Run, Johnny Weir, before PETA gets to you

[STL_Blues_fan]

touchy subject..

I have no problems with wearing fur who would otherwise freeze. We wore fur in Russia to keep warm. Where I grew up (Leningrad), it was normal to have average temps during winter at -20C (February was even colder). I recall one winter when I was in 4th grade, where the temp outside was -40C for 3 weeks. We had to walk to school, no school buses. I had to wear wool socks, several of them in fact. Fur hats kept us warm. Native people at the Arctic circle have no other choice and I never heard of PETA going after them. They go after celebs who live in much warmer climate.

I am not a vegan and I do wear leather. However, I do have problem with people who wear fur as a "fashion statement". You don't need a mink coat to survive a winter in CT or DE.

Also, when I was a kid living in the USSR I had no idea about the industry. Anyone who had seen or heard about the fur industry practices should reconsider their view on wearing fur. Do you guys know that a lot of fur that comes into EU from places like China is diliberatly mislabeled? It may say rabbit or squirrel, but it may be dog or cat. There are attempts right now to ban shady practices like that, but in the meantime, when you pet your Fido (or in Johnny's case, Vanya) think about it. Fur does look better on animals.

But I still love Johnny! I hope he "grows up".

 

[attyfan]

touchy subject..

I have no problems with wearing fur who would otherwise freeze. We wore fur in Russia to keep warm. Where I grew up (Leningrad), it was normal to have average temps during winter at -20C (February was even colder). I recall one winter when I was in 4th grade, where the temp outside was -40C for 3 weeks. We had to walk to school, no school buses. I had to wear wool socks, several of them in fact. Fur hats kept us warm. Native people at the Arctic circle have no other choice and I never heard of PETA going after them. They go after celebs who live in much warmer climate.

I am not a vegan and I do wear leather. However, I do have problem with people who wear fur as a "fashion statement". You don't need a mink coat to survive a winter in CT or DE.
...

Fur does look better on animals.

But I still love Johnny! I hope he "grows up".

ITA! I'm a Californian, so I wouldn't think of wearing real fur, simply because it is unnecessary here. Where it is necessary, then IMO it is OK -- and I haven't ever heard of PETA going after people who wear it where it is really cold. Johnny doesn't need them.

 

[IDLERACER]

I just had a thought. If this guy is supposed to be a swan, wouldn't tarring and feathering him be redundant? Also, if he loves fur, then why is he playing the part of an ornithoid? Perhaps for his next routine, he should be Yogi Bear or something.​

 

[yelyoh]

Millie, I don't think that Johnny Weir wears fur in order to survive and keep from freezing to death. I think he wears it because he believes it looks good on him.

Many people think it looked good on the animal, too.

ITA with this comment. JW is beginning to turn me off with his idiotic comments and his ostentatious attitude.

 

[julietvalcouer]

I don't need to wear silk or linen, either, but I do anyway. (I wonder if vegans obejct to silk because it's from worm cocoons.)

I know where fur comes from, I even have friends who sometimes run trap lines, been hunting myself (didn't get anything because I was bowhunting and am too afraid of heights to use a tree stand, so the deer saw me a mile off), been up to my elbows in animal guts a lot, and to cap it all am a cook and handle lots and lots of raw product (in the case of certain crustaceans and bivalves, live product) that we don't strictly NEED. My coat's made of leather. My SKATES are made of leather. But guess what? That's called being at the top of the food chain.

Fur is pretty and soft and makes nice trim or coats. Thus I will wear it and buy it (when I can afford it.) Much as I buy leather. In the case of muskrat, I would even consider eating the animal it came from (supposedly it tastes good, but I've never had the chance to find out.)

 

[sk8fanconvert]

The wonderful thing about being an American and living in America, is that you can make choices.

How weird. I just this morning read this article about the conflation of choice with freedom.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/magazine/26wwln_essay.html

Certainly not everything is simply a choice. Some choices society has generally agreed are wrong. Others are in contention. I would say that this is one that is in contention, and we are choosing to express ourselves about it. It appears to me that our ability to do so also appears to be in contention.

Would you say that Americans are unique or priveleged in their ability to choose? Are Americans better off than the entire world because they have more or better choices than everyone else? I disagree.

I certainly think just about anyone these days could find an acceptable alternative to fur. I think when most people look carefully, openly, honestly, lovingly at the predominant means of producing fur products, they have objections to it.

As for all you leatherclad, meateating silkworm-enslavers- we'll get to you in good time. KIDDING!!

PS. I am sorry I ticked you guys off on that other thing a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks, and don't worry about it. It's all just blood under the bridge, right?

 

[new_europe2006]

Johnny has said that he's not worried about PETA.

Here's one of my favorite sites:

http://www.peta-sucks.com

 

[SusanBeth]

How weird. I just this morning read this article about the conflation of choice with freedom.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/magazine/26wwln_essay.html

Certainly not everything is simply a choice. Some choices society has generally agreed are wrong. Others are in contention. I would say that this is one that is in contention, and we are choosing to express ourselves about it. It appears to me that our ability to do so also appears to be in contention.

Would you say that Americans are unique or priveleged in their ability to choose? Are Americans better off than the entire world because they have more or better choices than everyone else? I disagree.

I certainly think just about anyone these days could find an acceptable alternative to fur. I think when most people look carefully, openly, honestly, lovingly at the predominant means of producing fur products, they have objections to it.

As for all you leatherclad, meateating silkworm-enslavers- we'll get to you in good time. KIDDING!!


Thanks, and don't worry about it. It's all just blood under the bridge, right?

Why would the right to wear fur be in contention? There is nothing illegal about wearing fur. People have the legal right to wear it or not wear it. Therefore, it is a choice. Granted, you don't have to like it. That's fine as long as you don't interfere with people who are wearing it.

 

[PrincessLeppard]

Does it bother me that people wear fur? Yes. Will I throw "blood" at them? No (but I did when I was younger and less tolerant )

If you choose to eat meat, wear leather, silk, etc, that's your choice and I respect it. I don't ridicule it. So why is it so necessary for people to mock my choice to not do those things? I'm not a threat to you.

If you eat meat, perhaps you could consider getting the meat from a local farmer? This usually ensures that the animal had a good life and was slaughtered humanely, not stuffed in a truck, terrified and hauled to a slaughterhouse where it was very likely abused before it entered it. An animal from a local farmer is also less likely to be pumped full of growth hormones and other unnatural products.

Just something to think about.

 

[sk8fanconvert]

Why would the right to wear fur be in contention? There is nothing illegal about wearing fur. People have the legal right to wear it or not wear it. Therefore, it is a choice. Granted, you don't have to like it. That's fine as long as you don't interfere with people who are wearing it.

This entire vitriolic thread illustrates the contentiousness quite well.

 

[FreeKatie]

I'm not crazy about fur but for people who live in extremely cold temperatures, it is much warmer than other coats, so for Russia, Scandinavia, Canada, northwest USA, I say go for it.

 

[Grgranny]

God had people offering fatted calves, etc. all the time. I find nowhere in the Bible that suggests eating meat or using fur as wrong. They were using animal skins for lots of things then. GOD is my boss and whatever anyone thinks is their opinion and should not in any way say what I can or cannot do. I guess everyone just wants to put farmers out of business. I was raised on a farm and the majority of people raised on farms are more moral than the people not raised that way. If I would choose to get a fur coat, it's no one's business but mine and they have no right to ruin it or whatever kind of thing they do.

 

[merrywidow]

Would someone please post a picture of Johnny wearing fur?

 

[SusanBeth]

This entire vitriolic thread illustrates the contentiousness quite well.

I thought were questioning whether or not wearing fur was a choice. Obviously, it is a choice. You can not like other people's choices. You just can't deprive them of it.

 

[STL_Blues_fan]

God had people offering fatted calves, etc. all the time. I find nowhere in the Bible that suggests eating meat or using fur as wrong. They were using animal skins for lots of things then. GOD is my boss and whatever anyone thinks is their opinion and should not in any way say what I can or cannot do. I guess everyone just wants to put farmers out of business. I was raised on a farm and the majority of people raised on farms are more moral than the people not raised that way. If I would choose to get a fur coat, it's no one's business but mine and they have no right to ruin it or whatever kind of thing they do.

Most fur comes from wild animals being killed. Farmers in Kansas do not raise sables and mink. I don't think people who are against fur are trying to put farmers out of business. I always shop at the farmers market, and I assume anybody who cares where their food comes from shops there as well.

Bible suggests a lot of things, that's for sure. Do you follow everything that Bible says? I don't know about the New Testement, but there are 613 (including the 10 commendments) "rules" that man is supposed to adhere to in the Old Testament. Do you think that "eye for an eye" is the way of life? Do you really keep the Sabbath? Do you think that whoever commits an adultory should be stoned? Do you eat a cheseburger? Bible says that meat and cheese are not to be mixed. How about wearing a blend of wool and silk? Bible prohibts that as well. Gee, Rudy Galindo should be stoned, because that's what G-d says in the Bible. Do you offer sacraficial lambs? G-d doesn't seem to mind a man taking more than one wife at time, is that ok with you? No sure about the rest of Chrisitan branches, but Catholic faith clearly labels vanity as a sin. Killing an innocent creature just for the sake of "looking good" would fit right there in my opinion.

I do not agree with PETA's tactics, but people should think about animal suffering - compassion to others is a Christian trait too, isn't?

 

[SusanBeth]

You can find a religion that believes just about anything. In mine, Jesus being born in a manger isn't even remotely related to the subject and there is nothing forbidden about wearing fur. There is nothing illegal about wearing fur. I will wear it or not wear it as I choose.

However, anyone caught assaulting a person or his property should be doing some jail time. That is not a rightful choice in our society. Those who seek to deprive people of their rightful choices by threats or physical intimidation have no room to talk about morality.

If you (general you) don't want people wearing fur, talk to Congress, but stay away from people like Johnny.

 

[Mathman]

Every sentient creature has a soul.

This is the answer to the first Ko-an: "Does a dog have a soul?" (I am not supposed to reveal this. Each novitiate is expected to figure it out for him/herself.)

Ready for more?

Ko-an number two: "What is 'no'?"

 

[SusanBeth]

MM- In some belief systems that it considered true, but in others it is not considered true. It's not about who is right in their belief. It's about who has the right to choose what to believe.

 

[Dee4707]

Every sentient creature has a soul.

This is the answer to the first Ko-an: "Does a dog have a soul?" (I am not supposed to reveal this. Each novitiate is expected to figure it out for him/herself.)

I bet Doggygirl thinks they do.

Dee

 

[Mathman]

I certainly agree with that, SusanBeth.

At the same time, I hope we can all agree that we should be kind to animals.

MM

PS. The answer to the second Ko-an is: "no."