Do you wear canvas shoes??

[Lost_Soul]

Ok, I am thinking about becoming a vegetarian, I mainly eat veggies but do eat meat with my dinner, but I am seriously considering stopping the meat end of it...

Heres the reason of my title to the thread..I recently ran into PETA members picketing near a fishing spot..With signs in tow stating that fish are friends, not food...Ok I do fish and so does my husband and we eat what we catch to feed our family...And release the others...PLEASE DO NOT BASH ME...

But anyway, I went up to the PETA people who where all sporting leather goods, shoes, coats, watch bands...Yes I look at everything...I stated to them that they are hypocrits (SP) Ofcourse they got offended and started yelling at me, saying I am a killer..I had to laugh to myself...I looked at them and said, well do you think that cow was treated with respect and killed with diginity to make your shoes, coats..etc..etc..I got a blank stare...

Heres my thing if you are going to represent a place that protects the ethical treatment of animals, dont wear leather!

So anyway how many of you wear leather?

Like I said I am considering becoming a vegetarian....

But I just had to share this...


I was originally going to post this in the vegetarian thread, but I felt it wasnt right for that area....

[Denise]

I also wondered if vegetarians had leather items and how they justified that with their beliefs.

[RubyPiggie2]

I'm vegetarian.

I don't wear leather, wool, or anything produced by animals. I'm not vegan just yet, I'll try that when I'm PAST my teenage years. It's a huge step.
If I have to wear leather shoes, I will if that is the only option. But I don't have any at the moment. None of my shoes are, my clothes, ect..

[Sabriel]

I was never big on leather in the first place. I like fuzzy things and they are easy (and cheaper) to obtain fake. Though I think if we tried we could obtain wool without bothering the animal. My best friend's family had a pet sheep (it had a nice warm barn, ate in a nice big pasture, and died of old age. It had lots of ponies to keep it company. It looked very happy to me.) and I think they sheared it just for it's own comfort. They didn't use the wool. Nobody in the family knew how to card wool, so they just tossed it or gave it away.

Not that most "wooly" things are wool anymore. I just picked up some nice fluffy "wooly" skeins of acrylic yarn to knit with.

[laura220]

I'm vegetarian and I try to avoid leather and suede. It is hard to find shoes and boots that aren't leather or seude. I don't have any wool clothing but I knitt with wool yarn.

[Cavies4eva]

And no offence to the cows or anything but leather STINKS. Shouldn't that be enough not to wear it.

[Sabriel]

That's an opinion. My step sister likes the smell of gasoline. Maybe you should use a stronger argument.

[laura220]

I like the smell of gasoline too..
>
>
>Is that weird?

[Slap Maxwell]

No, that's perfectly normal. Personally I don't like it, but I LOVE the smell of permenant marker.

[Piglet]

I love the smell of petrol. I always have to stick my head out the window and take a good whiff of the petrol!

I think it was right of you to point out the leather issue. It is VERY hypocritical (if thats even a word!)

[Piglet]

I like the smell of glue.... glue without solvents so don't worry!

[Sabriel]

Now I'm starting to think I'm strange. I can't stand the smell of gas or permanent markers. 0.o

[Susan9608]

I don't necessarily think those PETA people were being hypocrites by protesting the capture of fish, but wearing leather at the same time. It's really a matter of how far your committment goes and what, exactly, you're definition of "wrong" or "cruelty" is. For instance, I know a lot of meat eaters who think it's morally reprehensible to eat veal, so they participate in veal boycotts. Are they a hypocrite for eating a hamburger, then? I don't think so. Animal rights is a big issue, with many components, and some people feel more strongly about one area than the other. Many people eat meat, but boycott animal testing ... or there are some people who think eating meat is wrong, but think animal testing is okay.

There are some people who consider fishing to be one of the ultimate cruelties, as it involves tricking a fish into a situation where it has little or no chance to escape or to avoid getting caught in the first place.

I don't think it's fair to lable people as hypocrites when you don't know them and don't know the full scope of their stand on animal rights. Besides, a majority of the time, people start out in animal rights slowly, focusing on one issue at a time, before running the full gauntlet.

And for the record - I am a vegan; I don't wear leather, fur, or any animal product, and I don't use products tested on animals.

[RubyPiggie2]

Forgot about that, I don't use any products tested on animals either. I'm always checking!

Oh, and Sabriel, don't feel strange! I HATE the smell of gasoline, and permanet markers are just... eghhh.

[Sabriel]

Yeah! I'm not so strange anymore

[Denise]

Originally Posted by Denise

I also wondered if vegetarians had leather items and how they justified that with their beliefs.

Thanks for clearing that up everyone. Hope no one took offense, it was a genuine question out of pure curiosity.

[Krysanthemum]

Originally Posted by Susan9608

I don't necessarily think those PETA people were being hypocrites by protesting the capture of fish, but wearing leather at the same time.

I would have thought being against leather was one of PETA's basic tenets. These are the people who vehemently oppose fur, aren't they? What's the difference between wearing fur and wearing leather?

Also, why is trapping a fish for food any worse than keeping cattle in captivity for food and leather? At least the fish get to live freely for most of their lives, the cattle does not.

Originally Posted by Susan9608

I don't think it's fair to lable people as hypocrites when you don't know them and don't know the full scope of their stand on animal rights.

These PETA people are standing in the street, accosting strangers who walk by with their beliefs, and calling them killers. They themselves have not given those strangers the benefit of the doubt, so why should we?

Keep in mind, I'm wearing leather boots at the moment, so I don't really have strongly held views about fish or leather one way or another here. I just disagree strongly with the lengths that PETA go to to get their message across, and do see this as hypocrisy. If you are going to tell people how to live their lives, I believe you should at least lead by example. Otherwise it's "Do what I say, not what I do".

*Please keep in mind, I don't want to start a full on argument, I'm just expressing my views. Please be nice to me!*