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PETA Condemns Pokemon For Promoting Animal Abuse
SchrodingerZ writes "PETA, the same group that last November protested Mario for 'wearing fur,' has condemned the Pokémon media franchise and video game series. In light of the recent release of Pokemon Black and White Versions 2, the activist group is protesting that the Pokemon game series 'paints a rosy picture of what amounts to thinly veiled animal abuse.' As many of us know Pokemon is about young children who capture wild animals for the sole purpose of having them battle in non-fatal sparing matches. 'Much like animals in the real world, Pokémon are treated as unfeeling objects and used for such things as human entertainment and as subjects in experiments. The way that Pokémon are stuffed into pokéballs is similar to how circuses chain elephants inside railroad cars and let them out only to perform confusing and often painful tricks that were taught using sharp steel-tipped bullhooks and electric shock prods,' says a statement from the group. Ironically within Pokemon B/W 2 there an organization known as Team Plasma , which deals with taking Pokemon and retuning them to the wild. PETA is so up in arms that they have even created an anti-pokemon parody game in which you play as an escaped Pokemon battling your trainer. I recommend trying it, just for the laughs."
One of the funniest headlines I've read all year. Don't need TFA.
sig: sauer
Well, my days of not taking PETA seriously are certainly coming to a middle.
. . . To make Slashdot nerds scream with fury and generate more page hits. Posting anonymously because enraged nerds are sure to mod me down.
No Cartoon Animals where harmed during the drawing of this show.
Look, we all eschew mistreatment of animals, but aside from the deceit and near criminality of PETA as an organization . . . they're just downright fucking retarded:
The way that Pokémon are stuffed into pokéballs is similar to how circuses chain elephants inside railroad cars and let them out only to perform confusing and often painful tricks that were taught using sharp steel-tipped bullhooks and electric shock prods,'
No. No, they are NOTHING ALIKE. For one thing, elephants are real and pokemon don't actually fucking exist.
PETA is probably also listening to Smash Mouth and fearing Y2K.
Don't feed the trolls.
How is Mario ever "wearing fur"? Are they referring to Racoon Mario? When he touches the Leaf, he becomes a fucking racoon. He's not "wearing a racoon suit, cosplay style," he physically transforms into a fucking racoon
I mean damn PETA come on, this is why people start thinking you're just a bunch of nutjobs....
Here's to the crazy ones
...as of 3mins ago and will keep supporting them in hopes of seeing more headlines like these, pure comedy. Thank you PETA.
If PETA had their way, we would not eat meat, nor use leather. No farmer would keep cows around just for the hell of it. Lots of dead cows.....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb48YDxhPkg&t=1m53s
old joke
If anybody at PETA had actually bothered to play Pokemon Black and White for more than five minutes, they'd have met a group of villains named Team Plasma. This group was a parody of real world "revolutionary" groups like the Black Panthers or PETA, who attempt to present themselves as fighting for a worthy cause, when in reality they're just after personal gain and a feelings of self-satisfaction. Team Plasma tries to convince you the player that your treatment of pokemon is cruel, and that Pokemon hate people as a result. Yet the real message of the story is learning that catching a pokemon isn't just about stuffing it into a ball and forcing it to fight: It's about building a bond of trust and mutual friendship between the pokemon and trainer, which if properly fostered allows them to accomplish anything together. If anything, PETA should be commending Pokemon for it's progressive attitude. But I guess that doesn't make for as eye-catching a headline.
Wow. In a completely unrelated note, I just read yesterday in, I think, a wiki on pokemon, that the original backstory points out that in the pokemon world there are no conventional farm animals. Zero. So what do the human inhabitants eat? Apparently, they eat Pokemon. Hopefully, the more appetizing-looking ones. Let's see what PETA does with that.
But more on-topic, I think I shall create an anti-anti-pokemon game, where you beat up children, take their pokemon, release same into the wild, and see how long it takes for them to starve to death.
And then the anti-anti-anti-pokemon game would have some organization exterminate all domestic pokemon "for their own good".
Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
Will they be nude?
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
This reminds me of when groups like Greenpeace complains about something popular just to get attention. It's just some activist noise making about something topical to bring attention to themselves. What I find funny is that by pulling these stupid stunts, all they are doing is making themselves (and their cause) look bad. Maybe the next time someone hears about an actual legitimate issue in animal welfare they'll think of this and pay it no mind ('Hey, isn't that the same stuff those wackos who complained about Pokemon were going on about?') . The way they trade credibility for publicity (not that they had much credibility to start with) makes me think PETA cares more about their own 15 seconds of fame than actually bringing any benefit to animals.
And by the way, Pokemon are clearly partners, not slaves. The games make generally that pretty clear and go on ad nauseam about poke-friendship or something like that, in fact, something about humans being mean to their Pokemon was even a central part of the plot of the last games, not that any of this is relevant if causing a fuss is your only actual goal.
PETA.
Ok, now to point out, what everyone that has watched even 1 episode of Pokemon or actually played any of the Pokemon games for more than 10 minutes, it's about caring for your pokemon and building a relationship with them.
As to stuffing them into balls, considering something the size of an elephant or more can fit into one of those little balls and still not weigh more than a few ounces, they aren't being "stuffed" in. It's apparently some kind of pocket dimension.
On top of that, IT'S A CARTOON AND VIDEO GAME AND IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO REALITY!
Once again PETA proves that they don't get it and aren't just stupid, they are stooopid with three Os.
PETA's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad History of Killing Animals
In 2011, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) behaved in a regrettably consistent manner: it euthanized the overwhelming majority (PDF) of dogs and cats that it accepted into its shelters. Out of 760 dogs impounded, they killed 713, arranged for 19 to be adopted, and farmed out 36 to other shelters (not necessarily "no kill" ones). As for cats, they impounded 1,211, euthanized 1,198, transferred eight, and found homes for a grand total of five. PETA also took in 58 other companion animals -- including rabbits. It killed 54 of them.
NB that in Virginia, stats only need to be kept for animals taken in with the intent of putting them up for adoption.
Think that's a fluke?
Get this:
PETA's "Thank You" for Killing Shelter Pets
When the No Kill shelter in Shelby County, Kentucky, recently announced that they had run out of space -- and were hence going to have to start killing healthy dogs and cats -- officials received a nice basket of gourmet cookies, with a note signed by PETA: "Thank you for doing the right thing for animals."
Surely I'm joking here. This must be a weak stab at satire. Many people have written about Ingrid Newkirk's vicious pet-killing program -- her organization has personally liquidated over 27,000 animals -- but PETA has always responded with hurt and outrage (and lawyers). People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals don't celebrate killing, goes the lie -- they see it as a regrettable necessity.
Surely Newkirk wouldn't be so foolish as to express her ghoulish agenda in this way, as a naked statement accompanied by a gift. No group of self-styled vegans would publicly wed their name to the Pro-Kill Equation: butchery = the right thing.
Well, Nathan Winograd (who developed the somewhat different No Kill Equation) reported on this in detail, and I suggest you examine his photographic evidence. A lovely basket of "Allison's Gourmet Cookies" -- shipped fresh from California -- with a handwritten note signed: "The PETA Staff." If you'd like further evidence, and to read the reverse side of this charming note, Shelby County No Kill Mission has produced an affecting video about the episode.
To understand just how grotesque this is, you have to know a little bit about Shelby. This is not simply one of America's fifty-one No Kill communities. It has a special significance: Last year's save rate sent Shelby County to the top -- it is now one of the most successful examples of No Kill in the nation.
The last animal killed for lack of space in Shelby County was on May 27, 2008. Since then, they've enjoyed a save rate that is almost precisely the inverse of PETA's kill rate. Whereas PETA slaughters 97% of the pets delivered to their hellish "Shelter of Last Resort," in 2011 Shelby saved 98.52% of the cats and 94.46% of the dogs in their care.
Shelby County runs an open admission shelter: They do not turn animals away. They have an impeccable history -- despite PETA's dire predictions, their No Kill community has never been associated with hoarding or animal abuse of any kind. (In fact, none of the legitimate No Kill organizations has been guilty of these crimes, but that's another story.) The Shelby program has a tiny budget: $147,000. Compare that to PETA's annual plunder: over $32.3 million from unsuspecting donors.
These people clearly did not play Pokemon Black and White. http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2011/3/7/
PETA needs to turn its attention toward the care and feeding of abandoned Tamagotchi. These were purchased for children who, after having grown up, have abandoned their pets to the bottoms of toy chests or the back of sock drawers. PETA needs to fund a reserve for forgotten Tamagotchi.
Right after they get their Save the Skeets campaign off the ground.
Have gnu, will travel.
Peta sure is one sided, what about the cells in Vegetables, they have the same rights as humans, what about single celled yeast or atoms!!!!! Those monsters ( Peta ) don't care about them.
As batshit crazy as this is, it's not the worst example of PETA making themselves look like the brain-dead nut cult that they are. The crazy bitch who runs that group wrote a letter to Arafat once complaining about the PLO using a donkey laden with explosives to try to kill people in Israel. No complaint about killing the PEOPLE, mind you.
If you're an animal lover, support the ASPCA.
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
Mod Parent UP!
-jcr
The only title of honor that a tyrant can grant is "Enemy of the State."
How many year's since Red and Blue again?
People once told me 68K ram was all we needed,
This is an organisation whose time came and went, but doesn't realise it and is futilely thrashing at anything that'll generate a headline containing their name. People are more aware of the issues they once touted, but are filtering out their sensationalist over the top antics that often obscure their message.
Has beens, right up there with the *AA.
So Peta hates animal abuse but apparently love abuse on humans. That games shows a drunk human getting his ass kicked and abused by an animal, that is more retarded then the original complaint. I guess we should be worried about the harm to fictional animals not real ones.
Honestly, people, why is this story even here? PETA shits out a turd like this once a week. And Slashdot has given them exactly what they wanted.
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
Read the rest at the link. If you want to know more get Penn and Teller's Bullshit! on DVD and watch the PETA episode.
Please turn in your polyhedral dice and delete your /. account, you have just lost all your nerd points.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
Except both the games and anime treat the trainer's pokemon as though they were equal to humans in many other ways. I no longer care for the games and anime, but when I did use to play them and watch them, the only message I got from it is that you should treat pets as lifelong friends. Take away to supranatural powers and narrative immortality part of the story and you necessarily remove the battling aspect and all you are left with is animal care - and most children can understand the difference.
Those who do not learn from commit history are doomed to regress it.
The band's halftime show a couple days ago is filled with anti PETA propaganda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3iaxt7a16g
"Action without philosophy is a lethal weapon; philosophy without action is worthless."
Consider the horrible training conditions the Pokemon must go through in their entirely fictional training camps. http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2008/06/20
Thinking some new way to be retarded. Kill and eat all of them.
Are battles like cockfights?
Whether battles are like cockfights or like dogfights depends on whether you've brought a Blaziken or a Houndoom.
Nope, it's Dot Matrix Game, the 3-letter code for the original (black and white) Game Boy. Look at your Generation 1 (Pokemon Red Version or Pokemon Blue Version) cartridge to see a DMG code along the side of the label.
I thought it stood for people eating tasty animals.
Why do they care?
Dogbert: No one should ever wear fur!
Dilbert: Don't you think that's kind of hypocritical? You wear fur every day.
Dogbert: Oh, yeah, I guess you're right.
Dogbert (walking away): Wait a minute...
"Kind of resembles" is an understatement, given these photos. But does Ron Jeremy make a better Mario than Bob Hoskins or the late Captain Lou Albano?
Hmm stuffed pokéballs.. Hmmmm, I wonder what that could lead to. hmmmm.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsqUshEERvE
There are plenty of other cartoon shows that involve similar themes so why single out Pokemon? Because its the most popular? Because its owned by someone big (Nintendo)?
I take it that PETA wasn't sure if they had made themselves totally irrelevant yet so they come up with this?
I used to be really into Pokemon back in the 90s, and one of the things I remember was that Ash loved the hell out of Pikachu so much that hearing his dialogue in this game was really funny. Peta got his portrayal so comically wrong, having Ash himself suggest he never once showed any sign of caring for Pikachu and never gave Pikachu the choice not to go into his pokeball as a sort of "What do you expect from me?" conversation as Pikachu tries helplessly to get the apparent circus ringleader Ash to see the error of his Pokemon abusing ways.
I think even cursory familiarity with the subject should be a requisite if you're going to attack it in such a dedicated manner.
Second link to this article was broken. Well stated in any case.
You can hold down the "B" button for continuous firing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euphemism_treadmill#Euphemism_treadmill
That's exactly what the euphemism treadmill is.
I listen to both RIAA and non-RIAA stuff if I like the music, tangential business/politics nonwithstanding.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Creatively Animated Cartoon Animals.
Or just: PETCACA.
The real question on everyone's mind is where they stand on Pokemon liberation.
http://s3-ec.buzzfed.com/static/enhanced/web05/2012/10/4/1/enhanced-buzz-29282-1349327955-0.jpg
How someone treats another living thing when that living thing is powerless to
defend itself is a very good test of the mental wellness of that person.
Anyone who thinks it is "ok" or "cool" to abuse animals needs to be removed
from society.
And all you little jerkoffs who think all this is something to joke about
need your nuts kicked so hard they come out the top of your little dickeating
skulls.
.
The ability to tell the difference between a fantasy game and reality "is a very good test of the mental wellness of that person."
People who think other humans should have their "nuts kicked so hard they come out the top of your little dickeating
skulls...need to be removed from society."
FTFY
Will this mean a nude cosplay protest by beautiful PETA supporters?
realkiwi
Regardless if you agree or disagree with their message, those "fan" games are fun. Monter Hunter has both "animal" cruelty and "animal" product consumption. They have NO excuse not to make a parody for that franchise. Hopefully they will make "good" use of WebGL 3D acceleration technologies in order to reproduce an experience similar to the original games.
People forget what PETA really stands for. They want ALL animals to be free, includings pets such as cats, since "owning" a cat is abuse in their eyes.
If you wanted to show the American voter is willing to go that far, you would show laws aimed at REALLY protecting kids most dangerous enemy, the average driver. You don't. The greatest child killer in the USA goes free and unchecked.
People are willing to do a lot of meaningless things to feel good but they won't do anything real. That is why PETA will fail.
And as a cat owner, good riddance to them.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
I'm amazed I'm seeing something like this and it's not April 1st.
You shouldn't be, the letters "PETA" stand for "We're a bunch of fucking batshit crazy bath salt smoking hippies."
Yes, I realize that doesn't work out. Like I said, they're fucking insane.
As a European it is hard to see how big the Patriot Guard movement really is, but it seems MUCH bigger then anything the religious fundies can get together.
It is kinda nice. It resembles the British attitude to the brown shirts. Not so much a love of equal rights and multi-cultural as "fuck off you twats and hands of our people".
I take a middle class biker who hates hate over a bleeding heart liberal anytime, because I know which one will be more useful when the shit goes down.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.
ridiculously hilarious. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big animal lover and have done/do my share of volunteering but this sounds more like the head of PETA was the kid whose parents never bought him a game boy and now he's just mad
With Peta, April the 1st last all year long
There is no "Animal Liberation Front" per se. At least not as an organized entity one can support or not support. Merely is a label that various people liberating animals can apply to, i guess, more easily communicate the motivation for their actions. And PETA exists just to get attention, good and bad, and as a nice magnet to attract criticism of the animal rights movement. It is easy to say, "Oh, I think PETA is crazy too, but I'm (or such and such) is more sensible, and this is why, and here are the facts." So it serves a purpose. Also you can get free stickers!!!! Also, on another note, destruction of property without loss of life is different than violence if you follow some of the reasoning of certain ideologies, methinks
... I don't want to have something to do with organizations like PETA (living in Germany with equivalent organizations, which are in no way different). Though there might be at least some merit in what they are doing, I just can't bring it over me to support totally braindead fanatics.
It's such a crock. PETA have responded to these accusations any number of times, the gist of their response being that the animals are so severely injured or traumatised that it's better they be put down. I don't see a problem with this response. I know PETA's a favourite whipping boy for Slashdot folk (along with Greenpeace and vegetarians - another time perhaps) but whatever you think of their views or their tactics, criticising them becuase they put down severely injured animals really misses the point of what they're about.
Is whatever will benefit them at the moment --- idealistic drivel which would outlaw ``exploitation'' such as raising chickens for eggs or cows for milk (let alone for meat) and also banning working animals such as riding horses or service dogs, but allows them to save money by not funding no-kill shelters and have their lawyers arguing in court that``[a dog named Happy] was PETA's property, and she [defendant Hinkle] had the absolute legal authority to put the dog down.''
Sphinx of black quartz, judge my vow.
But, they didn't even develop Pokemon to begin with, Game Freak did that.
Except they aren't, because they aren't the ones developing it.
Change is certain; progress is not obligatory.
PETA's kill-rate is higher than the busiest public kill shelters in the country. PETA shelters killed 95% of all animals they took into their care in 2011, because caring for them would cost money they could otherwise spend running ads trying to make you feel guilty about having pets and eating cows.
http://www.petakillsanimals.com/
I've never played Pokemon, but PETA just gave me an awesome idea. Capture REAL animals, cram them into metal balls, and force them to fight. Thanks, PETA!
...just give me a load of birds and a catapult, then.
Or maybe some moles and a big hammer.
In a survey of 100 programmers, 111111 thought that duck-typing was a good idea.
Yawn. Psychic. Dreameater.
Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.
Ernest Hemingway
A couple PETA employees in North Carolina were put on trial for killing cute newborn kittens in the back of their van and throwing them in a dumpster. This after telling the vet they got them from they were going to find a good home for them.
Unfortunately, although the facts of the case as above are known, they were acquitted on killing the kittens. I think one got it for improperly disposing of the bodies though.
If PETA thinks that Pokemon is bad, I would like to direct them to this so-called game that makes a sport out of tipping cows! I would like to encourage PETA to protest my game in the most vocal way possible, because, damn, it's tough getting free press for a gambling game. Get it on Slashdot, on Gamespy, on CNN and on Time Magazine's site. Please? PETA? I'll give you a soy cookie!
What will children of extreme left and right families watch???
Psicologicaly torturing cats and students since 1935.
Personally, I am just waiting for Nintendo to file a good sized Copyright suit against them, in JAPAN
coordinator, and the nuttiness is basically what ended the relationship (got worse and worse until I couldn't handle it anymore).
The position inside PETA is that owning pets is wrong. They don't adopt this position in public for "companion animals" (they see the word "pets" as a form of prejudice and discrimination) because they know it's a loser with the public, but inside you'll hear them wish that all pets could be euthanized because being a pet is an inhuman existence yet there's no place for domesticated animals in the wild.
This activity is entirely consistent with PETA's actual value system, which is more philosophical (but also far more radical) than they're given credit for. They see most forms of domestic animal existence as equivalent to Nazi concentration camps, but with more naive, innocent prisoners that are incapable of having the mental and emotional self-protection tools that humans have.
I absolutely don't agree (I think it's worse if you're conscious and intelligent, and that pets are actually, for the most part, quite content in most households), but PETA kills pets not because they're hypocrites but because they think that death is preferable to "suffering" and that all domesticated animals are by nature "suffering" all of the time (in fact, they would prefer that all domesticated breeds be allowed to disappear by attrition and euthanasia).
Like I said, nuts.
STOP . AMERICA . NOW
PETA seems to protest everything except actual animal abuse. Their record for their owned animal shelters in the US isn't any better than other groups. In fact, they apparently terminate more animals than the "average" shelter does, rather than see the animals "abused" by new owners.
What I can't understand is why they get any press. Or is the press just because they seem to have more nubile young women in their protests than most organizations, making for good eye candy backgrounds while their representatives speak during interviews?
I do not fail; I succeed at finding out what does not work.
I'm still waiting for PETA to declare the bible as inciting animal abuse. Where do you think the term "Sacrificial Lamb" comes from...
is full of brain dead idiots and hypocrites. Stop giving them headlines.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
SAVE THE THRESHERS!!!
Why is anything PETA does even news? The media portrays PETA like its some kind of official organization that matters. "PETA condemns" LAF
Pokemon is impressing younger kids to believe animals exist just to be "used". Those children will grow up with that in the back of their mind...