OMG, this better be some kind of joke

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
PETA urges Hamburg, N.Y. to change name



April 22, 2003 _|_ HAMBURG, N.Y. (AP) -- A national animal rights group has offered Hamburg officials $15,000 to change the town's name to Veggieburg.



"The town's name conjures up visions of unhealthy patties of ground-up dead cows," said Joe Haptas, spokesman of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, in a letter faxed Monday to Hamburg Supervisor Patrick Hoak.



PETA offered to supply area schools with $15,000 worth of non-meat patties for the name change.



"Our offer is serious as a heart attack," Haptas said.



_Hoak immediately declined.



"With all due respect, I think it's a delicacy in our community," he said about hamburgers. "We're proud of our name and proud of our heritage."



The Buffalo suburb, named Hamburg since 1812, claims to be the birth place of the American culinary staple. Hamburg commemorates the birth of hamburgers at the annual Burgerfest.



In 1996, PETA proposed that the Hudson Valley town of Fishkill change its centuries-old name to Fishsave, since the group believed the name conjured up violent imagery of dead fish.



The town was named by Dutch settlers in the early 1600s. "Kill" is the Dutch word for "stream."





CRACK KILLS!!!
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 42
    powerdocpowerdoc Posts: 8,123member
    This is the most idiotic storie i have ever heard
  • Reply 2 of 42
    rampancyrampancy Posts: 363member
    Nope. It's real. Saw it on CNN after I got home from the university this afternoon.



    These guys have the best of intentions, and I can't fault them for that, but...honestly...



  • Reply 3 of 42
    PETA (people eat tasty animals?) don't joke. they have a whole staff just thinking of whack-ass stuff to do.

    just keeping their name out there seeing how much ink they can get.
  • Reply 4 of 42
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    If animal rights groups want to be taken seriously, they should cut this sort of crap and do something that makes people think, "Yeah, I guess they're doing the right thing." I feel animals have rights just as people do... but at the same time, I'm not going to pour red paint on people wearing fur coats, or bomb a building where scientists do cancer research on animals.
  • Reply 5 of 42
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Geez, PETA, don't waste your time with podunk towns! Aim for the sky and go after the German original for which the sandwich is named after!



    When asked which came first, the town or the sandwich, the proverbial chicken or egg, PETA spokespeople also mentioned their campaign to change the carnivorous aphorism to "the soy or the tofu."
  • Reply 6 of 42
    it's like all the extremist hate groups, if you ever see their literature, they always refer to all the publications and or television shows they've been featured in. never mind all of the articles are unfavorable, they figure someone sees it, it piques their interest, they seek us out.

    i think peta's strategy is the same.
  • Reply 7 of 42
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    PETA reminds me of a little summer arts and crafts class my brother took a few years back... they made all the kids refer to glue guns as "glue machines," and the trigger was to be called the "lever." Also in our school district, the home economics course has changed names twice in the last five years. Why? I suppose any name that has been around a few years is considered politically incorrect, no matter how incredibly neutral it is. Home Ec works fine, but NOOOOO! They gotta change it to "Personal and Family Life Sciences" and then again to "Family and Consumer Sciences." Note the "science" tacked onto the end. Sheesh.



    Back to the subject of PETA... check out this link: http://www.chickenhead.com/features/animal/
  • Reply 8 of 42
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Luca Rescigno

    If animal rights groups want to be taken seriously...



    Actually, there was a big article in the New Yorker a week or two ago demonstrating that PETA is actually extremely powerful. Accusations by the group lead to their targets praising animals.



    That said, their entire reason for existing is to think up and execute extreme stunts that get a lot of press. It actually serves a vital function that does benefit the cause greatly. Think about it.
  • Reply 9 of 42
    xionjaxionja Posts: 504member
    PETA really bothers me, this should really be a joke. I am vegetarian, but this organization doesnt have the right tactics to get their political message across.



    A link to a sight with many funny/pathetic PETA campaigns

    http://www.animalrights.net/faq/topics/diet/meat.html

    My favorite "PETA threatened to violently disrupt church pig roast"



    One of the worst things they have done however is ban the horse slaughter industry in America. I know this sounds good, but the number of dangerous, unrealiable horses, that should be put to sleep, that are still being ridden, and kept by owners unable to get rid of them is very high. There are horses at my stables that could well be headed to canada, now that its outlawed in the U.S. I probably sound cruel, but its the best thing for these animals that hurt themselves and humans frequently.
  • Reply 10 of 42
    Quote:

    That said, their entire reason for existing is to think up and execute extreme stunts that get a lot of press. It actually serves a vital function that does benefit the cause greatly. Think about it.



    good point giant! it's like in negotiations, you want a million dollars so you ask for five million.....they think you're insane and say "well we'll give you a million...."



    plus any time they can get the debate out there they are happy!
  • Reply 11 of 42
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    I suppose, but it also alienates the general public. They get the recognition, but it's bad recognition. I suppose it's better than no recognition, but even if I was in a position of power, I wouldn't exactly feel pressured if PETA asked me to do something ridiculous because everyone would just laugh at PETA for being such a bunch of fricking retards. Now, if PETA emphasized their more mainstream activities like political lobbying and such, then maybe they wouldn't be as visible but they'd be much more accepted.



    Personally, I'd much rather support a mainstream, intelligent, reasonable group like the Nature Conservency. They play by the rules to get things done, instead of pulling dumb stunts like this.
  • Reply 12 of 42
    giantgiant Posts: 6,041member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar

    good point giant! it's like in negotiations, you want a million dollars so you ask for five million.....they think you're insane and say "well we'll give you a million...."




    bingo!
  • Reply 13 of 42
    my wife and i give money to the nature conservancy and i agree with you, it is money well spent.

    but wouldn't it be nice if as many people knew about them as peta? we'd have bought the entire amazon by now!

    i don't think anyone at peta is trying to change anyone's minds, they are just trying to mobilize those that agree with them.
  • Reply 14 of 42
    bungebunge Posts: 7,329member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by superkarate monkeydeathcar

    my wife and i give money to the nature conservancy....



    The Nature Conservancy is the bomb. Unfortunately it's the best kept secret in the conservation 'industry'.
  • Reply 15 of 42
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Luca Rescigno

    PETA reminds me of a little summer arts and crafts class my brother took a few years back... they made all the kids refer to glue guns as "glue machines," and the trigger was to be called the "lever." Also in our school district, the home economics course has changed names twice in the last five years. Why? I suppose any name that has been around a few years is considered politically incorrect, no matter how incredibly neutral it is. Home Ec works fine, but NOOOOO! They gotta change it to "Personal and Family Life Sciences" and then again to "Family and Consumer Sciences." Note the "science" tacked onto the end. Sheesh.



    That's odd because someone stated that "political correctness does not exist". He seemed quite certain of it.



  • Reply 16 of 42
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Powerdoc

    This is the most idiotic storie i have ever heard



    Powerdoc would later add, "I have not heard many stories."







    Come on! How can you argue with a naked Charlotte Ross of NYPD Blue?
  • Reply 17 of 42
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    That's odd because someone stated that "political correctness does not exist". He seemed quite certain of it.







    Of course you think that was wrong. I think that was right. Give me a break, political correctness is the ultimate strawman argument.
  • Reply 18 of 42
    pscatespscates Posts: 5,847member
    Dude, you know I love ya...but you are SO full of it, here lately.







    Your favorite response (along with bunge and giant) to ANYONE who pokes a hole into one of your preciously-held thoughts or beliefs:



    "Straw man...".







    Political correctness DOES exist - in the workplace, schools, etc. - and sometimes it's proper and has its place. And sometimes it's just plain ****ing stupid and insulting to anyone with a bit of sense.



    How about giving ME a break? You say something completely full-of-crap - that goes against what everyone knows to be so - and instead of going "yeah, I guess I chunked that one...political correctness does indeed exist..." you yell - again - "straw man".



    Who, exactly, IS this Mr. Straw? You and bunge have him on retainer or something? Is he getting royalties? As many appearances as he's made the past month, he should be.







    You just don't know how to handle being wrong, or getting called on your silly shit.



    Relax. You don't get to win them all.
  • Reply 19 of 42
    murbotmurbot Posts: 5,262member
    I chuckle to myself everytime I order a Pita with chicken or beef in it.



    heh heh
  • Reply 20 of 42
    Quote:

    Originally posted by pscates

    Dude, you know I love ya...but you are SO full of it, here lately.







    Your favorite response (along with bunge and giant) to ANYONE who pokes a hole into one of your preciously-held thoughts or beliefs:



    "Straw man...".







    Political correctness DOES exist - in the workplace, schools, etc. - and sometimes it's proper and has its place. And sometimes it's just plain ****ing stupid and insulting to anyone with a bit of sense.



    How about giving ME a break? You say something completely full-of-crap - that goes against what everyone knows to be so - and instead of going "yeah, I guess I chunked that one...political correctness does indeed exist..." you yell - again - "straw man".



    Who, exactly, IS this Mr. Straw? You and bunge have him on retainer or something? Is he getting royalties? As many appearances as he's made the past month, he should be.







    You just don't know how to handle being wrong, or getting called on your silly shit.



    Relax. You don't get to win them all.




    No, actually. I'm not denying that people label things as such. I think I'm quite alone in my views that political correctness is a made-up euphemism for doing the right thing. There are no good examples or bad examples of it. We shouldn't judge anything on whether it's "politically correct." We should judge something on its own merit.



    Call me crazy, but I think that's the best way.
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