http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0819-25.htm

PETA Throws Bomb in New Haven
Shall I Compare Thee to a Freaking Cow?

by Andrew Christie

Leaving its trademark trail of outrage, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has been touring a national exhibit asking "Are Animals the New Slaves?" The outdoor display, in the words of the New Haven Register, consists of "photographs of people, mostly black Americans, being tortured, sold and killed, next to photographs of animals, including cattle and sheep, being tortured, sold and killed."
Pictures of Jews in concentration camps with numbers tattooed on their arms are juxtaposed with monkeys subjected to medical experiments, tattooed likewise. Children working their lives away in 19th-century factories are seen next to pigs and chickens exploited in present-day factory farms.

So, naturally, outrage ensues. When the exhibit came to a Connecticut street corner one day in early August, the New Haven Register editorialized, "If you care about animals more than people, the comparison may seem apt.... There is little common ground for agreement if PETA sees the slaughter of livestock for food as the same as the lynching of blacks or the extermination of millions of people in Europe."

Passers-by apparently agreed. The head of the state chapter of the NAACP showed up on the scene, said "black people are being pimped," and told organizers to take down the exhibit. A brother shouted in the face of a PETA volunteer "You can't compare me to a freaking cow!"

I think at a basic level here is the concept of speciesism. If one places non-humans on the same level as humans, then yes this makes sense, if not, then it's insulting, an outrage, etc.
I don't how really productive such an effort is in terms of causing people to really think hard about the issues, perhaps some people get the comparison, but I certainly feel that animals are enslaved by humans for a wide variety of purposes that are terrible and wrong, and unnecessary.

...I certainly feel that animals are enslaved by humans for a wide variety of purposes that are terrible and wrong, and unnecessary.

Is there any enslavement of animals that is good, right and necessary?

the comparison is so true. unfortunately.

It's an interesting comparison but I care more about humans than animals. I think it's wrong for PETA to exploit holocaust victims for their own agenda. I can't stand PETA, I really wish they would just stop.

It's an interesting comparison but I care more about humans than animals. I think it's wrong for PETA to exploit holocaust victims for their own agenda. I can't stand PETA, I really wish they would just stop.


Believe or not humans are animals. Do I have to bust out a phylogenetic tree?

It's an interesting comparison but I care more about humans than animals. I think it's wrong for PETA to exploit holocaust victims for their own agenda.

"Their own agenda" - as though they're doing it for fun and self gain. They are a nonprofit, and people who work there make relatively little money. I don't know of a more altruistic cause than fighting for the animals (who will never thank you, never give you money, and so on). Unlike most groups in the US, we're not fighting for our own freedom, we're fighting hard for someone else's, and we're villainized in the process.

By the way, I'm Jewish, had relatives who died in the holocaust, and I love the Holocaust on Your Plate campaign. It's an apt analogy to me.

the comparison is so true. unfortunately.

In what aspect/s?

By the way, I'm Jewish, had relatives who died in the holocaust, and I love the Holocaust on Your Plate campaign. It's an apt analogy to me.

Appeal to authority, huh?

No thanks.

Who here thinks that their life (or the life of a loved one of family member) is equal to that of a cows?

Who here thinks that their life (or the life of a loved one of family member) is equal to that of a cows?


Why do people have such a hard time with this?

It is not a matter of one's life being equal or not equal to a cow, it is a matter for having the same respect for a cow that you would have for a human. Its life has an inherit value that deserves respect.

Why do people have such a hard time with this?

It is not a matter of one's life being equal or not equal to a cow, it is a matter for having the same respect for a cow that you would have for a human. Its life has an inherit value that deserves respect.

Are you sure you want to use the term "same respect"?

Also..how about the life of a mouse or an insect? Do they also have this 'inherit value' that you speak of?

I apologize if I'm debating too much in this area.

It's confusing...because I see people arguing in these areas a lot...but I'm never sure how far to go. At what point do we know when to take the conversation to the compost heap?

Are you sure you want to use the term "same respect"?

Also..how about the life of a mouse or an insect? Do they also have this 'inherit value' that you speak of?

Question 1)
Wait let me think.........still thinking.......... Yes, I came to the conclusion my answer is yes.

Question 2)
Yes, both mice and insects, have inherit value. You don't have to put quotes around inherit value the phrase is not jargon.

Question 1)
Wait let me think.........still thinking.......... Yes, I came to the conclusion my answer is yes.

Question 2)
Yes, both mice and insects, have inherit value. You don't have to put quotes around inherit value the phrase is not jargon.

Hmm...you remind me of one of my favorite quotes (this one by Dave Foreman):

"She (speaking of a jaguar) did not consider herself watchable wildlife, or a source of joy for me. She has a life just as full of meaning and joy to her as mine is to me."

Truthfully, I believe in the meaning of that quote, but I also recognize that we, as humans, have no charge to hinder our own existance for another species. It would be nice to think that all of us would.... but it's not realistic.

I guess my next question would be... do you have any pets? :p

Who here thinks that their life (or the life of a loved one of family member) is equal to that of a cows?


*raises hand*

I guess my next question would be... do you have any pets? :p


I have 6 birds and two dogs. And a hamster I caught in the road a month ago.

Do I think it's okay to have pets? Yes and no.

I am very much against the pet industry. Not because I read a PETA brochure but from my own experiences. I do not believe animals should be bred for pets, but captive breeding programs is another argument.

"Their own agenda" - as though they're doing it for fun and self gain. They are a nonprofit, and people who work there make relatively little money. I don't know of a more altruistic cause than fighting for the animals (who will never thank you, never give you money, and so on). Unlike most groups in the US, we're not fighting for our own freedom, we're fighting hard for someone else's, and we're villainized in the process.

By the way, I'm Jewish, had relatives who died in the holocaust, and I love the Holocaust on Your Plate campaign. It's an apt analogy to me.

If PeTA cares so much about animals then why is it that they spend more money on propaganda (much of which is targeted at children and tells them that their mommy kills animals) than they do to actually help animals. PETA owns animal shelters that end up killing 85% of the animals they take in where as other shelters are able to find homes for much more. I guess PeTA would rather have the animals dead than be kept as house pets which they are so against. I'm all for animal rights but PeTA are insane and deceptive and use agressive tactics which I don't agree with.

Who here thinks that their life (or the life of a loved one of family member) is equal to that of a cows?

Of course I do... that's a concept that I hope the world will one day adopt.

Just because it's not yours (your family, friends) doesn't mean it does not exist (has its own family, friends).

Who here thinks that their life (or the life of a loved one of family member) is equal to that of a cows?My right not to suffer is as great as the cow's.

My right not to suffer is as great as the cow's.

Hear hear. And our right to life as well.


If I had to choose between my life and that of a cow, I would obviously choose mine. Same as I would choose my loved one's lives over the lives of those people I love less. Like if I had to choose between my son's life and a stranger's son's life, I would not hesitate (although it would be a tragic choice to make).

But this does not mean that my life is worth more than a cow's. It just happens to be mine so I value it more.

By the way, I'm Jewish, had relatives who died in the holocaust, and I love the Holocaust on Your Plate campaign. It's an apt analogy to me.

:surprised

I thought I was the only one on VB - or anywhere else - who had no problem with that campaign. I too lost relatives in the Holocaust and I understand what PETA was trying to say.

Who here thinks that their life (or the life of a loved one of family member) is equal to that of a cows?

I do. I can't bring myself to believe my life is any more important than a cows.

My right not to suffer is as great as the cow's.

"Who here thinks that their life (or the life of a loved one of family member) is equal to that of a cows?"

I do, I don't really see what the criteria would be for evaluating one species as being more valuable than another. Humans can obviously do alot of things that other animals can't, but i think that's just the nature of what a particular animal is; a bird can't design a building, but a human can't just take off and soar into the air, for example.
It's easy to see how someone can say that a human is 'better' or more important than an ant, but why is that really?

One might as well ask whether individual humans are more important than others. Do we eat those that don't contribute "meaningfully" to our society?