NEW QUERK

i think just about every one has an uncommon viewpoint on some obscure topic. for years older generations thought jazz was the devil's music. now most people think jazz is one of the more innocent genres of music (you'd never see fats domino pimping out crack whores to pay for his next record. nor would frank sinatra ever sing about his "gang" affiliations). but that is a poor example of what im talking about. how about converting all 4-way stops to round-abouts? or making basic traffic violations felonies? or putting fluoride in the water (or not)? arming police with non-lethal potato guns? instead of using animals for vital scientific testing just use members of peta...?

i only agree with some of those. im not saying which...

i recently watched an HBO special on ingrid newkirk. she is middle aged, blond, divorced, british, atheist, vegan, obsessive, compulsive, imposing, quirky, fanatical, conniving, condescending, self-righteous, and is the head of a domestic terrorist organization called peta.

i am continually surprised by the number of people sucked into her campaign. she uses tactics such as trespassing, slander, destruction of private property, and vandalism to get what she wants (that's called domestic terrorism). some say she is a saint for speaking for animals who cant speak for themselves (unless she is Mrs Doolittle, i think they might be exaggerating a bit). i say she is a miss-guided vigilante with too much time and money to waste on her cause ("but her cause is so good and holy. she is the next nelson mandela." im sorry but the ethical treatment of animals is no more equal to the civil rights movement than the war in iraq is equal to "Nam." (similarities ≠ "equal") ).

and how dare they equate it to the holocaust.

think about it, science can only progress through proper testing. and proper testing almost always requires test subjects. small animals are the perfect test subjects prior to human testing. and for those of you who think that i am heartless and cruel to the core, just so you know, not all testing is dangerous or even painful. in fact, most scientific testing is neither. if you take away proper testing we will never find a cure for AIDS and cancer and TB and so on. tell me, which is the greater good?

ok, so let's talk about the slaughter houses she has infiltrated and "spied" on. they talk about isolated incidents where animals are mistreated before they are killed as if that is the norm. well, that is not the norm. for instance, at a turkey factory they put the birds on a conveyor belt before they are killed. peta's complaint is that the men pick up the birds by their feet and put them on the belt too forcefully and too quickly and some of the birds fall off the belt. i dont know how much you know about birds, but i used to raise chickens growing up (we would even kill and eat them) picking them up by their feet is not uncomfortable for them and it actually puts them to sleep. and as for falling off the belt, well i personally think that any creature that can fly (albeit only for short distances) can handle a 3-foot drop.

their only valid complaint that they actually had evidence of was an isolated incident where an employee kicked a turkey that had fallen off the belt. that should not have happened and i think butterball would agree that that type of behavior should not occur in their facilities.

the thing that really irritates me (other than the fact that they are so self-absorbed that you cant have a reasonable discussion with them. they are so convinced that they are right that they have no room for an actual debate--only mandates and ultimatums) is their method of protesting. it is all glamorized self-righteous illegal activity (did i mention public nudity?). and their targets? people that either dont want to talk to them in person (and who can blame them) or have cancelled an appointment. so naturally peta has the right to retaliate for the inconvenience through destroying the private property of those who have been so terribly rude.

if you support peta then you let the domestic terrorists win.