Save the Whales, Boycott PETA (Large)
8/20/09: My remix of PETA's fat phobic, sexist, classist, racist and speciesist "Save the Whales" billboard. Feel free to reuse, recycle and/or distribute widely.
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8/24/09: I plan on blogging about PETA's so-called "Save the Whales" campaign shortly, but until then, check out the critiques linked to below. (I also mentioned the billboard in passing while discussing The Onion's PETA spoof video.)
Feministing, Feministe, Shakesville and other liberal/progressive/feminist blogs have covered the campaign as well, but more often than not, the comments quickly devolve into speciesist hate speech. It's almost as though omni's eagerly await and joyfully welcome the offensive actions of an animal advocacy group as an excuse to bash animal advocates and - worst of all - non-human animals, who: 1) are at the bottom of the shitpile; 2) are not at all responsible for PETA's actions, reprehensible or not; and 3) don't even have a voice in the conversation. And I'm really, seriously fucking sick to death of it.
And also: fuck you, PETA.
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Last updated 9/5/09: Here's a handy-dandy link roundup of vegan/feminist (and the occasional non-vegan, yet non-speciesist) responses to PETA's "Save the Whales" billboard and subsequent non-apology. Feel free to drop your own suggestions in the comments!
Animal Rights @ About .com: How Do You Solve a Problem Like PETA?
Animal Rights @ Change.org: Dear PETA, We're Awaiting Your Apologies
Animal Rights @ Change.org: Offensive Billboard Coming Down, But Did PETA Learn Anything?
Blogtown, PDX: PETA vs. The Feminists
Like a Whisper: PETA Fail Again
L.O.V.E.: fat-phobia is not vegan
Sociological Images: Keepin’ It Classy: PETA Compares Fat People to Whales
Vegan Burnout: Oh my God, PETA.
Vegan Burnout: PETA scraps billboard, still sucks.
Vegan Feminist Agitator: Meet me at the intersection of Whale Bait and Misogyny...
Vegan Hope: Follow up questions..
Vegan Hope: My follow up response to PeTa taking down the billboard.
The Vegan Ideal: Taking Sizeism and Fatphobia Seriously
The Vegan Ideal: The Mobilization Against Fatphobia
The Vegan Ideal: Soft-Headed and Hard-Hearted
Vegan Soapbox: Not Just Skin Deep (PETA’s “Save The Whales” Billboard)
Vegans Against PETA: PETA to world: Whales SUCK!!!11!!!!1!!!1! (And women still do, too...)
Vegans Against PETA: Today in passive aggressive backpedaling
What's Written on My Body: PETA = Pervasive Douchebaggery
What's Written on My Body: Standing Up to Fat Phobia, PETA Style
What's Written on My Body: Standing up to Fat Phobia, PETA Style: Chapter 2.
Comments and faves
Vegan Flower (31 months ago | reply)
Amen!
Vegan Butterfly (30 months ago | reply)
Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Abolitionist Vegans, and we'd love to have this added to the group!