KFC manager douses (PETA) protesters

[rainbow4321]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D89EUUNO0.html

A trio of protesters with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals didn't find the welcome mat out when they stopped at a KFC in Brownsville on Wednesday. The sprinkler system was on for them, though.

John Olivo, the manager of the fast-food chicken restaurant, turned the system on full blast to soak the curbside protesters. And a man who eats beef followed them around with his stepchildren and a microphone.

The PETA protesters, including one in a chicken suit, are participating in PETA's campaign to get KFC to pressure slaughter houses to use more humane methods to kill chickens.

"You're not going to win. Not in Brownsville," David Ingersoll, of Los Fresnos, shouted through his microphone at the protesters at a busy intersection. His stepchildren passed out anti-PETA pamphlets to stopped drivers.

[thebigidea]

1. it is my fondest hope to one day be referred to in a newspaper as...

... "a man who eats beef."

I wonder how that came up - maybe he was shrieking about his preference for beef over chicken or something.

or he was also protesting KFC for not featuring beef-related items?

think of the children!

oh, woe!

[neuvocat]

68. Gee, that's nice, Dan.

I think I'll cut back on the amount of meat I eat, given the now obvious tendency to corrode one's brain.

[MsTryska]

69. *lmao*

that's hilarious.


i was stuck on the "man who eats beef" too.

[Richardo]

2. Good.

PETA=Counter-productive publicity-greedy provocateurs.

[Bunny]

6. Gotta agree with you on this Richardo.

They are so ridiculous that I immediately disregard any message they may have. We will likely get flamed for this - but, I've got your back if you've got mine!

[Richardo]

8. Deal!

:pals:

[Mr_Spock]

31. I'm tired of the overstepping as well.

They need to have some popular support for their protests - otherwise they look like the RW nuts who show up at Shiavo & abortion clinics.

[expatriot]

67. Have you ever seen "Meet your Meat?"

I don't understand how reasonable people think that animals don't suffer. I just don't understand.

[Bunny]

70. I never said that animals don't suffer.

Please don't put words in my mouth.

[Burma Jones]

17. Can't stand PETA, wish they'd all move to the UK

yet, to many, they're associated with Democrats.

I think that if PETA has their way, and there is no more lab research using animals, then we should use the <sarcasm> homeless, more of the prison population and illegal immigrants as experimental subjects </sarcasm>

[livinginphotographs]

32. Yeah, that's exactly what they want.

:eyes:

Are you a member of Men Eating Beef for Truth, or do you have somewhere to back-up your assertion that PETA would rather see experiments performed on homeless people?

[kliljedahl]

62. Don't forget the orphans

Actually, I think the PETA protesters should do the honorable thing and offer themselves up as testees, take away an "e" :sarcasm:.


http://www.kliljedahl.net

[nine30]

71. I agree..

..they are counter productive. They may have a noble purpose, but dressing up like chickens is making mockery of their cause. They stand out like clowns and people just watch them just for entertainment. Their message never gets across.

[livinginphotographs]

3. How dare those PETA protestors oppose chicken torture?!!!!

It's un-murikan, I tell ya!

[tuvor]

20. I'd like to see another group steal PETA's thunder.

I can get behind protesting KFC, but not if I have to do it with PETA.

What other organizations are there?

[flvegan]

26. Find a local org

Usually, local AR groups will organize a protest, and PETA will provide literature, etc. The local group can do the protest under their banner, so to speak.

[tuvor]

28. Sorry, nothing doing with PETA. Ever.

I've explained why elsewhere in this thread.

[flvegan]

35. Little explanation...

If you want to protest KFC, as you stated, you can do so through a local organization. Most local orgs don't have the cash to produce literature, so they use PETAs.

I guess you're out of luck, most likely then.

[UdoKier]

61. I know what you mean. I have boycotted KFC for 2 years.

Their quality has gone down appreciably since they merged with Pepsi & Taco Bell. Their chicken tastes gummy and weird now, and once they served my kids VERY expired milk. We strictly go to Popeye's now.

[natrat]

4. yea kill all the animals inflicting as much pain as possible

[Zuni]

5. They were harrassed by a 'beef eating man'

who yelled at them through a megaphone with his stepchildren?

This is one protest I would have liked to attend

[IronLionZion]

7. PETA is a cult

They think Texas is a good place to protest slaughtering meat? :P

And what's up with "a man who eats beef"?

[thebigidea]

9. he's an enigma wrapped inside a mysterious, even bigger enigma

i'm starting work on the tv action series - MAN WHO EATS BEEF asap. So far, Belushi won't return my calls... but that's because he's a doughy, mullety no-talent. And because I don't have his phone number.

[JHB]

45. Kinda like a big quandry-burrito?

Mmmmmmmm, burrito...

[NoPasaran]

56. I can see it now

Every week Man Who Eats Beef and his young sidekick Baked Potato Boy must stop another sinister plot of the World Salad Council!

[RebelOne]

10. it is not slaughtering meat.

It is slaughtering animals. And since I am a vegetarian, I protest slaughtering animals for meat.

[IronLionZion]

14. I don't think Texas is the best place to protest that

:shrug:

[Bouncy Ball]

24. Why not?

Why would Texas be off-limits?

I'm a vegetarian living in Texas, there are lots of us. They don't exactly string us up by our toenails every day.

Let go of stereotypes.

[MadHound]

29. Kinda like Alabama wasn't the best place to protest for civil rights

Fifty years ago, eh?

Speaking truth to power knows no boundaries friend.

[Skip Intro]

51. great reply!

[IronLionZion]

58. clever

i like civil rights AND meat, and speaking truth is great. But PETA is just asking for trouble. No wonder they got doused.

If you want to stick with the civil rights analogy, PETA might even be hurting the cause like the Black Panthers did.

peace
IronLionZion

[MadHound]

59. Actually there is debate on how much real harm the Panthers

And their movement did. But hey, glad you like the analogy.

And any organization that non-violently provides a counter balance to corporate agriculutre is fine in my book.

Glad you liked the analogy.

[tuvor]

16. But I like meat.

How else can I go about eating it?

[Liberal Veteran]

21. I don't just like meat...I need it.

I have full-blown AIDS and have a very hard time maintaining my body weight. Without eating meat, I simply cannot consume enough food to stay healthy.

[tuvor]

23. It always helps to hear as many sides as possible.

All the best to you, LV.

[Liberal Veteran]

11. PETA's problem isn't just their position on eating/ranching animals.

They are also opposed to medical research involving animals.

As a person who owes his life to animal testing of pharmaceuticals, I find their position reprehensible on that and as such, I actively dismiss them as extremists.

[theboss]

12. I am a man who eats beef

Anyway, I agree with PETA that chickens should be treated humanely.

I don't believe for one second though that this is the extent of PETA's agenda. PETA doesn't want animals used for food period. So, I steer very very clear of them.

[Liberal Veteran]

13. You are correct.

It is not the extent of their agenda.

[livinginphotographs]

36. Certainly, PETA would prefer a world where we don't eat meat.

But even if you disagree with that, you have a problem with them advocating more humane treatment for chickens?

[theboss]

41. I don't trust them

I have no problem with advocating more humane treatment of chickens. But their methods are suspect. And I disagree with a large part of their overall agenda.

This was an issue this week when discussing feminists who align with Evangelicals on the issue of pornography. It's a dangerous game to play. I think the same applies here.

[livinginphotographs]

50. You make a good point re: feminists and evangelicals.

But another poster has pointed out that you don't necessarily have to align with PETA to work for humane treatment of animals that are used for food. There are quite a few more moderate local organizations that use PETA's nationally-recognized name to get someone's attention, but aren't as "over the top" as some people claim PETA to be. There are several in my city, and quite a few in the Norfolk area where PETA is based.

Writing this entire campaign off, though, because of its alignment with PETA is kind of counterproductive, though.

[tuvor]

15. Not a lotta love for PETA here, is there?

I'll add my reason for not being able to take them seriously.

They gave $45,000 to the defense of Rod Coronado, an ALF member who was convicted of a fire bombing at Michigan State University, and I believe he also had admitted his guilt before PETA sent him the money--all donated by oblivious but well-meaning ordinary people, no doubt.

[Toots]

18. I thought Ashcroft declared PETA to be a terrorist organization.

Didn't he at least try and have environmentalist organizations declared as terrorists? Especially PETA and ELF I seem to recall were the two most prominently mentioned. They are brave souls out there protesting how chickens are treated. People might just want to send them to Gitmo....

[Skip Intro]

19. Yay for animal torture

this board blows my mind sometimes

animals are being tortured to death, and the few people that fucking care and try to do something about it are demonized, even here.

what a world

[tuvor]

22. Maybe not everyone believes the means justifies the ends. n/t

[Bouncy Ball]

37. Get used to it.

Since I became a vegetarian just a couple of weeks ago, I've been accused on this board of being self-righteous and obnoxious AND accused of telling other people what to eat.

In the interest of full disclosure, the person who said that did apologize, as I did nothing to them that could be considered self-righteous or obnoxious and I NEVER told them what they should eat, in fact, my exact words were "I don't give a shit WHAT you eat." He was simply projecting on to me.

It's lovely.

I'm a vegetarian because the animals we eat nowdays have horrid, tortured lives and they are killed in VERY inhumane ways.

If animals such as cattle, turkey, chickens, and pigs weren't forced to lead such God-awful lives (check it out, too, it's REALLY bad) and if they weren't killed in such horrific ways, I really wouldn't have a problem with eating meat.

For instance, KFC kills their chickens (their processors do) by simply grabbing them and throwing them against cinderblock walls, which stuns them, but doesn't kill them, then they proceed to simply walk through the stunned chickens, stomping on them randomly, picking up others and smashing them against the wall again, etc. It takes quite a bit of this before they die, but they are able to deal with a lot of them at once this way. They are made to get so fat, so fast, they often cannot even stand up on their own, because their legs cannot support their own weight.

Also, after hatching, they have their beaks cut off with a hot blade (they have nerve endings in their beaks) and are kept 5-12 per battery cage and the stench of ammonia and feces dropping on them from the upper cages is so bad, human workers have to wear heavy masks just to go in there. This burns their foot pads, burns their eyes, causes horrible skin infections, they often get their heads caught in the cages and die there (overcrowding), I could go on and on. When they stop laying eggs, they have their food and water withheld for 24 hours or more to "force" them to start laying again.

My great-grandparents kept chickens on their farm. They had a really nice coop with good ventilation (in the summer, cross-ventilation, and in the winter, south only), they had free access to the chicken yard, where they took dust baths, etc (chickens LOVE a good dust bath), they breathed fresh air, and they slept in the coop at night. They were WELL cared for.

When it came time to have a chicken dinner, one was killed with an axe on its neck. It was quick. Then she used the feathers for quilts and pillows and they used every bit of the chicken but the feet, beak, and head.

Now THAT'S humane. They were happy, healthy, lived a good life, and had a quick, humane death.

I'm ok with that. But the way we get our chicken nowdays, no WAY.

[Skip Intro]

49. I've seen pictures (maybe we should post a few here?)

and I couldn't bear to look at them for more than a quick glance, then had to turn away, and try to scrub the image from my mind.

I couldn't even read all of your post. I had to skip the parts about the treatment of those poor animals. How can this be allowed?

I have a theory on PETA-haters and vegatarian bashers. Could they hate because they don't want to have to think about these things, because they don't want to know the amnt of suffering that had to occur in order to fill that bucket for them. They turn away from an ugly truth and damn anyone that tries to shine a light on it. Just a theory...

And that's the whole thing with this particular story. PETAs not protesting KFC to get them to stop killing, dismembering and then selling fried chicken body parts - they're protesting to stop the inhumane torture of the animals in the process.

wtf is wrong with that???

oh, and congrats on becoming a vegitarian.

[Bouncy Ball]

53. Thanks.

I watched videos and read a lot about their treatment, that's what did it for me and my daughter, who was actually already leaning towards being a vegetarian anyway.

Even if you put pictures here, to some people, it wouldn't matter. They're "just" animals. :-( As in, who cares? Oh well. Cognitive dissonance is a strong and powerful thing.

I'm not out to sway the world. But I do wish people wouldn't just automatically lash out. I've made a choice that's right for me.

[Debaser]

55. I think your there's a lot of truth in your theory.

About PETA/Vegetarian bashers. There has to be some reason why some people would unleash a torrent of abuse against an organisation when it is taking a stand against practices that are both sickeningly cruel to animals and create a severe-risk to human health...

[flvegan]

25. Hate PETA if you want...

Call them crazy, extreme, whacko...a cult, even, someone said.

Fact is: They're successful. You've all heard of them, you've all openly discussed the treatment of "food animals" for better or worse.

I'm SOOOOOO happy that "man who eats beef" brought his children and his megaphone, and the manager turned on the sprinkler system. Why? Cuz it got the story in the paper, on the net, and smack dab here on DU where it'll probably tally up a hundred responses. PETA just did their job again, and you helped. Thanks.

I might not be a vegan today if not for the info provided by PETA and their ilk. I should thank them for my better health, my longer life, and my smaller footprint on the environment.

Check my sig:

[theboss]

27. By that criteria. Paris Hilton is successful too

We've all heard of her and we've all discussed the merits of filming ourselves having sex for better or for worse because of her.

Doesn't mean that she should be given a fellowship.

[flvegan]

30. That was weak.

[theboss]

38. You are arguing that publicity is all that matters

And there is no one on the planet more successful at garerning attention without results than Paris Hilton.

PETA gets in the headlines weekly but has had very limited impact on any actual policy.

I hold that the analogy is apt. Apt, I say!

[flvegan]

43. Please point out, specifically, where I stated that.

Your second statement is laughably untrue. Laughably. You should research before making statements based on personal bias.

[theboss]

46. Ok

"It got the story in the paper, on the net, and smack dab here on DU where it'll probably tally up a hundred responses. PETA just did their job again, and you helped."

I read that as PETA's job = getting publicity.

I agree with that. And they are good at it. They get hot chicks to pose naked. Good on them.

Don't know what it's accomplished aside from making it easier to photoshop pictures of Alicia Silverstone.

[flvegan]

48. Honestly...that was funny.

A good chuckle re Silverstone.

Publicity (garnering/getting) isn't their job, it's one of the tools they use to spread their message/move their campaigns along.

[tuvor]

33. Success can't be the only criteria.

Success is not necessarily virtuous.

[flvegan]

40. The only criteria for what?

[Skip Intro]

39. Absolutely! n/t

[MadHound]

42. I don't hate PETA, I find that they provide an invaluable service.

They bring such matters to the public attention that otherwise wouldn't see the light of day otherwise.

Are they over the top? Sure, in some regards they are. However they provide a societal balance to corporate agriculture, and for that I'm grateful. If it weren't for PETA and groups like them, we wouldn't have the food handling regulations we have now, and the slaughterhouse practices would still look like they're coming straight out of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle"

Face it people, factory farmed livestock is a practice that not only promotes cruelty to animals, but it also poses a grave health risk to the US populace as a whole. If you wish to dine on e-coli and salmonella, fine, but I prefer by food to be disease free, which PETA, by their words and deeds, helps to promote.

All props to PETA for providing an invaluable service.

[flvegan]

44. Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.

[Debaser]

52. Excellent post

I can understand people objecting to PETA's more radical views and tactics (even though I personally agree with them on most issues), but I cannot understand why when PETA are protesting against a practise that is both abhorrently cruel and extremely insanitary, people are so blinded by hatred that all they can do is go into rant mode against PETA.

[Bouncy Ball]

54. Hear, hear.

It was their information that helped me make a decision as to whether I wanted to go on eating meat and supporting those idustries (I decided not to).

There are other organizations besides PETA, too. They have also helped me to get the full picture. I've been reading a LOT about these topics.

[BJN]

63. Peta and the Wisconsin Debacle

Where was PETA during the "cat shooting" controversy in Wisconsin? I never heard a word from them and I watched a lot of news programs for information. Seems they kinda dropped the ball on that one.

[livinginphotographs]

64. Didn't take long to find this.

http://www.peta.org/alert/automation/AlertItem.asp?id=1328

Looks like you dropped the ball in actually doing some research.

[NIGHT TRIPPER]

73. PETA Rules!! Selfless helpers of those who can't defend themselves

I consider it honorable to go out of ones way to help beings on this planet.

Anyone who takes the time and energy to raise awareness is ok by me!

MORE Power to PETA !

[ArkDem]

34. Has KFC been choking the chickens?

[underpants]

47. PETA is HQ'ed in Tidewater area of Va.-don't let your dog run free

or they (or one of their roving teams) will call animal safety on you.

PETA has good intentions but they just carry stuff WAY to far.

[Telly Savalas]

57. Are you sure this wasn't a review for a new John Waters film?

[UdoKier]

60. Brownsville is a backward border town at the end of the earth.

I drove down there once. It's amazing, because for hourse between Corpse Christi :P and Brownsville, there is an endless expanse of NOTHING, totally flat and barren, with an occasional withered palm tree.

The town itself is like a Mexican version of the rural towns ringing Florida's Lake Okeechobee. It feels really cut off from the rest of the world. Across the river is Matamoros, where border industries have created horrifying cancer clusters and some of the highest incidences of severe birth defects in the hemisphere.

Poverty is endemic, with agriculture still being a mainstay, propped up by now-flagging maquiladora industries.


I'm not surprised that folks would be hostile to PETA's complaints. KFC is one of the few "restaurants" that many Brownsville residents can afford to eat at.


BTW, the Rio Grande Valley area is heavily democratic, but they are not so progressive as to have a wide following for PETA. For one thing, the population are mostly from Mexico, where cockfighting and bullfighting are still acceptable sports, and where vegetarianism has yet to catch on.

[dean_dem]

74. You bring up a good point...

"I'm not surprised that folks would be hostile to PETA's complaints. KFC is one of the few "restaurants" that many Brownsville residents can afford to eat at.

Unfortunately you're probably right, and that goes for a lot of other localities.

This is one case where I think PETA's efforts might have been better focused at least at another KFC. I'm wondering why they chose Brownsville? Why not somewhere else, where people probably did have a lot more of a choice as to where they eat? (translation: could afford to eat somewhere else)

Unfortunately, PETA has yet to realize that not all publicity is good publicity. But I still support the idea that animals don't have to be tortured before they are slaughtered, regardless of who says it. So I think in that regard, PETA plays a vital role. I just disagree with them on some issues, but if they make people a little more aware of where their food comes from (and they have), good for them. Keep it up.

[KFC]

65. Those silly PETA hippies keep trying to shut us down

But it just helps me sell more of our chickens. Talk about free publicity, what better than hosed down college girls in wet t-shirts to sell chickens. We keep hosing them down with cold water and our chickens sell like hot cakes.

[livinginphotographs]

66. Quiet, KFC!

Or I shall pelt you with broccoli.



:pelts KFC with broccoli:

[MisterP]

72. I predict live ammunition by 2007, and screaming, cheering support among

regressives of both parties