Penn and Teller's "Bullshit", Season 2, Episode 1: PETA

[garote]

They kick the crap out of the organization in this episode. One of the guests makes the interesting point that an entire generation of kids in America grew up in the 80's and 90's without having to face a serious threat - such as a world war, a violent government, a destroyed economy, or a national epidemic. I suspect that because of this, two things happened:

1. They became fixated on "lesser" causes like the liberation of animals, the "barbarity" of abortions, and arguing that the First Amendment "stifles" their religion.
2. In the pursuit these "lesser" causes, they unwittingly used tactics that encouraged the incidence of, and even imitated truly serious threats.

Such as, in the case of PETA, firebombing research labs, and in the case of anti-abortionists, bombing clinics and murdering doctors.

In the "post 9/11 world", as the guest speaker put it, you just don't do stuff like that, right?

Comments

[penguin-boy.livejournal.com]

That show (and especially that episode) is a travesty. Bringing up PeTA's firebombing of A lab (which they didn't condone) is like bringing up the one time your uncle got drunk at the Christmas party and hit on his niece. Except the niece made it up cause she's a bitch.

[garote]

Didn't condone? Didn't they make $70,000 in "loans" to the perpetrator and the perpetrator's father? PETA has always been suspiciously silent about the aggravating, even violent tactics used at protests done in their name, ... but letting go of that money was criminal negligence, IMO.

Though in fairness, P&T selected the most embarrassing footage they could possibly use. Doe-eyed college girls chained to pet store railings? Hoodlums in hoodies trashing research labs, and filming the action so they can use it later to rally the troops? Very hard to take seriously.

At least I can still get behind the ASPCA (and it's English sister the RSPCA). They're more involved with building the infrastructure to lessen the suffering of animals, and generally avoid PETA's tactic of staging protests that play like an emotional kick in the nuts.

No animal rights group does anyone any favors when they gather together initially sensible ideas and then affront and assault people to the point where those ideas look extreme.

[penguin-boy.livejournal.com]

PeTA has had a few bad things happen in their name, and typically when that happens that organization kicks out whoever it is. Granted, the president is currently a dumbass, but a lot of the "high chairs" don't allow stupid shit.

ALF is the crazy one. They condone and encourage bombing and attacking major links in slaughterhouses and fur selling. Hell, they say how to make bombs on their website! They're a pretty terrorist organization.

[thegoodreverend.livejournal.com]

I REALLY like Penn and Teller as people and for what they do, but their show in PETA and their show on Second Hand Smoke both made me mad. In the Smoke episode, they came to the conclusion that SHS wasn't at all harmful because it probably didn't cause cancer...ignoring the fact that the jury is still out on the cancer issue, there's also the allergy issue and the disgustingness issue. They're great guys, but the show often proves one point by ignoring the rest.

[garote]

Agreed. That's exactly their problem - they zero in on one example or part of an issue, dance around it, proselytize for a while, work in a few jokes, and then end the show. It's entertaining when they don't pick on easy targets, and it makes me think, so I generally like the show. ... But it's awfully smug. They're speaking with a voice that doesn't take their own cultural relativism into account, and that can be very aggravating.