In the DVD version of his lecture “From Liberator to Educator,” Gary Yourofsky claims that “in 2002 I became the official orator of PETA.” Despite his self-anointed, dignified-sounding titles of “educator” and “orator,” Yourofsky — not surprisingly — has quite an ugly side. The newly-minted PETA employee was supposed to deliver his standard speech at East Tennessee State University last Friday, but things got out of hand. Here’s how one paper described the incident:
“Witnesses said Yourofsky became angry when he saw the pamphlets, which included ‘Animals and Science’ by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ‘Frequently Asked Questions About Animal Research,’ by the Foundation for Biomedical Research, and ’21 Things You May Not Know about the Animal Rights Movement,’ by the Americans For Medical Progress Education Foundation. Shannon Miller, a biology instructor and the organizer of the lecture, said Yourofsky became abusive toward her, even using an analogy comparing her to the Ku Klux Klan. Miller said she was particularly annoyed by the analogy, since she had been part of a group that protested a KKK rally in Greeneville just a week ago.”
We note with interest that Yourofsky compared the organizer of the lecture to the KKK. One wonders if anyone can live up to the standards of “educator” Yourofsky. Well, perhaps a select few can measure up. Yourofsky regularly compares himself to Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Jesus Christ in his speeches.
Yourofsky has been arrested over a dozen times — and convicted once — for animal liberation activities. He sports a tattoo that says ALF (short for Animal Liberation Front) and he is absolutely unrepentant: If an “animal abuser” were killed in a research lab firebombing, “I would unequivocally support that,” he says.
Nice guy PETA has hired themselves.
