I stewed in this for a while. I was too angry to form a coherent sentence much less form my outrage in a letter or email to the PETA president Ms Ingrid Newkirk. I finally wrote one. And while it isn't as eloquent as Keiko and a few others letters that I have read, I'm just proud that I actually wrote something. Below is my letter:
Dear Ms Newkirk,Whew, all done. Time for bed.
I'm sure by now you have received numerous emails from offended individuals like myself regarding PETA's latest "Win a Vasetomy" campaign. I'll be quick. I don't find that this campaign honors National Infertility Awareness Week at all. I find it offensive, insensitive and downright hurtful. Offering sterilization to honor an association like Resolve.org, who has set aside NIAW to educate the public about infertility, while simultaniously building up the confidence of the infertility community, is tactless and disgusting. It doesn't honor NIAW in any way, instead it mocks a community of people that struggle with a disease they didn't ask for. Yes, infertility is a disease, not just a "difficult issue".
And comparing the overpopulation of animals and humans is just absurd. There are certain parts of the world, like the Western world that does not suffer from human overpopulation, so your campaign is again absurd.
Did you know that 1 in 8 couples struggle with infertility? Chances are, there are most likely more than a few of your employees that are currently struggling with infertility, and it is campaigns like this one that just perpetuates the ignorance, instead of educating.
By not being able to have children, I'm not doing the world a favor. However, this campaign seems suggests otherwise.
Please do the honorable thing and disassociate Resolve.org and NIAW from this campaign.
Sincerely,
Jonelle
2 comments:
Makes me sick.
This contest in no way “honors” or raises awareness for National Infertility Awareness Week. How is making someone infertile supporting those who suffer from infertility? PETA should be ashamed. It would have been a funny campaign if it wasn’t linked to NIAW. Seriously, it’s like saying “FREE BEER” in honor of Drunk Driving Awareness Week.
PETA has always infuriated me by the way it equates (actually, promotes is a better word) animal lives with human lives, but this is so ridiculous I don't even know where to begin.
What PETA is promoting is sterilization, which is different than infertility. Infertility is: A) a disease and B) is the inability to conceive after an adequate time of trying. Sterilization is the taking away of the ability to conceive forcefully and is not a disease by any stretch of the imagination. In this case it is sterilization by choice of the person. Infertility is not chosen by those who experience it.
One good thing is that this will probably push PETA to the fringe of society even more than it already is, but it does show the ignorance out there.
Todd
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