Seal of Dissaproval

PETA. They'll probably be a regular here. For lot's of reasons. But I'll start with something relatively new. Some time this year PETA launched a "campaign" against the Vancouver Winter Olympics called Olympic Shame. Their reason? Because of seal hunting which, according to the wikipedia, kills over 200,000 seals annually. I guess that's fucked up. Seals are cute, right?

I'm not going to have an opinion on the seal clubbing. I'm only going to judge to protests from both sides, especially the idiocy on PETA's part. I repeat: I will not have an opinion on seal hunting. Why? Because I eat veal. I eat dead baby cows. And I love the way it tastes. For me to give a shit I'd be a huge hypocrite. And I try not to be one. I don't wanna look like an asshole, like this guy protesting fur in a leather jacket. (Courtesy of deceiver.com)

So, PETA's tactics have always been a bit... radical. Almost funny in their obsessive use of violence and sex to sell animal rights. When you see their ads and their protests, it's hard to take them seriously. I mean, what the fuck? Being naked, in a shallow pool, in front of a large American flag has nothing to do with fur! PETA must hate our ancestors from thousands of years ago who lived in cold areas like Canada and had to wear fur to keep warm. Those assholes! They shoulda gone naked!

And this new website is nothing new. It's got a style reminiscent of Cooking Mama and Super Chick Sisters. (God, I hate giving them free hits... but the shit can only be mocked) The flash animations used are cartoony, almost as if they were directed towards kids. (like these comics that were handed out to kids) And the manipulation and fear tactics are very obvious. The home page has a video of cute seals with soothing music for the first half, and the second half has cheesy horror music and video of people clubbing and killing seals. Luckily, people aren't as easily swayed by this anymore. At least, I hope that if someone is shown a video consisting of cute kittens and then evil people killing the kittens they aren't completely prone to manipulation.

So the website asks people to do several things. First off, obviously, is raise awareness. Fine. Second, donate to PETA to help raise awareness. And thirdly, boycott Canadian maple syrup, which is, to say the least, retarded. PETA says this about the maple syrup:

"Canada produces approximately 85 percent of the world's maple syrup, with the U.S. as its largest consumer, and by buying this Canadian product, you are supporting Canadian cruelty."
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2209

Ok... so it might seem like a good idea to stick it to the Canada Man by refusing to buy their syrup, but as far as I'm concerned seal hunting and syrup making are two completely fucking different industries. If Canada really does produce 85% of the world's maple syrup we can assume it's one of the biggest industries in Canada, thus hiring a lot of people for sales, production, management, farming, etc, etc. So by boycotting something that isn't related to seal hunting, PETA is encouraging people to hurt the Canadian work force. Luckily, since PETA is not too large of a group, their influence will be insignificant and any economic issues they do cause with the boycott will only make them look like the problem.

So I don't agree with PETA's methods. In fact, they're kinda like the KKK (not really, but hear me out): if the KKK supported some candidate or issue, that person or problem would suddenly lose some face. Look stupid. Bigoted. Evil, per se. Same thing with PETA. In fact, their shock based campaigns are probably not helping at all. I feel like the people at PETA have more fun protesting against the cruelty and murder of animals than actually getting results, seeing as they don't mind euthanizing pets themselves. I mean, what could be more fun than posing naked and rolling around in blood naked or hitting plush baby seals? The only thing that would make it more fun is if they beat the stuffed seal toys with baseball bats while naked.

And the stupid thing is, what PETA is doing is unnecessary. People are going through the right channels to stop the seal hunting already. In fact, the members of European parliament recently passed a law banning import of seal products from Canada. Of course, PETA claims that this was because of them:

"Following our campaign in which over 100,000 letters and emails were sent by compassionate PETA supporters... the MEPs have voted in favour of the seals. Well done everybody!"
http://blog.peta.org.uk/2009/major-victory-for-seals-slaughtered-in-canada

But I have a different example. An old example. From nineteen fucking seventy-two. The Marine Mammal Protection Act. Bam.

"MMPA prohibits the taking of marine mammals, and enacts a moratorium on the import, export, and sale of any marine mammal, along with any marine mammal part or product within the United States."

So people with actual influence (ie: the United States Government) have been pressuring Canada to stop this. With relevant boycotts. For over thirty years. And recently more governments are going to do the same thing. So, PETA, step back, and let the big boys take care of this. Anything you do would be minor. The most you could do is hurt Maple Syrup factory workers. I know you don't care about people, but c'mon. Just chill.

I'm not telling you to stop protesting. You gotta find some way to have fun.

But what's also ridiculous is the reaction on the part of Inuit leaders in Canada, who are upset because seal sales are a big part of their economy.

"Nunavut sealers harvest about 35,000 seals per year, with about 10,000 to 11,000 sold on the open market. Seals also provide an essential food source for Inuit in Nunavut communities, said Daniel Shewchuk, the territory's environment minister."
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2009/05/06/inuit-seal-eu-reax.html

I think this is retarded. Retarded. If the world community wants to enforce laws to end cruelty to cute little seals, people shouldn't get all hot and bothered because "how important seals are to [their culture]." They can adapt, can't they? Let's put it this way, if a native population of some country has historically made money selling flesh and skin (how about, human flesh and skin? Like a sex trade?) and this trade is being recognized as wrong and out of hand, that community shouldn't be able to claim cultural right to the trade.

Even if the Inuit are "humane" with the killings, if some people are given special rights to hunt seals, it could be manipulated. Like casinos on Indian Reservations. I know I sound like an asshole, but c'mon.

That is all. Simout!