If she had suggested he use his skills to support vegetarianism, if she had berated him for not using his skills to help promote the ethical treatment of animals, than that would have been appropriate. But instead, she chose to, in essence, say “you may be successful, but YOU’RE FAT. Lose weight. Here’s how.”

As a fat person, I cringe at this. No, not because my tender psyche has flashed back to this-one-time-in-grade-school-I-was-called-fat-too, but because yet ANOTHER person (Ms, Newkirk) has made a public statement that it doesn’t really matter WHAT a person contributes to society, if that person is fat, than the contribution is meaningless.

How would it be received if a public statement was made that the efforts of PETA would be better received if she gained a few pounds, minimized her facial lines, and augmented her breasts? Perhaps if the statement included information an organic face peel and a vegetarian plastic surgeon, it would then be OK?

Michael Moore can “handle” the letter, I’m sure. But the message now associated with PETA’s president is “fat people aren’t welcome here.”

And after 15 years of support (both financial and in my lifestyle), I got the message, loud and clear. I may be a vegetarian who has donated literally hundreds if not thousands of dollars to PETA, but, hey, I’m still fat. And to Newkirk, that’s all that matters.

drawing attention to peta, yes

getting mm to embrace em and make a peta movie, i can think of fewer ways of working to achieve that goal

They push the cause of animal rights back years with their nonsense.

But looking at this issue as a member of John Q. Public, PETA’s really not helping our cause here. No one knows about Moore’s past relationship with animal rights (I’m heavily involved with the movement, and I had no idea), and this whole thing only makes PETA look bad.

The way to win over the hearts of the liberals is not by a seemingly baseless, random, and extremely insensitive attack on the man who brought us Fahrenheit 911.

I love so many things that PETA has done, but they certainly don’t make life easier for those of us in the trenches.

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2007/06/more_on_michael.php
“I should probably provide a little context to our own relationship with Michael Moore—which goes back a long way. We’ve written to him several times over the years, starting back in the days of Roger & Me with ever-so-polite appeals to embrace animal rights. We don’t hold it against him, but the only response we ever got from him was when his people showed up outside the PETA building with a donkey, two goats, two sheep, a rabbit, a chicken, three dogs, a fish in a bowl(!), a guinea pig, two gerbils, and a rat in a cage “wearing” offensive signs, like “You are wasting your lives.” He arranged to haul these animals out on a hot day to taunt hard-working people just to get a cheap laugh for his show. In addition to that little stunt, whose real victims didn’t even have the luxury of understanding what was happening to them, Michael Moore has made comments throughout his career glorifying meat-eating and hunting, and mocking people who care about animals.”

That said, I should hope that if the writers for this blog wish to engage in tactical critique, they would take a more considered approach than merely decrying PETA for failing to be politically tactful.

Yeah, PETA doesn’t always help the animal rights movement, but I’d hardly lay the blame for our leper status at their feet. Bottom line is that we’re lepers because (to steal a line from dear old Al, the green meat-eater) our truths are inconvenient. If society accepted that animals are sentient beings deserving of basic rights, then the ensuing changes would be downright unpalatable to most people. Extending the circle of compassion always involves some sacrifices, and unfortunately, people just ain’t willing to give up their juicy hamburgers, cheap leather, and trips to the zoo quite yet. That’s why we’re lepers - not because Newkirk called Moore fat.

I haven’t seen Moore’s movie, but he has expressed his contempt for animal-related issues in the past. He’s never been an ally and calling him on it seems legitimate to me. The same is true for the so-called environmentalists who won’t even mention the effects of diet in their spiels about global warming.

I share many values with animal ethics groups and with radical ecogroups and while they may have more in common with each other than either does with the mainstream, there are also fundamental and unresolvable differences between them.
If your values oppose the mainstream’s values, power, and profits and you speak out about it, don’t expect that mainstream to be your friend, regardless of whether you whisper or shout.