Not long after my last post, in which I exposed my bourgeoisie need for a purebred puppy, I received this very polite email from a member of PETA:
Hi there,
I just wanted to let you know about folk singer Melissa Ferrick’s brand-new ad for PETA, which encourages her fans to adopt animals from a shelter instead of buying from a pet store or a breeder. You can see the ad at http://www.helpinganimals.com/f-melissa-ferrick.asp?c=hamlsfrkblgptc, and there’s some more info below:
Speaking out on important issues is nothing new for singer-songwriter Melissa Ferrick, who is openly gay and talks about it in her songs. She burst onto the national scene after she was booked to open for longtime PETA pal Morrissey in the early ’90s, and she later started her own label, Right On Records. Ferrick—who donated the cover of her 2006 release, In the Eyes of Strangers, to PETA for the group to use in its “Don’t Buy While Animals Die” campaign—is currently gearing up for a fall tour with folk icon Ani Difranco.
“Nearly 4 million dogs and cats must be put to death every year in U.S. shelters,” reads Ferrick’s ad. “Be a lifesaver—always spay or neuter, and never buy from breeders or pet stores.”
Having worked for several years at an animal shelter, I was horrified to be the target of a (very polite) PETA attack. But then I re-read the email, and realized that I have absolutely no idea who folk singer Melissa Ferrick is, much less am I a fan. So I’m off the hook, and can continue down my self-indulgent path of purebred pleasure.
A few days later, The Concerned Women for America released a press statement targeting a recent poster for San Francisco’s Folsom Street Fair, a poster that pays homage to The Last Supper:
“The most unimaginable and vile acts of debauchery are commonplace during the fair. Senator Larry Craig was arrested and driven out of the Senate for allegedly soliciting public ‘gay’ sex, yet during this event the city of San Francisco suspends the law and allows ‘gay’ men and women to parade the streets fully nude, many having sex – even group orgies – in broad daylight, while taxpayer funded police officers look on and do absolutely nothing.”
“The mainstream media should cover this event with cameras in hand. There’s an unbelievable news story here. The Folsom Street Fair is reminiscent of Biblical Sodom and Gomorrah, and the media should document exactly what the city of San Francisco is allowing to occur – in public – in the name of ‘tolerance.’”
Personally I think that they have a good point; come on down, with cameras in hand, and bring back memories for the kids back home, memories that they will cherish for years to come, memories that might lead young Billy and Jessica to visit Sodom and Gomorrah when they get a little older and find their hometowns a bit confining.
But then I am biased, and when you look at the Folsom Street Fair poster itself, you can see why:
My boyfriend and I: united as political targets. I’m so proud I could cry.