Oh, The Humanity; or, An Unexpected Link Between South Texas and PETA
Saturday mornings, over lattes and bagels and cinnamon buns and the newspaper, we like to listen to "Wait Wait, Don't Tell Me", the NPR news-quiz show which frequently reports anecdotes that highlight people being entertainingly weird, which is a nicer way of calling them bats**t crazy.
Perhaps I'm not being fair. Bats**t is not crazy, but a natural product of a normal bodily function to expel waste. It is perfectly sane compared to the following two examples I heard today:
1) In Kleburg County, Texas--of course it would be Texas--in 1997, some guy got the county to approve and the voters to pass a resolution encouraging replacing 'hello' with 'heaveno'.
I don't know if further commentary is necessary. When you look at the guy's website, he compares himself with Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Edison.
Perhaps people are just really, really bored in Texas, or maybe they are looking for a random, ridiculous hook for the tourism industry.
This actually seems to be getting a lot of coverage on the message boards. I can't help but wonder if this is some sort of hoax.
There are even people coming forward to dispute the guy's claim of coining the phrase. Apparently, if they saw a car wreck, they would want to join in the fun, just for the attention.
2) Apparently PETA has a problem with Pike's Place Fish Market's tradition of flinging fish. In protesting a demonstration to be given at a veterinarian's convention, PETA says the tradition by which workers at the market move fish from the displays to the counter is disrespectful.
PETA is defending the rights of fish . . . that are dead.
Don't get me wrong; 95% of the time I am in accord with PETA's campaigns. I was appalled as anyone by Michael Vick, and I do not want to see him reinstated to the NFL. But sometimes, I think PETA puts blinders on, and they go beyond the pale, making unfortunate claims that damage their credibility.
"Killing animals so you can toss their bodies around for amusement is just twisted," said a senior campaigner for PETA in an article in the LA Times. True, but . . . these are fish we're talking about. They were not killed just to be tossed around for amusement. They were killed to be sold at market. They were sold at market to be eaten as food. Grizzly bears do it. Wolves do it.
Is there an element of showmanship to the fish-tossing in the market? Absolutely. It's a cultural thing, too. It's something that excites people. There is an element of entertainment, yes, but PETA, please, don't be ridiculous. Pick and wage your battles a little more rationally.
Okay, so maybe it is closer to 87% of the time that I am supportive of PETA.
Oh, the humanity of it all.
It is kind of funny, though, too.
Perhaps I'm not being fair. Bats**t is not crazy, but a natural product of a normal bodily function to expel waste. It is perfectly sane compared to the following two examples I heard today:
1) In Kleburg County, Texas--of course it would be Texas--in 1997, some guy got the county to approve and the voters to pass a resolution encouraging replacing 'hello' with 'heaveno'.
I don't know if further commentary is necessary. When you look at the guy's website, he compares himself with Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Edison.
Perhaps people are just really, really bored in Texas, or maybe they are looking for a random, ridiculous hook for the tourism industry.
This actually seems to be getting a lot of coverage on the message boards. I can't help but wonder if this is some sort of hoax.
There are even people coming forward to dispute the guy's claim of coining the phrase. Apparently, if they saw a car wreck, they would want to join in the fun, just for the attention.
2) Apparently PETA has a problem with Pike's Place Fish Market's tradition of flinging fish. In protesting a demonstration to be given at a veterinarian's convention, PETA says the tradition by which workers at the market move fish from the displays to the counter is disrespectful.
PETA is defending the rights of fish . . . that are dead.
Don't get me wrong; 95% of the time I am in accord with PETA's campaigns. I was appalled as anyone by Michael Vick, and I do not want to see him reinstated to the NFL. But sometimes, I think PETA puts blinders on, and they go beyond the pale, making unfortunate claims that damage their credibility.
"Killing animals so you can toss their bodies around for amusement is just twisted," said a senior campaigner for PETA in an article in the LA Times. True, but . . . these are fish we're talking about. They were not killed just to be tossed around for amusement. They were killed to be sold at market. They were sold at market to be eaten as food. Grizzly bears do it. Wolves do it.
Is there an element of showmanship to the fish-tossing in the market? Absolutely. It's a cultural thing, too. It's something that excites people. There is an element of entertainment, yes, but PETA, please, don't be ridiculous. Pick and wage your battles a little more rationally.
Okay, so maybe it is closer to 87% of the time that I am supportive of PETA.
Oh, the humanity of it all.
It is kind of funny, though, too.
Labels: humanity, people are crazy
posted by Devin at 2:09 PM
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