is there something up with politics these days?

[keryx]

I've stopped blogging much or doing political lj'ing much lately, because the whole 2-party thing is really really really depressing me. Is it me, or just the fundamental wrongness? Hard to tell.

But you know the state of political debate is in a bad way when the Daily Show makes you want to cry.

That said. There is a billboard I drove past the other day that has a weird-angled picture of a cute fat boy eating a burger, with the caption "feeding kids meat is child abuse". Seriously.

Yes, of course it's PETA. And it's almost pointless to protest because of that - they're trying to be assholes and extremists. But I can't believe people who see real child abuse and neglect haven't gone and torn the thing down by now.

Comments

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I was stuck in traffic as I stared at the damned thing, trying to figure out where I'd have to go to climb and deface the damned thing. It's on stilts on some big hill, though - one of those times I wish I were a little more nimble.

[fierceawakening.livejournal.com]

Ugh. PETA... they just creep me out so much.

My "favorite" stunt of theirs is this bit, over in their bumper sticker shop:

http://www.petacatalog.org/products.asp?dept=5&pagenumber=4

wherein they have two bumper stickers, side by side:

"Pro-Life? Go Vegan!" and "Pro-Choice? Choose Vegan!"

Which bothers me because it suggests it doesn't matter what you think of human women's control over their own bodies... as long as you're vegan. And well, all the bits they spout about how if you're against [insert oppression here] you're a hypocrite if you're not also veg*n don't seem so convincing to me if other oppressions are issues veg*ns can just ignore.

(Yes, I understand that there's such a thing as being personally pro-life and politically pro-choice. But will the average person who see that sticker get that? I don't think so, and I doubt PETA cares.)

[keryx.livejournal.com]

Hrm. Well, I suppose it's POSSIBLE that they're trying to appeal to both sides of the 'vegan abortion stance' (that is, some vegans think abortion = taking life, they're anti-life-taking, thus pro-life; others disagree for various reasons). But, whoaaaa, facile arguments - it reads more as "ha ha! look at us mocking other serious political issues, like sexism and child abuse! we're so EDGY!", cause, well, that's how ALL OF PETA's tactics read.

[fierceawakening.livejournal.com]

Heh. I didn't know there was a big "pro-life vegan" subculture, so I've missed something apparently. I just thought it seemed like "ANIMAL RIGHTS IS THE ONLY ISSUE THAT SHOULD REALLY MATTER."

[keryx.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure if it's a big enough group to qualify as a subculture. I just remember getting into a mild debate about it with a vegan guy and then seeing a group with "pro-choice vegan" signs at the march last year.

And PETA's history would certainly back up your impression.

[arovd.livejournal.com]

I saw this and thought you might have something to say about it:

http://www.1monique.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=13&Itemid=29

just a hunch.