-Caveat Lector- http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/coren.html March 1, 2003
Animal liberation bigots By MICHAEL COREN -- Sun Media A new breed of dunderhead has developed: the Holocaust Diminisher. I speak of those people who by compromise or comparison minimize the unique catastrophe of the slaughter of six million Jews and six million Gentiles by the Nazis during World War II. The latest in the breed is People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, known as PETA. Long known for their absurd antics and extremism, they have now initiated a campaign called "Holocaust on Your Plate." The aim is to force a non-meat and egg diet on everybody, contrary to the needs and physiological construct of our bodies. "Just as the Nazis tried to 'dehumanize' Jews by forcing them to live in filthy, crowded conditions," says PETA, "animals on today's factory farms are stripped of all that is enjoyable and natural to them and treated as nothing more than meat, egg and milk-making machines." Nobody has ever accused animal liberation zealots of being intellectual giants, but this one really takes the non-animal product biscuit. They accuse the Nazis of dehumanizing Jews, and immediately compare the plight of Holocaust victims to that of cows, hens and sheep. What is this if not direct dehumanization? They speak of some of the admittedly unacceptable actions committed on farm animals and then claim this was, "the very same mindset that made the Holocaust possible - that we can do anything we want to those we decide are different or inferior - is what allows us to commit atrocities against animals every single day." HITLER A VEGETARIAN If they knew their history, these people would realize that animal abuse was actually a crime in Nazi Germany. A Jew or a Slav could be shot on sight, but not a dog. Hitler himself was a vegetarian who was obsessed with animal welfare. The British Nazi Party was formed by a vet who hated Jews for the allegedly cruel kosher method of animal slaughter. But PETA goes even further in its nuttiness. "During the seven years between 1938 and 1945, 12 million people perished in the Holocaust. That same number of animals is killed every four hours for food in the U.S. alone ... Our grandchildren will ask one day: Where were you during the Holocaust of the animals? What did you do against those horrifying crimes? We won't be able to offer the same excuse the second time, that we didn't know." I think I'll tell my grandchildren that I was eating a ham sandwich, drinking a glass of milk and trying to raise awareness of the mass exploitation of people in the developing world and the fact some middle class North Americans have more time and money than common sense and genuine compassion for the right causes. Remember, PETA is the organization that complained to Yasser Arafat about terrorism. Not because Israelis or Palestinians had died, but because a donkey was used to transport a bomb and was killed in the incident. When asked to perhaps condemn the violence against humans in the region, the president of PETA replied, "It's not my business to inject myself into human wars." The organization is touring with a huge display which shows pictures of dead animals next to the bodies of people who died under Hitler. Very good taste - whoops, I meant taste as in the non-animal variety. One cannot help juxtaposing all this with good old Ernst Zundel, who was thrown out of the U.S. and is now back in Canada. The veteran Holocaust denier is not a Canadian citizen and is a wanted man back in his beloved Germany. One would have hoped he had more courage than he has shown. A genuine martyr for a cause would face the consequences of his actions, but Ernst seems anxious to escape the very same. He denies the Holocaust. PETA diminishes it. There is, of course, a difference. But remember that PETA has many impressionable and even famous supporters, whereas Ernst is followed by people who think vegans are a race of funny-eared people in Star Trek. PETA will be welcomed in many respectable places, Ernst can't even find a country in which to live. Hang your heads in shame, animal liberation bigots. As for Ernst, just hold on to your hard hat and polish up your prison German. Michael Coren is a Toronto-based writer and broadcaster. He can be emailed at [EMAIL PROTECTED] and his web site is michaelcoren.com. Letters to the editor should be sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Know someone who might be interested in this page? Just type in the email address to send them the URL Enter a destination email address: Enter your email address: This site is updated by 5:30 a.m. ET each day and includes stories and columns from the day's print edition of the Sun. Use these links to find the Sun stories you are looking for. 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