Animal Rights Does it matter if veg*ans have a good reptuation?

[Clueless Git]

The number of people who think that it is the goal of PETA and HSUS to come into their homes, seize their companion animals, and kill them because people shouldn't have pets, has been astonishing to me.

I think this a 'good guy, bad guy' thing.

1. I'm the good guy

2. That guy makes me feel like the bad guy

3. It is bad to make good guys feel like bad guys

4. That guy must be a bad guy

5. That guys true intention must, therefore, be the baddest thing I can possibly think of


And that line of reasoning is why any pro-veg*an publicity that pricks the omni-conscience can only serve as proof, in omni-land, that veg*anism is evil.

 

[Nightshade]

An open challenge ...

Without prompting them ask any omni freinds/family to recall any large scale pro-vegan publicity they can actualy remember.

My bet is that, if they can remember any at all, it will exclusively be something they didn't like and regard to have added to veg*anisms 'bad' reputation.


My suspicion there being this: The only 'good' publicity for something you simply don't want to know about must be entirely forgetable.


As a side bet I'll wager that anything positive they recall will actualy be 'happy farm' and animal welfare reform publicity.

That the only things omnis remember positively will be "Eat your meat with clear conscience" stuff, basicaly.

Well, to be fair, the only messages I recall in recent years from PETA have been things that I didn't care for myself. If present day PETA is the only vegan organization that most omnis are exposed to, I don't find it surprising that people think we're weird.

 

[Clueless Git]

Well, to be fair, the only messages I recall in recent years from PETA have been things that I didn't care for myself. If present day PETA is the only vegan organization that most omnis are exposed to, I don't find it surprising that people think we're weird.

Which means that no one apart from PETA is actualy doing anything that even veg*ans, let alone omnis, can actualy remember?

The least it means is that the combined efforts of the entire veg*an population, except for PETA, are not sticking in anyones minds?

Not having a pop at anyone, but!

Is it not grossly unfair if those doing nothing that sticks in anyone minds are criticising the only ones doing anything that sticks in anyones mind at all?

 

[Mischief]

Lots of people are doing something. It's just that, if an organization's primary goal is to be as attention grabbing as possible, no matter how offensive their stunts, they tend to get the available publicity. Somebody earlier mentioned the Westboro church group as an example in the religious community. Miley Cyrus' recent antics would be another example.

That's actually one of the criticisms of PETA, that they are all about self aggrandizement, rather than doing things that would have a positive impact on animals. It's a well taken criticism, not only of PETA, but of some individual veg*ns/AR activists.

 

[Nightshade]

Perhaps I am not making myself clear which is the only reason I can see for you to keep misinterpreting everything I am saying. To most omnis, PETA is the voice of veganism. Rightly or wrongly, that's how we're judged.

I am and have always been involved with many other great animal rights and vegan organizations and I can rattle off list after list of what their accomplishments have been. PETA, not so much in recent years. I was involved with them when they started up and fought against the use of animals in laboratory testing and rallied against the fur industry and the use of animals in circuses. They jumped the shark for me many years ago though, so I have disassociated myself from that organization.

Is it unfair? /shrug So is life. There are so many things an organization like PETA could be doing that would raise peoples' awareness in a positive way but they chose to squander their credibility by doing things like launching campaigns which mock overweight people and objectifying women.

 

[Blobbenstein]

I suppose that the only way that most of the media will give Peta any time is if they provide a freak show.

 

[Clueless Git]

I suppose that the only way that most of the media will give Peta any time is if they provide a freak show.

Not trying to bring you into bad repute, Blobbers, but I think you might just have hit a nail right on the head right there.

 

[Clueless Git]

Randomly thinking about phoenix like rises from the ashes of bad publicity ...

1. Hitler.

2. UKIP.

 

[Mischief]

I think this a 'good guy, bad guy' thing.

1. I'm the good guy

2. That guy makes me feel like the bad guy

3. It is bad to make good guys feel like bad guys

4. That guy must be a bad guy

5. That guys true intention must, therefore, be the baddest thing I can possibly think of


And that line of reasoning is why any pro-veg*an publicity that pricks the omni-conscience can only serve as proof, in omni-land, that veg*anism is evil.

I can say with a great deal of assurance that, with respect to most of the people I'm talking, PETA is not being effective in making them feel like "the bad guy"; PETA just comes off as not really giving a flying **** about actual animals. In fact, the people who dislike PETA the most are doing a lot more for animals than PETA seems to be doing.

Randomly thinking about phoenix like rises from the ashes of bad publicity ...

1. Hitler.

2. UKIP.

Well, then, PETA is in wonderful company.

 

[Clueless Git]

I can say with a great deal of assurance ..

Yes, I know.

 

[Mischief]

Yes, I know.

LOL!

 

[prioritarian]

ost are doing a lot more for animals than PETA seems to be doing.

In USAnia PETA are the de facto last resort when it comes to suffering animals that no one else will care for. I think some of the controversy surrounding PETA is due to the fact that some veg*ns cannot accept euthanasia as ethical under any circumstance. Obviously I and many others vehemently disagree. I also believe that PETA's outreach and investigative work have had a larger impact on public perception of animal use/consumption that any other organization. And finally, PETA's inflammatory advertisements can be distasteful but they based on the idea that shocking people out of their complacency (e.g. the banality of evil) can get them to think about ethical issues in a new light. This "means justify ends" tactic is a utilitarian strategy that I personally support. While I agree that PETA has made some mistakes, I strongly believe that their "motivation" comes from the right place.