I’d rather wear fur than go naked
February 15th, 2008PETA is an organization of whackos. They live in an unreal world, far removed from reality.
I have nothing against vegetarianism. If you don’t eat meat for moral reasons, more power to you. If you don’t eat meat for health reasons, well, then I’ll tell you what. Unless I get hit by a car, I’m going to outlive you.
The skins of an animal are about the best thing you can wear. That’s why Native Americans wear skins. When they slaughter an animal, they eat the meat, keep the hides, and use the brains to tan the hides. That’s why you’ve probably heard the saying “you don’t have enough brains to tan your own hide!” That’s because most animals have just enough brains to tan their own hide, so that saying is an insult.
Fur is wonderful, especially when it’s cold. I personally love it because it’s comfortable and it’s specifically made for both comfort and warmth. That’s the real world though, not the world PETA lives in.
There are however fur factories that slaughter animals and treat them like crap, seeing them as only dollar signs with no respect for them while they’re alive. I’m not arguing that. Instead of fixing the problem, PETA wants to abolish all fur, and that’s why I hate them.
I am a hunter. When I kill something, I eat it. It’s fun, and it’s environmentally friendly. The more hunters the better because we do something that is about the most environmental thing you can do - we preserve open space. We also follow regulations how many animals we can kill so we keep the population even. We are aware of these regulations and we follow them to a T.
I love being outdoors with just me, a close friend or two, a canteen, a knife, and a rifle (and sometimes a camera and a tripod instead of a rifle). It’s great fun. PETA wants to ban this too. They’re not thinking of the environment. If they would, they wouldn’t be pushing pleather, which is about the most environmentally whacked thing ever created.
When you put pleather in a landfill, it never decomposes. It just sits there. It’s synthetic leather, made of plastics that don’t break down. That’s reality. My furs on the other hand will make wonderful soil. It’s because they’re organic. They’re fur and brains. That’s it. No plastic. No chemicals. No synthetic garbage. Fur, and brains. You can’t get more organic than that. Oh, I forgot to include water. Yes, we use water too.
PETA also are against the First Amendment. They tried to get the Green Bay Packers to change their name because Packers is offensive. I’m not joking. They really tried to do this. As you already know, the Packers are my favorite team because I’m a Mid-Westerner and I stick by my team through good and bad.
PETA also went after Judas Priest, my all-time favorite band. They tried to get them to change the name of their 1979 album Hell Bent for Leather to Hell Bent for Pleather. You gotta be kidding. Pleather sucks. Don’t buy it. It’s bad for the environment. It doesn’t decompose. It’s not even that comfortable either.
Oh, and yes, they’re right about one thing. Don’t buy leather from China. They use some horribly toxic compounds that are banned in the U.S. and treat their animals with extreme cruelty. Their leather decomposes in landfills very slowly because it’s so full of toxic chemicals. I won’t argue that point. They are right about it. But they take videos they shot in China and try to convince you that all of us who make fur are like that. That’s simply b.s.
UPDATE: I decided to upload the PETA ads so if you don’t know what I’m talking about, you’d see them. Note that both contain nudity, so if you’re at work, don’t click on the links. I don’t find them necessarily offensive, but leave Yuppieville and actually go into the real world naked during winter and see how long you last. This isn’t reality, folks. It’s another guilt myth concocted by crazy people.
my vegetarian daughter wanted me to watch this video from PETA showing the way livestock raised for food was being abused. yes, it had horrible images and diseased and abused animals. but i had to let her know that in all my childhood growing up around dairy farms and raising pigs and chickens no farm i ever visited came anywhere near to replicating the deplorable conditions shown on that video. PETA definitely finds the worst examples and then lumps everyone into that category. pure sensationalist propaganda.
i don’t want to see animals abused but i am also not going to put the life of a cow, pig, chicken or fish over the life of a human being.
also, living on the outskirts of NYC commuter areas we get a lot of city people in this rural area who are aghast at the notion of hunting. they have no clue how it benefits not only the environment in general but how it aids them specifically. You can go into any number of the private communities springing up here and see herds of emaciated deer wandering around desperately looking for something to eat because we’ve become so overpopulated with them. yeah, it’s much more humane to let the herd get enormous and starve slowly than to cull it through hunting…right.
PETA is also anti-pets. To them, pets are just enslaved animals. They even had a crusade to “liberate” pets that they find tied up in yards. Haven’t they heard of leash laws? I wouldn’t advise stepping onto MY property and trying that stunt!
Pleather is made from non-renewable resources! Trapping, when done according to the game laws, is a humane way of harvesting a renewable resource and culling the population.
Since PETA started their anti-fur campaigns, the fur prices have plummeted. Trapping is no longer a profitable profession. As a result, the beaver population has skyrocketed. Millions of acres of forest are now underwater…and dead. Other species will die for lack of food that has been covered by beaver dammed water. You’re destroying economies and ecosystems with your anti-fur campaign PETA!
Lime - That’s the thing. It’s sensationalist propaganda. They take all the worst cases and make it like all animals raised for meat are that way.
And agreed with you about the deer. That’s why we get numbers that we follow.
Tshsmom - I forgot about the anti-pet thing. This is something that needs to be blown up. I think if they heard what they call pet owners, most people in this country would hate them (as they should). They’re nutcases.
The sad thing about the beaver is we killed off the wolves. Of course if we brought back wolves, some yuppie will venture outdoors and get killed by a wolf and all of a sudden they’ll be calls to kill the wolves and we’ll have the same problem all over again. That’s why hunting is the best solution. I’m all for bringing back wolves, but realistically, with urban sprawl, the wolves will get the same treatment mountain lions here get (which is eradication because they occasionally kill joggers).
In MN we’ve actually restored the wolf population to the point of, almost, overpopulation. We’ve actually exported packs to other states.
Wolves don’t generally prey on beavers. Beavers are protected from natural enemies by their self-created habitat, and their intelligence.
Tshsmom - Goes to show it’s not wise to assume anything.
I thought wolves were their natural predators, but forgot beavers can simply go under water when wolves draw near.
Well, I’m sure beaver meat tastes good and their fur makes wonderful clothing. What gets lost in all this is it’s natural. I’d love to see PETA go up to Native Americans and tell them everything they do is wrong and they’re sinners, etc. As far as I’m concerned, Native Americans were the first environmentalists. They knew they had to live in balance with nature or else bad things would happen. I’ve always tried to emulate them, as a lot of hunters do.
Pleather is not living in balance with nature. It’s creating waste that cannot decompose.
I like the Eva Mendes picture better. The other one is not naked. It’s just a teaser picture.
I never weared pleather. I like leather though.
I think we all agree that we do not want to see any animal suffer. We need to ensure that all we do not encourage those who are cruel to animals.
I think if you hunt something, kill it and eat it you are a lot more honest than I am when I pick up a chicken at the supermarket/butchers.
Like most things in life there are extremes to both arguments and the trick is to find the middle ground. It is not a black and white issue.
Jeff finally fixed it for me. I can comment here again.. LOL.. Fur never tried it but it is soft from what I have been told. You are so right though about it being able to put back into the earth and all that good stuff unlike many other things in life. It makes me sick to watch these people just take the meat and not the skins too and such. I mean just watching Dancing with Wolves just makes the point even stronger. Watching all the indians take and use what they need and not wasting a thing and then having us White men as they were once called and only taking the meat and leaving the skins to rot. Yikes.. Wasteful people sometimes. Not all but some..
But again I might be going off on another path here. So I just want to say I dont agree with the butchering of animals if you are just going to torture them but if you are killing them to hunt and keep the herds to a good size then its ok to hunt but just to hunt and do nothing about it or not understand what you are doing then I dont agree one bit. Things are good here other wise. I am working on another Afghan with blue and white. Its really pretty. Pass on the word for me please…
Kate - Yeah, I prefer that picture too. It’s a shame she has bought into the PETA crap. And I love leather. It’s comfortable and smells good.
Miladysa - I strongly believe in one shot, one kill. If I don’t have a kill shot, I don’t take it. I’d rather let it get away than have to take 2 shots to kill it. Animals feel pain too.
And yes, it’s not a black and white issue. There are poachers out there who make hunters look bad. With every group, there are punks as well, ones that do not follow the rules and aren’t so merciful with animals.
Agreed about the butcher thing too. Having someone else butcher an animal for you, it’s still being killed. It’s just killed by someone else.
Tweety - Good to see it working again. No, you’re not going off on another path. I see what you’re saying. Yeah, it’s a waste to kill something and not use parts of it. I try to use as much as possible. Don’t like wasting anything.
Even with fish, I use the heads for the soil. I hate wasting food.
I’ll head over to your site this weekend definitely put up the word for you in my next post. I love your work.
If you really wanna see PETA go away, have them spread their anti-fur message in the pimp community.
I came here via Miladysa’s blog. I really like your style and approach. I am glad I stumbled here.
I think PETA is an extremist society. Any form of extremism is dangerous. I remember them recommending wearing plastic shoes because leather is bad. I think they were referring to jellies. Thhat organization is nutty. No one except the mentally ill condones cruelty to animals and other living matter but to say that fish should not be eaten because the fresh fish being fileted feels the pain is extreme. If they are vegetarians that’s fine. Hindus are vegetarians but they don’t go around condemning meat eaters. I shall return.
Skeletor - Well, that’s the thing. PETA comes from the Upper-Middle and New Rich classes. They do not exist in the Working Classes because they’d get their asses kicked.
Ces - Yeah, I work with several Hindus and I hate to say it but when they see me enjoy a steak sandwich, I could tell some of them want to sample the goods.
I’ve gone out for burgers with one of my Hindu buddies before almost once a week. He just said not to tell his parents because they’d be upset. Plus, the Hindu lady in my group once sampled some of my beef. She knew what it was but couldn’t resist. It was a “just this once” thing and “don’t tell my husband.”
I don’t mean to be sacreligious, but if someone wants to try my food, I won’t say no. I love cooking and sharing whatever I cook and I love trying other people’s food. By the way, her lamb is awesome. She brought some in Friday and it was so good.
Plastic shoes do not do well in landfills. And agreed that nobody except the mentally ill enjoy being cruel to animals. I hate to see anything suffer, except of course the fans of the team that the Green Bay Packers are playing that week.
I wouldn’t even know where to begin with PETA (People for Extremism, Terror and Abuse). I would hope that most sane people can see through PETA, but I think what gets lost in the hoopla are the REAL instances of abuse. PETA puts a lot of money into going after PMU ranches, for example. PMU ranches are one of the mostly highly regulated and inspected industries (when it comes to animal husbandry). But while they’re going after industries or institutions that treat their animals well, less prominent cases of poor animal husbandry go unreported, and extreme abuse continue.
They also spend a good deal of their money, not on protecting animals, but on the legal defense of members on trial for blowing up labs, killing scientists, etc. (I can’t remember the exact legal cases, but if you want, I can find them.)
Not to mention all of the hypocrisy. PETA euthanizes more animals than they save, a top member takes a medication made of animal byproduct (because it allows her to continue the fight on animals’ behalf), but says that everyone else should abandon such treatments.
I do want to disagree with you on one thing, I see a lot of working-class members of PETA, and that segment seems to be growing. Not as much here in Montana (save for Missoula and Bozeman), but especially in urban areas nationwide. That’s mostly just observation, though.
I think those two should go naked instead of wearing fur. Preferably in places where I can watch them.
As for PETA? Meh…..
ZS, great rant, go to You Tube and search Penn and Tell Bullshit about PETA. It is so damning it is unbelieveable.
Yikes! Well, I like cold, so the times I even wear a jacket are rare!
I was told that animal rights groups (at least some) use camps to train people?
Courtney - Working class PETA people? Not arguing, I’m just saying that’s weird. I guess there aren’t too many around here.
Yes, I’m aware of the blowing up labs and actually murdering scientists. And yeah, that lady who runs PETA is the biggest hypocrite, benefiting from drugs made by animals but telling other people that they should die if they need those very same drugs.
Exmi - I actually think they’re both attractive women. They’re just dumb. So yeah, I wouldn’t mind them walking around nekkid. I’ll just cover my ears.
Ben - Own the DVD already.
Bridget - Yes. They actually have camps in sabotage. I’m all for protest, but I draw the line at violence. They actually look the other way at violence and when there have been animal rights people who have actually bombed labs and killed people, PETA paid for their legal defense.
Pam Anderson is the Peta spokeswoman - yes, real intellectual. I bow to her sensibility. I think PETA could be used towards doing real good instead of just the hype and the fashion which most liberals and socialists tend to do with their cause celebre’. There is cruelty going on. Where was PETA when that Atlanta quarterback was indicted for dog fighting? Instead it was a huge racial issue. Do the PETA members eat cheese, you know, those cows were forced to give their milk for cheese.
Ces - Some PETA members are Vegans, who rank in pretty much the most unhealthy people out there. I’ve known many a Vegan, and not one was healthy.
Yeah, Pam Anderson’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. I heard she’s a nice lady, but she definitely won’t be asked to take the test to join Mensa any time soon.
As for Michael Vick, blog.peta.org has a lot on Michael Vick so I guess they are aware of the crap he did.
I hate when people waste food esp in our house.. LOL… I dont hunt but I know people that do. And they try to use as much of the meat as they can.
Tweety - Yeah, that’s how we are. We hate wasting anything.
Even day to day, whenever I cook, I take the leftovers to work and share them with my co-workers. They all like my cooking. I hate throwing out food.
Our clothes we give to different charities and I’m not so vain to refuse clothes. I get a lot of clothes from friends getting rid of clothes. The ones I don’t like, we give to charities.
Yeah, I love the smell of leather.
I totally agree with you there. I don’t like meat that much but I love fur coats, they are warm and confortable, I have one but I don’t have much opportunity to wear it.
Kate - Me too.
Kitem - Some animal rights protesters were taking red paint and throwing at people in fur coats. It’s too bad they didn’t hit a biker gang. That would have been the end of that.
I like leather and have also worn fur and even have a fur blanket. The fur blanket is one of my favorites. It’s incredibly comfortable.
PETA gives activists a bad name. They’re in your face and holier than thou and very, very annoying.. I personally can’t stand them.
But as you know, I am very much for activists. We have a freedom of assembly and a right to petition our government for grievances that isn’t used hardly enough in this country. While I believe that PETA has the right to say whatever they want, I think they do it in a way that alienates a lot more people than it convinces.
JJ - I can’t stand them either. I agree with you about Freedoms. The ones you mentioned are guaranteed in the 1st Amendment, something that really inconveniences GWB.