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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.
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 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.
Will they be nude?
"The average reporter we talk to is 27 years old......They literally know nothing." - Ben Rhodes
The "Westboro Baptist Church" style of marketing? You're actually probably a lot more right than you know. Groups like this stay relevant by generating ever more insane news clips. Oh sure, they probably believe (most of them, anyways) their basic message, but they do and say the really stupid stuff like this because it gets them noticed. And they thrive on attention. They're like children throwing temper tantrums (probably with the same level of maturity). The absolute worst thing you can do to them, and the best thing you can do for society, is to studiously ignore them. It might get worse for a while, but it will be vastly better once they learn that saying things like this won't get them noticed.
Of course, I live in a country where the Kardashians are popular, so that'll never happen.
"None can love freedom heartily, but good men; the rest love not freedom, but license." --John Milton
Yes, this does seem to be PETA's primary function these days. Anytime a story comes up about PETA people work themselves into a lather. Even when it's about something as obvious as the fact that cramming animals into tiny balls and then making them fight in gladiatorial style combat may be ethically questionable.
But being a target for hate is a valid role, albeit a rather painful one. People expend their vitriol on PETA and other animals rights groups wind up looking better by comparison. "Hey," they say, "we're not PETA. You can talk to us and consider our suggestions rather than just dismissing them out of hand." Ultimately, partly thanks to PETA acting as lightning rod, the goal is furthered.
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.
but that's exactly what is happening, we've been cooking those bovine for hundreds of thousands of years. we are their predators. it's natural, it's right.
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.
The "Westboro Baptist Church" style of marketing? You're actually probably a lot more right than you know. Groups like this stay relevant by generating ever more insane news clips. Oh sure, they probably believe (most of them, anyways) their basic message, but they do and say the really stupid stuff like this because it gets them noticed. And they thrive on attention. They're like children throwing temper tantrums (probably with the same level of maturity). The absolute worst thing you can do to them, and the best thing you can do for society, is to studiously ignore them.
When WBC came to protest at UW-Madison, we gathered sponsors.
The sponsors donated $X for every minute that WBC protested.
The proceeds were used to fund LGBT student organizations on campus.
WBC is welcome to come back and raise more money for LGBT causes any time.
Are battles like cockfights?
Whether battles are like cockfights or like dogfights depends on whether you've brought a Blaziken or a Houndoom.
But being a target for hate is a valid role, albeit a rather painful one. People expend their vitriol on PETA and other animals rights groups wind up looking better by comparison. "Hey," they say, "we're not PETA. You can talk to us and consider our suggestions rather than just dismissing them out of hand." Ultimately, partly thanks to PETA acting as lightning rod, the goal is furthered.
In my experience it's just the opposite. You approach someone as being interested in animals rights/welfare, and immediately get, "Oh, like those nutbars who think fish are sea kittens." Then you've got to try and convince them that you're not like PETA, and defining yourself by what you're not never works. Consciously or sub-consciously, they think, "You wouldn't need to deny it if there wasn't some truth to it."
PETA don't act as a lightning rod to draw away hatred, they act as a copper dome all of us, drawing in hatred.
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.
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
This is just false. At best it's ridiculously naive, and at worse, it encourages animal cruelty.
If you self-identify as having any specific concern for animal welfare, you first have to jump the PETA hurdle. They're a severe detriment to their own supposed cause, and everyone else with similar interests. Many of those other folks really are rational, decent people.
As such, a dollar donated to PETA is a dollar donated in support of animal neglect and abuse. There's no way around it.
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.
When a group is attempting to do things that are illegal, it cannot have what would be a normal group structure, but one that is loosely structured with isolated pockets. As far as the violent/nonviolent thing it is just semantics. Legally Arson is considered nonviolent but legal definitions and what common use of those words sometimes do not like up. ALF and ELF use arson when other, safer means are at their disposal. Technically it is not a threat, but torching a green house is a bit more reckless than just spraying the area down with a persistent herbicide. Arson doesn't discriminate and is nonspecific. One of the U of MN research labs in this area was also destroyed along with years worth of data for some kind of disease. It was not a lab that used animals anymore than the physics lab, but was hit by someone claiming the ALF banner.
By the letter of the law no one was harmed and it was non violent, but it certainly it does not have the spirit of nonviolence in how it destroys and the harm it does.