crimes against animality (or, ewwww).

i would prefer if peta would quit speaking for me in particular and us (as in animals) generally. now i'm a big fan of spaying and neutering (especially for other dogs) and i do my best to bully every unneutered male i see but is this really necessary (thanks to wonkette for the link)? unless it's a campaign to neuter ron jeremy which i'm ok with. i also think the slogan is somewhat questionable--too much sex is a bad thing for animals? it seems to feed into the arguments of those who say that tutoring robs us of our sexual autonomy. which it does but also makes me easier to live with, less aggressive, less pee-happy, and less likely to run off after a hot babe. it also strikes me as a little moralistic. it's not so much sex that's bad for us but uncontrolled reproduction. i know that for dogs sex is usually linked with reproduction but the ads message is unclear. too much sex will turn us into chubby, hygiene challenged porn stars? maybe they should change it to "don't be a dick. spay and neuter your pet." just a crude suggestion.

even more offensive is this. last year peta had to apologize for an ad comparing the plight of animals to the holocaust and so they decided this year to make a comparison with child labor, patriarchy and slavery. now i am an advocate of (non-human) animal supremacy but the analogy frankly stinks worse than a litter box. not only does it equivocate naked ape and animal political/social/ethical needs (and "animal is an awfully broad category--my needs are quite different from those of the tasty cow in the slaughterhouse), but also lumps together some very different naked ape struggles. and in doing so, buys into a somewhat questionable story about the "ever-expanding" rights granted in america. and i don't know if you need a dog to point out the irony that you make the (valid) point that the slave trade was often justified by comparing slaves with animals but then you go on to compare...slaves with animals. and you lump us all together under a category you call "powerless." nice. not to mention peta has done a pretty bang up job for anti-racist and feminist struggles in the past (see generally lilly-white membership and ads frequently objectifying women).

once again it seems that the actual message of what you are asking for is completely lost in the thrill of a pretty ad campaign (see above). what exactly do you want to do? the three particular struggles you discuss were quite different and have had rather different outcomes--children did not/do not need the same thing as women who did not/do not need the same thing as slaves and former slaves. the causes of these forms of oppression (or exploitation) are NOT identical nor have been or will be the range of solutions. just as chaining a naked ape is not the same as chaining an elephant or, presumably, putting me on a leash (same treatment, different meaning!) stop me before i froth at the mouth.

so i say this as someone quite concerned with the plight of animals (especially myself)--even the goddamned cats--but peta, beware of speaking for Others.