Do you think PETA is evil?
First off, I'M A VEGETARIAN. Don't start going crazy on me,please(:
So a several months ago when I became a vegetarian I ordered this vegetarian starter kit thing from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Basically, its just like a magazine while recipes, info and stuff about tortured animals. When it came in the mail my mom flipppped and said I shouldn't have any part of PETA because they are evil and they are a terrorist organization (apparently, they bombed a place that was testing on animals or something ridiculous like that). She says they are brainwashing me and I shouldn't listen to anything the magazine says, and that it is all propaganda.
What do you think? ...please support your arguments, or else you look like an uneducated idiot :]
Personally... I'm undecided. I like the idea of PETA and boycotting animal products, but I would rather not support an organization that is truly brainwashing people... if that's true.
Update:Holy! Thanks for all the detailed answers 
Comments
Just b/c you are a vegetarian does not mean you have to support PETA. Many vegetarians do not support the actions of PETA. I don't think PETA brainwashes people anymore than any other organization that has an agenda. They are going to offer you fact that support their cause, which is obviously biased toward animal rights. For example, I'm currently reading a book that suggest that lack of outdoor, natural play for children affects their psychological, emotional, and cognitive development. The author is obviously in the opinion that this is true. All his information points to this fact, all his professional citations support his theory, etc. Just b/c I am not being offered an unbiased viewpoint, does not mean I am being brainwashed. The same goes for organizations that have an agenda.
PETA is not the only organization that has found instances of animal cruelty. I remember a few years back The Humane society released video of downer cows being abused(1). Many people do not want to believe that there is animal abuse, and that is why they claim it is all propaganda.
I personally do not like PETA, but not b/c I think they are brainwashing people, but b/c I think they can be a bit extreme at times. I still am a vegetarian, I still boycott certain products, etc. I choose to think for myself, gather information from numerous sources, and create my own opinion. If you do not want to be "brainwashed", by PETA, or anyone, simply education yourself.
They are not evil. They are just a little extreme. They have bombed and broken into buildings before. One building did tortuous research on monkeys, and PETA broke in and stole the monkeys to save them. So, yes, sometimes they go a tad overboard, but hell, if I were in that position, and I knew I could save the monkeys, I would break in too.
Sometimes they do some things that even I don't really agree with. They are completely against having any kinds of pets or even using the word 'pet' because they think animals are not ours to keep. Personally, I don't think it's wrong to take an animal in and care for it. I personally don't like buying from pet stores though, because PETA has done research and exposed "puppy mills," which wouldn't exist without pet stores. Puppy mills are awful. I find my pets on the streets or in shelters.
But for every con, there is a pro. PETA does a LOT of good things, too. They research and do underground investigations into slaughterhouses, pet stores, circuses, pretty much anywhere that has an animal. Members secretly film the animal abuse, and after a certain amount of investigation time, the members of PETA can sometimes have the abusive organization shut down. They have raised TONS of awareness. Half the people we have now probably would not be vegetarians if it were not for PETA raising so much awareness to the cruelties of life.
Anyway, long story short, I don't agree that they are brainwashing people. They've presented many facts and evidence to prove what they stand for, and I support them.
Well first off, I want to say congrats on being a vegetarian! Ive been a vegetarian for a whole year now and I love it
I got the little letter things from PETA too, and I don't think they are EVIL at all.
I believe they are trying to do whats right. They are educating people on the horrors of factory farming, dairy farms, fur factories and more. They want to tell people what is really going on. Until I saw "Meet Your Meat" I had no idea! I knew where and what my food was and came from, but not to that extent. I was shocked, and disgusted. Right after I watched it (which Im amazed I got through the whole thing I was bawling my eyes out) I ordered the info, and Im glad it did. As you may know, it tells you all these cool things, even celebs who are vegan!
I also became friends with PETA on Facebook, and that was when things became a little "iffy"
They started posting things that were hurtful (things like if you aren't a vegan you aren't helping anything, like saying that being a vegetarian isn't helping, which it is!) and other things of the sort.
They posted a video of a man dressed in a chicken suit that ran up to a guy dressed up as Ronald McDonald and shoved a pie in his face. Yes, this was an innocent act, but none the less, there could have been more respectful ways to deal with a protest on PETA's behalf.
I don't believe PETA is evil, no. However, I do believe that they could handle things better
They could be actually doing something to help the animals more than they already are. Spreading the information is only half of the battle, doing something about it is the other.
But that's just how I feel
I hope this helps you in some way, let me know what you think
And again, thanks for making such an important and live saving choice, it means a lot
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Do you think PETA is evil?
First off, I'M A VEGETARIAN. Don't start going crazy on me,please(:
So a several months ago when I became a vegetarian I ordered this vegetarian starter kit thing from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). Basically, its just like a magazine while recipes, info and stuff...
They've done a lot of damage to any good coming from vegetarian/vegan movements. A lot of it has to do with the fact that they act like a political group using propaganda, taking advantage of misunderstandings, outright lying, etc. My biggest problem with them is the videos they toss out on the internet that are meant to represent the meat industry as a whole, yet they often choose the worst operations out there and say all animals are being mistreated like that. In some cases they take advantage of something that looks like abuse to someone that's probably never seen a calf in a real life, when it's completely harmless. I'm not even talking castration here, but just dragging a calf that was just born to the front of the mother so that she can lick it off. I've seen that clip portrayed in such a different light. If anyone had ever helped birth a calf and worked with them they would know doing something like that is entirely humane, but someone who is seeing it for the first time on an internet video has no idea what's going on and immediately chalks it up to abuse. It doesn't matter what your standpoint is, but taking advantage of naive people by using inaccurate portrayals to further an agenda is wrong, it doesn't matter who you are. PETA works too much in the realm of what's perceived as abuse, not actually going in and researching what certain practices do to the animals.
The people that messages should be intended for, the animal producers themselves, simply ignore and chide PETA because their portrayals tend to be the opposite of their actual operations.
Who is brainwahing who depends on what side of the fence you are on. Your mom says PETA is brainwashing you, I say the media is brainwashing everybody.
Its not so important that you believe in PETA. What is important is do you believe in the things PETA believes in.
For instance, do you believe in the humane treatment of animals and a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle? To me that is all that matters.
You can be a vegan/ vegetarian and never know PETA exists. Peta does a lot of good for advancing the cause. However, a lot of people don't like them.
Me? I have no problem with them. However, I don't pay much attention to them either...
I just don't like to think that 200 million people decide whether they care about animals or not because of one organization. People are very quick to judge on things but they should take the time to do research and make an informed decision. They choose quick easy answers because people have a gambling mentallity. They don't see any dangers on the horizon for them if they keep on supporting the meat and a.p. industries. They really just aren't realizing how bad it is...
If you look at PETA and don't like em, I hope that doesn't deter you from your path.
Like the saying says " Mother Always Knows Best "
I use to like them and think that they were here to help the animals till I found out that they Supported & Funded BSL . How can you say " Save the Animals " when you are killing Millions of dogs . BSL doesn't just target Pits / Rotts / Dobbies & GS dogs - they Target any dog Over 25 lbs.
PETA does not believe Humans should Own a dog/cat/lizard/fish as a Pet . It is more than just Eating Meat and fur coats . Did you know they have a 97.6 % Kill Rate - they Kill more animals than they Adopted out ? but are getting donations to HELP THE DOGS THAT ARE ALREADY DEAD ?? That is Fraud !!!
AS for the Terrorist - check out PETAs Tax Form
$42,000 was giving to Rodney Coradono ( guy known for bombing labs & teatching kids how to make bombs so they can be activists as well )
then in the same year his father was given $25,000 ( Ray )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ijLulwUTY
PETA has has started to act like a troubled little kid starved for attention. It is always in the news for attention grabbing publicity stunts that are less likely to persuade anyone then put them on the news. The ASPCA is a much better charity to support, as is the African Wildlife Fund and Audubon Society.
1.) PETA funds and supports terrorist organizations that bomb laboratories where medical research is performed. This is according to Congressional Hearings. PETA vegetarian campaign coordinator Bruce Friedrich has declared that "blowing stuff up and smashing windows" is something PETA doesn't do "but I do advocate it."
2.) PETA has handed out comic books that say "your Mommy kills animals" to children at a performance of the nutcrackers.
3.) According to one source, PETA run animal shelters have an 86% euthanasia rate, MUCH higher than those run by ASPCA. (I'm unable to com firm that one).
I've heard a bunch of other bad things about PETA I can't remember right now.
Your mom is incorrect saying that PETA has committed terrorist acts. She may be thinking of the Animal Liberation Front, which has vandalized and sent threats to various laboratories and whatnot. I believe it was the ALF that burned down a lumber yard some years ago because there was deforestation of land that was home to a certain bird or animal that is considered endangered.
I don't consider PETA evil. I consider some of their tactics extreme and unnecessary, and I think their founder, Ingrid Newkirk, is a bit of a loon. I also have a problem with them spending so much of their money on their high profile shock campaigns and celebrity endorsements. I wish more of that money actually went into helping animals. Their aim is good, but the delivery is all wrong.
PETA is not evil, their people for the ethic treatment of animals. Their there to protect the rights that animals have. Another good organization is the ASPCA which I am a member of.