Colorado Springs Gazette columnist Mike Rosen praises PETA for providing “comic relief” in serious times, by focusing on such pressing issues as “cow patty bingo” and how the carnival game is an “assault on the cow’s dignity.” But much about PETA is no laughing matter, he warns.
“PETA zealots are neither rational nor reasonable,” Rosen writes. “They tend toward self-indulgent, moral exhibitionism, and they’re intolerant of the dissent of the majority… Going well beyond simple kindness to animals, PETA has embraced the ridiculous notion of animal liberation.
“PETA has grown increasingly radical, providing financial aid and comfort to individuals and groups involved in ecoterrorism; groups like the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front, which the FBI reports have been involved in more than 600 attacks, causing more than $43 million in damage since 1996.
Most Americans don’t support PETA’s extreme and bizarre agenda, Rosen argues — so we shouldn’t have to pay for it. “PETA’s tax-exempt status presumes that it operates exclusively for the charitable purpose of prevention of cruelty to animals,” he concludes. “A recent congressional hearing, chaired by Rep. Scott McInnis of Colorado, looked into revoking that status. Taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing this bunch.”
