Fur Sucks!

I agree with you! I just inherited my grandmother's 1940's fur coat when she went into a nursing home and though I have fond memories of playing with it as a child, I would never wear it. I think I might have it made into teddy bears. I've tried to not buy magazines that feature fur in ads or editorial pages, and to not buy clothing made by companies that make fur garments, but it's getting more and more difficult to do that. I wish someone would put together a no-fur list like the anti-cruelty list for cosmetic products that PETA has, because I'd carry it in my wallet and patronize those businesses.

Oh, yeah, one more thing. . . you don't mean Fun Fur, do you? ;-)

I understand the Human society and think they do good work but I just can't get down with the idea of PETA. It seems a little trival to worry about the life of a mink when there are people starving in this country, children who have no home. Human suffering is so great that I don't understand how anyone could divert so much time and money on worring about seals. Not that I don't value all living things but I think that the money sent in to PETA could be better spent else where. Donate your time and money to Habitat for Humanity and give a family a home.

Absolutely sickening.

And while I can agree that people have a point when they say "Why are you so upset about the plight of animals when there are people who have no homes?" I have to say:

People have a small measure of control over their lives. No matter how much we deride the government and the uneven welfare system, when was the last time you heard of thirty homeless people being herded into a room, sprayed with icy water, then electrocuted, and while some die, and some lose consciousness, some are simply paralysed but still fully aware while being fed into an incinerator? Never? Well, IT HAPPENS TO ANIMALS EVERY GODDAMNED DAY. In Spain it is still legal to hang dogs to death, where they will dangle from trees kicking and struggling and crying and then, rotting.
And did you watch that video? Do you see the level of suffering every day? For what? So some doofus with more money than sense can have the "satisfaction" of wearing real fur instead of the very realistic fake fur now available? Animals all over the world live and die terrifyingly, gruesomely, in sickening conditions, all because we "humans" think we are better.

While every day we act like "animals" to each other, valuing ourselves over other individuals, stealing, raping, killing, or simply engaging in the every day acts of mindless sociopathic cruelty of not empathising and respecting the feelings and motivations of others.

I know that there are people out there without homes, children going hungry, unfair systems being perpetuated in the world.

I understand Maslow's hierarchy, and the simple idea that if we just solve all the problems of the humans and make them all happy-happy, McDonald's on every table and an iPod in every pocket that people will be able to stop feeling like they have the right, the need, to "take it out" on something weaker. But people will never have everything they need.

And right now, people can still make choices to change their lives, but animals have no control over who snatches them up, stuns them, and skins them alive.

So that's kind of why that "won't somebody please think of the people!?" argument kind of strikes a nerve.

Yes, human suffering is rampant.
So is the suffering of animals. Their suffering is socially acceptable and often federally regulated, and I would like to change that. Please, don't begrudge me my passions, don't intimate that they are frivolous or that people are somehow higher in the priority chain, because it is people who inflict the suffering, on themselves and others.

The belaboured saying, "a society will be judged by how it treats its weakest members" could apply here.
And you can just pick who you think belongs to the society and who the weakest really are and we can all be happy.
I'm sure there's plenty of money to be thrown at all the various causes, and I don't think MJ was actually asking anyone to choose sides, so I'll drop it. For now.

So, anyway, how's next weekend for a spin-in, MJ?

i just saw that peta video the other day and was just horrified by what i saw, especially that one of the *skinned* animal with only its eyelashes left that was most obviously *still alive*. that kind of crap makes me so shakingly angry. when i see things like that, i think that as a culture, we're just going down down down. mother nature, or whoever, is not going to let us get away with that. at least i hope so - the way our society is going is great and happy in some ways, but spaazilicious is absolutely right about the judging by the way we treat the least..

ugh. thanks for posting the link, mj. i think i'll do the same on my site.

and, just because i support peta or other groups that are actively trying to stop this type of sickening stuff, does not mean i cannot do things that can also help children, help people get a home, etc etc. i'm not a one-cause kind of person.

Hear, hear!

The only fur coat in my home is the one that my kitty Lucy is wearing. :-)

Amber, thanks for writing! I understand what you're saying here. The fact is that PeTA is quite aggressive in its messages, and what you see is what you get. There are people who don't agree with that, which is why I suggested the Humane Society.

There are a lot of issues in the world, and the ones I'm most passionate about are animals. Animals do not have voices; at least humans do, and speak for themselves, and there are enough people to help them. Even more important, animals are part of the environment, and the danger of an animal becoming extinct can be attributable to such activities as whaling, loss of habitat, or the fur trade. Will it come to the point that the only place we'll see, say a harp seal, will be in a natural history museum? Thankfully, there are people who devote their time and energy to helping ensure that there will be a future for those animals, and to make aware of the abuse heaped on animals.

The fur trade, talk about abuse here. Can you honestly think that furs come from animals just accidentally stepping into those traps? Or that these animals were shot and then skinned? Ammunition is expensive, and to willingly kill a sentient being for its skin the way those skinners do, bashing the animals on the head until they die bleeding on the snow, or inserting wires or sticks into their anuses, because it won't damage the fur, is unthinkable. Can you imagine a sentient being, animal or human, being skinned, partially alive, and living past that point, in suffering, until they die? Is their suffering lessened just because they are not human?

I've been a volunteer, in fact; in junior high and high school, and in college. Every now and then I donate items, money, and my time to causes I believe in. There is definitely enough money in the world to be spent on a variety of causes; illnesses and the environment, social and political, left and right. Animals just happen to be my personal cause.

Thanks for the difference in opinion.

Thanks for posting this.. I volunteer for a feline rescue organization in Boston and definitely feel very strongly about this... More people need to be educated about PETA and how you can make a difference. have a great weekend :)

Thanks for posting. I too, am passionate about animals and animal rights... I treat my cats like they are human, and I definitely don't want them thought of any differently. I also volunteer for a feline rescue organization in Boston and foster lots of little guys :) Most people don't realize what goes on out there and posts like this will help everyone understand. Have a great weekend!

Ditto spazzalicious!!!!!