Snark is not funny when animal abuse is involved

The Consumerist is one of my favorite blogs, and I admit, it can get pretty snarky. It's part of what makes it so fun to read.

The website mostly focuses on consumer-based issues, like money managing, credit, customer service, etc. Sometimes it also posts about bad business practices, like the recent outing of Petland using puppy mills as suppliers.

I got an invite on Facebook to sign a petition for Petland to refuse puppy mill puppies, and I signed it, because I am all for animal rights. It was the first I had even heard of this controversy. Then, to be honest, I just kind of forgot about it. I mean, Kearney doesn't have a Petland, and none of the towns around here do. Also, I'm not in the position to buy a dog, so it doesn't really affect me as a consumer anyway.

But I was reminded today of the controversy after reading an article on The Consumerist that posted a snarky e-mail sent from Chris Beth, the director of regional operations for Petland in Plano, Texas, to the protesters at the store.

This is what it said:

From: Chris Beth [mailto:cbeth@petland.com]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 5:41 PM
To: jjpippin@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Petland Plano

Dr. Pippin,

I was at the Plano store last Saturday when you all were there. I just wanted to thank you for being there! We had so many people tell us that they did not see us located there and your people drew them into the store.

I was actually wondering if you could be there both days on the weekend and maybe Fridays?

Thanks again,
Christopher Beth
Director of Regional Operations - Western US
Petland, Inc.

The website also posts the replies between Dr. Pippin, a protester, and more from Chris Beth.

I have a sense of humor, so I can appreciate the sarcasm. But seriously, this isn't about something trivial - it's about protecting animals from abuse and attempting to shut down puppy mills by getting rid of any demand. With no demand, supply ceases to exist.

Is this funny? Really?!

No, it's disgusting! And what I think Petland will soon discover is that it's bad PR for a crisis such as this. I learned in INTRO TO MASS MEDIA (emphasis on intro) that the first thing you do in a PR crisis is apologize sincerely. The last thing you should do, by obvious common sense, is send out a snarky e-mail like the one above.

Not only will people react badly to such PR, but it gives the protesters ammo to use against Petland. Like I said before, I have never been a shopper at Petland, but because of such apathetic disregard for letting life stand in the way of profits, I will probably never become a customer. I won't even buy my cat food there, let alone a dog that may potentially come from a puppy mill.

Don't get me wrong, I love sarcasm. But it's not funny when animal abuse is involved.

[By the way, both Petco and Petsmart have stopped selling puppies altogether in order to ensure they are not giving business to puppy mills, and instead dedicate space to local shelters, the Humane Society and the ASPCA. Why is it so hard for Petland?]

Lack of facial recognition = racial bias?

A study came out from Brown University that claims facial recognition may be key to racial bias.

In a nut shell, it's easy for us to recognize the different facial features of those in our own race, but it's harder to recognize the same differences in people of other races. It's no one's fault, that's just how our brains develop. What the study concluded is that when people are trained to recognize such differences, their subconcious racial bias is decreased dramatically. Interesting!

I think this study has some bearing, but it leaves some things out. Commenters on the site noted that if a person is brought up in a household of two races, they'll be able to recognize the facial features of both, so it's not necessarily confined to just your race.

Also, many people didn't notice facial differences of any race if two people had the same haircut and same basic head shape.

Third, many commenters noted that it wasn't restricted to just race. A young commenter explained that, because she is never around elderly people, all of the elderly look the same to her, regardless of race.

But those things aside, I can see where this study might have some bearing. Racism, in my opinion, comes partly out of ignorance. If a kid grows up and never meets a person of another race until he or she is 30 years old, what will they know of this person?

If everyone outside your own race looks the same to you, what will you know of them? Once again, it comes from ignorance.

I think once you know a person, even only casually, no matter what race they are, you'll be able to pick them out in a crowd of others of the same race, and consequently not judge them based solely on racist stereotypes. When you're able to differentiate between facial features, you're able to see people more as human than a random group of strangers.

And let's face it, strangers are scarier than friends.

What the study is proposing to do is train people to recognize all of these different facial features in all races, leading to less racial bias in society. It's a hefty task, but certainly worth while to give a try!

Obama sworn in again, but without a bible!

So, apparently Obama did a redo of his inaugural vote without a bible. Gasp! Double gasp! Everyone is expecting the American people to freak out!

Actually, it's not really like how it sounds. From what I've been able to gather from different reports on the internet, they redid the oath only because it was mangled the first time, and they didn't have a bible because they only forgot it.

It reminds me of what we were talking about in class - how none of these politicians are actually as religious as they put on. And really, I don't care about a politician's religion, though maybe that's because I'm not super religious myself.

I didn't come here to talk about my own belief system, though. What I'm trying to say is that it's ridiculous for people to get so hyped up about religion and politics when, oh yeah, there's supposed to be that separation!

After 8 years of Bush, I can't even begin to explain how much better I feel that we don't have someone so likely to enforce laws based on religion, Christianity in particular. It's refreshing. Also, I have yet to hear of anyone freaking out about this, though maybe those people who believe Obama is the anti-Christ might have something to say about it. Guess we'll see!

Murder of Russian human rights lawyer on Marting Luther King Jr. Day

As I was going through the news this morning, between stories about Martin Luther King Jr., the going-ons of the Obama family and the preparations being made for the inauguration, I found this interesting story about the murder of Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer who had been prosecuting human rights abuses in Russia.

This story is interesting in the sense that it's both horrifying and timely. Right now, the United States is not only celebrating the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but also welcoming our first African American president. Both of these men represent equal opportunity and human rights in the country, and we've certainly come a long way in the last 50 years to realizing these ideals.

However, Russia, with its heavy history of unequal rights and corrupt and failing governments, obviously still has a long trek ahead of itself. It saddens me to read about the murder of a man who worked within the law to punish human rights abuses, despite the law itself being part of a larger, crooked system. Just as MLK's death inspired people in the United States to work toward something better, perhaps Markelov's death can have the same effect on the Russian and Chechen people. But if history can be trusted as a telling factor, it could be 50 or more years before the people see results.

Markelov represented the parents of Elza Kungayeva, who had been "raped and murdered in a drunken rampage by Russian troops." The killing became a symbol of human rights abuses in Chechnya. Here, the mother and father share pictures of their daughter.


People hold portraits of missing relatives during a protest against the early release of former Russian Colonel Yuri Budanov in Grozny December 29, 2008. About 200 people protested in Chechnya on Monday over the early release of the Russian officer jailed for murder, in a rare public show of dissent by the region's pro-Kremlin leadership. The protesters in Grozny were voicing anger at a decision to grant an early release to Colonel Budanov, convicted in 2000 of murdering 17-year-old Chechen girl Elza Kungayeva during a tour of duty in Chechnya.

[Photos from Reuters]
See also: Telegraph.co.uk article on the murder of Markelov
Human Rights Watch on Chechnya
Amnesty International 2008 Report on the Russian Federation
"Chechnya - human rights under attack"