PETA are probably aware that people on the internet LOVE to start hate-speech, and by setting themselves up to be extreme and deliberately hated PETA gain all sorts of free publicity that they simply wouldn't get if they were a "nice" or "correct" organisation. This then gets the underlying issues some coverage. Greenpeace do the same thing. So a few facts get fudged here and there, that's not a big deal for them. Politicians and activists with an agenda fudge the facts all the time, look at the way the NRA play fast and loose with firearm stats, and look at the way anti-gun lobbyists also play fast and loose with the same stats to get a different result. In the end, people believe what they want to believe, usually based on belief and leaps of faith rather than evidence, and a smart politician or activist knows this, and knows that they have to hit emotional buttons to get results and bring issues to centre-stage. PETA are one group who is brilliant at this. Look, they can even get a bunch of video gamers talking about animal rights.
I think PETA are a lot smarter than they appear and it's all part of a bigger strategy. I also think that any "I hate PETA" threads play into their hands just as they intend. The people who type "PETA killed my dad" or "People Eating Tasty Animals" are just adding fuel to the fire that PETA uses to warm its hands and cook its tofu burgers. Think about it... there's been several PETA and Greenpace threads on the Escapist, but how many threads are there concerning other, less confrontational rights groups? Very few, perhaps none... because a group that is behaving itself does not effectively gather publicity for its cause as well as a group that is perceived as "over the top" or "extreme" or even "nuts". Love them or hate them, PETA isn't dumb and it certainly isn't boring. Because if they were boring you wouldn't have even opened this thread, you wouldn't even be reading this right now. Right now, right this very second, PETA have you talking about and thinking about issues that you might rather not think about at all, and that is their whole purpose. From PETA's point of view, it doesn't actually matter if people like PETA or not, as long as they talk about PETA, and think about PETA. It's like The Game - if you hate it but you still discuss it, or even think about it, you lose.
I think PETA are a lot smarter than they appear and it's all part of a bigger strategy. I also think that any "I hate PETA" threads play into their hands just as they intend. The people who type "PETA killed my dad" or "People Eating Tasty Animals" are just adding fuel to the fire that PETA uses to warm its hands and cook its tofu burgers. Think about it... there's been several PETA and Greenpace threads on the Escapist, but how many threads are there concerning other, less confrontational rights groups? Very few, perhaps none... because a group that is behaving itself does not effectively gather publicity for its cause as well as a group that is perceived as "over the top" or "extreme" or even "nuts". Love them or hate them, PETA isn't dumb and it certainly isn't boring. Because if they were boring you wouldn't have even opened this thread, you wouldn't even be reading this right now. Right now, right this very second, PETA have you talking about and thinking about issues that you might rather not think about at all, and that is their whole purpose. From PETA's point of view, it doesn't actually matter if people like PETA or not, as long as they talk about PETA, and think about PETA. It's like The Game - if you hate it but you still discuss it, or even think about it, you lose.
