I'm not a big animal rights guy. I'm not a vegetarian; I've never been in any animal-related organisation. But as a compassionate person who cares about animals, I figure I'm the sort of person that animal rights groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals would be most likely to win over. And yet, I find myself laughing at PETA's antics right along with everyone else out there.
Their latest target is Pokemon, complaining that the game okays exploitation of animals.
PETA seems to have a weird stream-of-consciousness way of picking targets. This isn't even the most delayed reaction protest they've had. In 2009, they asked the Pet Shop Boys to change their name to the Rescue Shelter Boys, a mere twenty-four years after they made it big.
Of course, I find myself wondering just how seriously PETA takes themselves. To look at it another way, I described myself as laughing at PETA, but maybe they want us to laugh with them. As I've mentioned, I've enjoyed reading examples of people taking Onion stories too seriously. Could it be that I'm going find myself on some web site ridiculing people who don't get the joke behind PETA?
I don't think so. My impression is that they are trying for publicity: That is, they don't really think Pokemon or the Pet Shop Boys are the biggest threats to animals today, they're just easy ways to get into the headlines. Who knows, maybe they are issuing these press releases tongue in cheek. Trouble is, it's hard to make people laugh when you're also making serious accusations against much of society. They've won over a lot of actors over the years; perhaps they should concentrate on recruiting some writers.
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