over Obama swatting fly.

Seriously. A fly. It's a goddamned pest. We're not talking some cute and cuddly furry animal here. It's a fly.

Next thing you know, PETA will be bitching about people swatting mosquitos.

Comments

[cuddlycthulhu.livejournal.com]

Someone should tell PETA that every day their bodies destroy millions and millions of biological forms of life through simple things as respiration, washing their hands, and digestion and then watch their heads explode.

I'm well aware that I'm in the minority, here...

[spooktress.livejournal.com]

*shrug*

Cute has no bearing on the matter. We may not all be rabid sensationalists, but I'd say most of us PETA members don't judge books by their cover. Whether it's a panda bear or a monkfish or a stickbug is inconsequential--a life was intentionally ended.

Just to give a little perspective, I personally never swat flies, squish bugs, try to run over cats with my car, club baby seals, or kill elephants; they're all the same manner of atrocious behavior from my perspective.

Re: I'm well aware that I'm in the minority, here...

[kierthos.livejournal.com]

I know cute doesn't matter... I'm just saying PETA would be more effective if they stuck to battles that they at least have a chance on winning.

They're not going to reach everyone with a "adopt this cat" message. Some people just aren't fond of cats. But those same people probably don't go out of their way to hurt cats.

Same with dogs. Or horses. Or pigs. Or gerbils, hamsters, mice, rats, etc.

But telling people "Obama is a bad man because he swatted that fly!" makes them look like real nutters. And it doesn't help to get their message across when they make statements that cause people to dismiss them as rambling whackjobs.

Re: I'm well aware that I'm in the minority, here...

[spooktress.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty certain that it isn't about winning, at least not in the seemingly crazy high-profile cases. It's about getting their name out there. Getting people to talk about the organization. Getting people to discuss their thoughts in regards to animal care/sentience/respect.

It was because of a PETA stunt 15 years ago that I heard their name for the first time, looked into the organization's beliefs and policies, and became a contributing member. I held signs, covered myself in red paint, etc, and gave them money every year all because of one high-profile publicity stunt.

[burtonlabs.livejournal.com]

Damn you! You beat me to posting this, so I'll just live vicariously through your post.
I heard he'd swatted a fly on my flight to California yesterday and my first thought was, "how long until PETA says something about it".
I guess not that long. :P