People don't seem to like fish. They're slithery and slimy, and they have eyes on either side of their pointy little heads—which is weird, to say the least. Plus, the small ones nibble at your feet when you're swimming, and the big ones—well, the big ones will bite your face off if Jaws is anything to go by.
Of course, if you look at it another way, what all this really means is that fish need to fire their PR guy—stat. Whoever was in charge of creating a positive image for fish needs to go right back to working on the Britney Spears account and leave our scaly little friends alone. You've done enough damage, buddy. We've got it from here. And we're going to start by retiring the old name for good. When your name can also be used as a verb that means driving a hook through your head, it's time for a serious image makeover. And who could possibly want to put a hook through a sea kitten?
And, PETA, I do like fish. With lemon butter and just a touch of garlic.
I like lots of garlic...and also mushrooms and mozzarella cheese. Yes, mozzarella cheese.
ReplyDeleteOn your FISH?!? Girl, that's just WRONG! Fish have a delicate flavor that you mustn't overwhelm.
ReplyDeleteNow, just a sprinkling of cayenne pepper does nicely.
Ashli might be thinking of anchovies, which are a widely-underrated pizza topping.
ReplyDeleteMmmmm ... anchovies....
Renaming fish makes them more marketable. Nobody would eat something called a "Patagonian Toothfish" ... but a Chilean Sea Bass is delicious!
Here's a funny column about the name game:
http://www.post-gazette.com/columnists/20020612gene5.asp
Isn't it funny how a little naming creativity and a skilled chef can turn this:
http://www.teara.govt.nz/EarthSeaAndSky/SeaLife/DeepSeaCreatures/5/ENZ-Resources/Standard/3/en
Into this:
http://www.tasteri.com/projo/reviews/20050421_todd_englishs_tuscan.htm
But anyway, I don't think PETA's latest trick is going to work any more than any of PETA's other tricks have worked. Remember when they tried to link milk drinking to autism:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/10/mendacious-peta-wrongly-links-milk-to.html
More importantly, PETA's attitude shows the same shocking disregard for the poor & underprivileged that many other enviro-fanatics display. We should stop eating fish? That's great for Ingrid Newkirk and her privileged friends, but there are a heckuvalot of third-worlders who depend on fish to survive. What should they do?
We stopped using DDT to save the birds, and now human beings are dying from malaria ... that is spread by mosquitos ... that could have been killed by DDT.
We're supposed to stop industrialization in order to save the environment ... but industrialization is the only way to make a dent in global poverty. Poverty kills. Therefore, stopping industrialization kills.
Now we find that vegetables supposedly feel pain, and several nations are well along the way to declaring Plant Rights:
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2008/10/blog-post.html
Okay, so we can't eat animals, and we can't eat plants ... what can we eat? Each other?
Okay, so we can't eat animals, and we can't eat plants ... what can we eat? Each other?
ReplyDeleteI've been saying this for SOOO long I'm surprised no one has started listening!
We eat...
BABIES!!!
Apparently, they're the only ones we're allowed to kill...
I'll turn those into links for you, Naaman:
ReplyDeleteHere's a funny column about the name game
Isn't it funny how a little naming creativity and a skilled chef can turn this:
into this
You guys are missing the whole point - PETA - have done an amazing job at bringing animal rights to attention of people who are so removed from where their food and clothes come from that they honestly think its Walmart. They are successful because you have mentioned them here in your blog about something completely unrelated - Job Done.
ReplyDeleteMaybe now you'll start thinking about where that fish you smother with garlic butter actually comes from and what are the implications of illegal fishing practices on other species. I don't understand how you are all about the right to life of unwanted babies but are not ready to fight for the survival of the other species unable to speak for themselves.
Its exactly this lack of respect which is causing you to lose the battle on the abortion issue. Open your eyes and realise that there is a world around you shared by those that don't share the same religion, culture and even DNA. They all deserve a place here on Earth.