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Terrorists and Tofu

Though fisheries and oceans minister Gail Shea might have expected her press conference to pass by without a tofu cream pie to the face, a protester from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ensured otherwise. The attack, prompted by outrage at Canada’s annual seal hunt, has brought newfound attention to PETA and caused an member Parliament from Newfoundland to suggest Ottawa consider labelling PETA as a terrorist group.

It is sad that Gerry Byrne, Liberal MP for Humber-St. Barbe-Baie Verte, feels PETA’s relatively harmless protests are worthy of the same labels as Al-Qaeda. Though throwing a pie at someone’s face is an immature way to make a point, it’s hardly in the same league as “real” terrorist organizations.

But in all likelihood, PETA merely wanted to create a buzz about the issue. The fact news organizations across the country picked the story up and reported on it seems to indicate PETA accomplished their goals.

Extreme stunts, while outrageous, might also draw the public’s attention to the real issues, and perhaps allow organizations like PETA to throw some information into the resulting buzz.

Of course, the accuracy of PETA’s information is questionable. At their core they remain one-sided organization, and their information campaigns are unabashedly biased. This lack of room for compromise has the effect of both turning off more moderate supporters and limits the potential for creating effective change.

As for the terrorist allegations — assuming a few cream pies being tossed around carries the same weight as bombs, kidnappings and murders is not only a disgusting mentality, but may also have a chilling effect on demonstrations and protests in the future. One should not throw the term “terrorist” around so lightly in our post-9/11 era.

The saddest thing though is how much a reflection this brouhaha is of the changing times. After all, we have a time-honoured tradition in Canada of throwing a pie at the faces of our elected officials — recall Jean Chrétian — with the most common response being an arrest followed by a suspended sentence.

Perhaps the members of Parliament most directly involved with the seal hunt should examine the public outcry that continues to surround the seal hunt. At the same time, if PETA truly believes this issue to be one worth fighting, they should look to trying a negotiation tactic that may be taken seriously and create results, instead of cheap, flashy stunts.

Either way, it should be recognized how unique PETA and its members are. To have an organization with members this motivated is a rarity in an increasingly apathetic world. While PETA may be quite irritating in how they go about their actions, they’re mostly harmless. It would be best for our supposedly rational elected officials to recognize this instead of banging the fear drum whenever someone disagrees with them.

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