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I’m sure there are a number of celebrities in the public arena who would disagree with the old marketing adage that says … there is no bad publicity. “At least your name’s out there getting attention,” hardly holds true anymore once you’ve seen pundits and comedians making fun of that horrendous police photo of Nick Nolte when he was arrested for driving drunk a few years ago. Or how about the one of Glenn Campbell? Or Sean Penn punching a photographer? Note to self … If you’re being harassed by the Paparazzi, screaming, hitting them or grabbing their camera and breaking it, means you’ll get more coverage, not less, and it won’t be pretty. Personally, I’ve never had much sympathy for celebrities who complain about folks snapping pictures of them in public places. If you’re a famous model and you don’t want your picture on the cover of “People” wearing sweat pants and no make-up, then don’t go in Starbucks looking like you just crawled out of bed. The idea that people will only take your picture when you look good and want them to, is ridiculous. Famous people are always trying to get media coverage when they have something to sell. Trouble is, those pesky photographers tend to continue to snap pictures at inopportune moments, as well. It’s part of the deal. Get over it. If you’re sunbathing behind a privacy fence in your own yard and some yahoo gets a boob shot from a block away, you’ve got reason to complain, but if you’re caught on film lighting a cigarette in a bar after saying in fifty interviews you don’t smoke, just go home and shut up. Fame is what it is. Companies tend to react in much the same way. They pay millions for advertising and if they do something to garner positive media coverage, they are thrilled. Yet, if a reporter is covering a story about massive layoffs within a corporation and manages to get a picture of the CEO disembarking from his private jet while vacationing in Tahiti, the board of directors begins to circle the wagons and minimize the implications. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has adopted a different approach in their response to the media. PETA seems bent on creating campaigns that are designed to leave most of us who view them, pulling out our hair in frustration. They recently came up with one that had just this effect on me. If a good advertising campaign is designed only to get grab people’s attention, PETA is a master. But it seems to me, the kind of resulting attention should also be considered, and PETA never seems too concerned about that part of the equation. A few weeks ago they began distributing a violent comic book with an intimidating and scary man on the cover disemboweling a hapless fish. Just above the picture in gigantic letters, it reads, Your Daddy Kills Animals. A direct quote from the text inside the book, reads… "Since your daddy is teaching you the wrong lessons about right and wrong, you should teach him fishing is killing. Until your daddy learns it's not fun to kill, keep your doggies and kitties away from him. He's so hooked on killing defenseless animals, they could be next." Okay, even if you’re a hardcore vegan because you can’t stand the thought of eating animals or anything that comes from them, would you want your child reading this? PETA says the book is aimed at twelve-year-olds who “get it” but I’m sure younger kids will see it and believe me when I tell you; the pictures and text are frightening. Can you imagine second or third graders dreaming about Daddy killing their puppy? Bruce Friedrich, a PETA spokesman, recently defended the comic. “If you fish, you are supporting cruelty to animals. If you wouldn’t take a hook and put it through a dog’s mouth and drag the animal behind the family car, you shouldn’t fish.” Whether or not you agree with the basic premise that fishing is cruel, to target kids and tell them Daddy might kill the family pet because he likes to go fishing now and then, is way over the top … at least in my opinion. Going after kids to support your cause, is one thing, but distributing literature that may result in a child actually becoming fearful of Daddy, is just wrong. Okay, if Daddy is a molester or beats his kid, fine, let the kid know it’s wrong and they can get help. But if Daddy is a fisherman, don’t tell little Amy he might kill her kitten. Mr. Friedrich, who doesn’t have children, by the way, says kids were “focus-grouped” (Don’t you just love new trendy, made-up words?) and they like this campaign and get the point. Okay. Being hooked in the mouth and pulled from a pond to be thrown on the ground gasping for air, must be really awful for the fish. You’ll get no argument from me on that one. It is cruel. But so is instilling fear of their parent into the hearts of kids. It’s irresponsible and mean-spirited. Here was Friedrich’s response in a television interview, when questioned about the fear and cruelty factor being rained down on innocent children. Did I mention, he doesn’t have any? “You’re underestimating them. We focus-grouped the comic book with kids and they thought it was fantastic. And unlike a lot of the other things that were being focused-grouped, kids could, after reading it, remember what they had read, because it was appealing and it was interesting Besides, if you’re feeding your kid tuna, salmon or fish sticks you’re poisoning them. The Wall Street Journal ran a front page piece about a kid who was eating tuna sandwiches on a daily basis and he went from being an honor student to being in remedial reading. He went from being a jock to being unable to catch a football. Wall Street Journal … it ran on the first of August.” After his statement about how consuming fish is going to rot our brains, I changed the channel. I’d heard all I needed to hear to make my own assessment about Mr. Friedrich. Anyone who says eating fish will make you forget how to read, wouldn’t be able to catch one if he was starving. No wonder he’s against fishing. Then again, if eating Mom’s tuna casserole means the kids will forget how to read, I guess I don’t have to be upset by this stupid comic book
Article Source: http://www.articledestination.com
Susanne Fogle has written a weekly newspaper column about animals for seven years.
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