THE FUR IS GONNA FLY ....

Um, yes I can. She lacks all intelligence and has virtually no foresight. She does have organizational skills, passion, compassion for animals (not humans) and great fundraising skills.

It doesn't take nearly as much when you make tons of money. If someone was paying me $400,000/year, I could do that with no trouble. And she is wrong, by the way. She lacks critical thinking skills, which is common from vegan diets that often lack protien and B-vitamins. And I'm not kidding.

Ingrid is a complete fool. Laughable, not laudable. Science has already proven her wrong; history will, and is, following. "Speciesism"? Are you serious? What a bunch of crap. That's why they are called PETArds.

It takes courage to take on big companies? Are you serious? Bashing large corporations is the it thing to do these days. It takes no real courage. People are taking on Wal-Mart, Home Depot, the Dairy and meat industries and ll profit making entities around the world. Capitalism is under attack and people applaud it. Ingrid is a moron, PETA is a radical ridiculous group that has lost all credibility and as someone said in the documentary, she and her group have marginalizes animal rights. She is a media whore and she is money hungry which I wouldn't mind if she were only up front about it and didn't hide behind the false shroud of animal rights.

If you love Jesus Christ and are 100% proud of it, copy this and make it your signature!

[deleted]

"there is no way to deny her intelligence, foresight, organizational skills, passion, and, of course, compassion."

Change the her to his and you may as well be talking about any cult leader in history.

She's insane and she should get her teeth fixed.

The following comments are directed at anyone reading this thread or any of the boards about Newkirk or PETA who has not made up their mind about Newkirk/PETA, and who has a genuine interest/concern about animal rights.

There is a lot of hate directed toward PETA. Some of this comes from people who don't understand PETA's history, what it represents, how it functions, and what it has accomplished (and is trying to accomplish) for nonhuman AND human animals -- in effect, for the entire living planet.

Many of such people are not accustomed to critical thinking. They respond to any issue according to how they observe their family, friends, and role models responding. It's easier and safer than doing the work to sort things out for themselves. PETA often goes against mainstream thought and behavior. Most of us are uncomfortable outside of the mainstream, and many people reflexively ridicule and dismiss any thoughts/behavior that lure them from their complacency. Ignorance is bliss. But progress never comes from those who won't challenge the status quo.

Some of the hate comes from people who know just enough about PETA and its influence to feel their lifestyles and/or livelihoods threatened. Certainly, if you are employed in any industry that exploits and/or destroys animals (who, given the choice, would not be where they are or even exist at all -- i.e., bred for human benefit), then you are directly threatened just by the concept of animal rights. But the majority in this group are people who just don't want to give up their veal or fur or ice cream or foie gras or starved-then-boiled-alive lobster or leather jacket or hunting or "sport" fishing (i.e., animal torture) or rodeos (ditto on torture) or animal entertainment, or pay a few cents more for eggs from cage-free hens, etc., etc, regardless of the pain and misery the animals must endure. The term for this is speciesism, and it refers to the popular yet morally untenable belief that the human species and human needs/interests are superior to those of ALL other species (you know, like men are superior to women, whites to blacks, heteros to homos, or Christians to ... well, everybody).

People in this second group are the most likely to interpret, apply, and share what little knowledge they have in service of a predetermined conclusion: PETA is bad. They are most likely to be guilty of stereotyping, illogical analogies, fallacious reasoning, and intentional misrepresentation (or only partial representation) of the facts. Examples:

1) Rare incidences of low-level vandalism or business disruption in the context of civil disobedience by a tiny minority of PETA protesters = PETA is a violent, unlawful organization.

2) Newkirk and some of her associates have said they sympathize with the goals and activities of the ALF (and PETA has given a miniscule fraction of its multimillion-dollar budget to the legal defense of a few ALF-ers) = PETA is a terrorist group that plans, funds, and executes actions that are arguably "terrorist" and almost exclusively in the form of economic damage.

3) PETA uses hard-sell, sometimes-controversial, sometimes-exploitative, media-attracting tactics = all of PETA's "1.8 million members/supporters" (per PETA) agree 100% with these tactics ... OR these are the only ways (or even the preponderance of means) by which PETA spreads its doctrine ... OR the tactics automatically invalidate the message.

4) PETA espouses veganism = PETA has the power to shut down the meat/dairy industries and take your steak and shake (heh-heh, get it?) and leather shoes from you.

5) Newkirk sure is eccentric, funny-looking, obsessive, radical, unpleasant, dictatorial, manipulative (insert whatever you don't like about her) = I will hate PETA and all its followers. I will give lip service to "loving animals" and being against cruelty (aren't you brave!) to ease my conscience, but will feel appropriately free to ignore or downplay PETA's amazing successes ... slander its name ... and ridicule millions of people who are putting their time/labor/money where their "mouths are" in championing animal rights by backing the founding and leading organization in support of AR.

Kinda like the rest of the world should hate America because Bush and Cheney are our "leaders."

********

It is not my job or goal to recruit you to PETA. I am not an employee or paid advocate for any animal-rights/welfare organization. I DO believe that -- even with its faults (and it does have them) -- PETA is one of the most vital forces for positive change on Earth. But don't take my word for it. Make up your own mind. Do the research. And I mean DO the research.

I suggest starting with the PETA site. Go ahead and question everything you read. PETA has an encyclopedia of data to support its positions, and willingly (and adeptly) responds to common questions/issues from the public concerning its philosophy and operations. I have written to PETA with objections over some of its policies/procedures, and always have received polite, intelligent, and comprehensive responses.

While you are studying up, take a look at the Animal Liberation Front site. Don't be afraid. They're not the bogeymen the feds say they are, and the pursuit of knowledge is still legal in the USA. (Isn't it?) The ALF site is a little rough in its design, but there is a tremendous amount of info and intellectual analysis (if you go for that sort of thing), as well as some light/fun stuff to take the edge off a very serious subject. Especially important is this page, which is a short course in logic and argument (applicable to any debate) that should be mandatory reading and understanding for every high-school student.

http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Philosophy/Debating/Logic/LogicalFallacies-AR.htm

Some of the world's most brilliant minds were/are behind vegetarianism, veganism, and the AR movement. See if you might want to align your thinking with these guys. http://choices.cs.uiuc.edu/~f-kon/vegetarian.html

In summary, if you are an adult, let no one dictate to you how to live. But that is not the same as being aware of the consequences of your actions (or lack of action) on the environment, your health, your self-respect (and that of others) -- and keeping your eyes and mind open to alternatives that are both practical and moral.

Peace

"Funny like a clown? I amuse you, I make you laugh? I'm here to f--kin' amuse you?"