I thought that PETA was a group that fought for animal rights. The recent ad campaign that was launched in Florida this week now makes me think that they are closet fat bashers trying to disguise there disgust for fat people under the veil of eating healthy.
When I read the statement below it upset me to no end. And the photo that accompanied the statement made this worse. There is nothing positive about the message or the image connected to it.
“Save The Whales, Lose The Blubber: Go Vegetarian.”
In a press release, PETA stated:
A new PETA billboard campaign that was just launched in Jacksonville reminds people who are struggling to lose weight — and who want to have enough energy to chase a beach ball — that going vegetarian can be an effective way to shed those extra pounds that keep them from looking good in a bikini. [....]
Anyone wishing to achieve a hot “beach bod” is reminded that studies show that vegetarians are, on average, about 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters. [...]“Trying to hide your thunder thighs and balloon belly is no day at the beach,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA has a free ‘Vegetarian Starter Kit’ for people who want to lose pounds while eating as much as they like.
No thank you PETA to your crude methods to get people to eat vegetables. Targeting fat people for your own purposes puts you in the category of the rest of the individuals that think that it is acceptable to discriminate against people based on size. If you were looking for a way to get people to sympathize with your cause you chose the wrong delivery system. Try again maybe you won’t come across as insensitive to others.
Well, I don’t expect a retraction or apology from them any time soon. It sure does put them into a new light. I know the next information I receive from them requesting a donation will be return to sender (from the whale). If they want to insult us “whales” they better not expect us to donate money to their cause.
I plan to call PETA tomorrow and express my disdain for this approach. I would encourage anyone to do so…make them feel embarrased for going this route. It’s ignorant and very insensitive.
This is a disgrace, but I can actually say that I am not surprised. Plus size people are discriminated against everyday. Just look at the selection of clothing and designs to choose from for us plus size women. I would rather PETA be bold and voice their opinion openly than hide behind the scenes and do tricky things to decieve us all. They need to be told that this is not the way to solve the problems of today, but instead they need to give some real solutions. Take action and stand with the plus size community to see that we are treated as humans and not as things. Read my recent post titled “Living in South USA: Where is the Plus Size Clothing? here at http://www.latonyabynum.com. Also I have included a link to your website on mine. Please return the favor fellow Arkansan. I love what you are doing and what you stand for. Keep the peace and keep the movement going!
-LaTonya Bynum
LaTonya,
I agree with you 100%. If PETA would look at some of there supporters they have plus size women and big and tall men as well. This is just another case of underhanded tactics being used against fat people. Now you know that I will have to support a fellow Arkansan, because there are so few that I run into online.
I saw a lady from PETA on the Jane Velez Mitchell show on HLN last night and I’ve been steaming ever since. How dare PETA do and say what they did. She insinuated that fat people would not be fat if they didn’t eat meat. Well, she showed me just how brain dead she and the rest of the PETA bunch must be if they don’t realize that skinny people eat meat too. Yes, PETA, skinny people eat cows and chickens and all the rest of the stuff we eat too. I plan to go to their website and, hopefully, find a contact link for them so I can tell them what they can do with their big fat billboard and all their fat bashing. I’m not all that fat but I have news for PETA and all the rest of the fat bashers…..it’s my body and I’ll darn sure eat whatever I want to eat and if they don’t like the way I look they can look the other way and kiss my big fat behind. Now, I feel a little better now that I got that off my chest. But, rest assured, I’m not done yet. Not until I email PETA. What a bunch of a__ holes!!! I think their plan to turn fat people into vegetarians backfired on them and they have turned us all into enemies. I can tell you for sure they’ve turned me into an enemy.