Just when you thought we had already offended everyone and everything possible, here comes PETA.
The animal activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is urging the public to stop using animal names as verbal insults to other humans because it is “supremacist language.”
Directly from the PETA Handbook:
Words can create a more inclusive world, or perpetuate oppression. Calling someone an animal as an insult reinforces the myth that humans are superior to other animals & justified in violating them. Stand up for justice by rejecting supremacist language.
Words can create a more inclusive world, or perpetuate oppression. Calling someone an animal as an insult reinforces the myth that humans are superior to other animals & justified in violating them. Stand up for justice by rejecting supremacist language.
Anti-animal slurs degrade animals by applying negative human traits to certain species. Perpetuating the idea that animals are sly, dirty, or heartless desensitizes the public and normalizes violence against other animals.
Speciesist language isn’t just harmful, but it is also inaccurate. Pigs, for instance, are intelligent, lead complex social lives, and show empathy for other pigs in distress. Snakes are clever, have family relationships, and prefer to associate with their relatives.
For example, the group said if you want to insult someone for their lack of bravery, call them a “coward” instead of a “chicken” because the term is demeaning to chickens.
“Words can create a more inclusive world or perpetuate oppression. Calling someone an animal as an insult reinforces the myth that humans are superior to other animals & justified in violating them,” PETA added in the tweet. “Stand up for justice by rejecting supremacist language.”
The organization also continued with a string of tweets, with one saying that “anti-animal slurs degrade animals by applying negative human traits to certain species.”
This is the latest of PETA’s activism campaigns that have tried to stir up controversy. Not too long ago, PETA released video footage from “Gobbler’s Rest” at Virginia Tech to claim that President Donald Trump’s pardoned turkeys are living in squalid conditions.
