Guest guest Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 here's what the SF chron had to say about it: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/08/19/VANDALS.TMP some highlights: - the first sentence uses the phrase " domestic terrorism " . - the entire article focused on damage and intimidation tactics. - no exposure was given to animal rights unless you count this lone, anemic paragraph: Foie gras -- fattened goose or duck liver -- has become controversial because of the way it is produced, which involves force-feeding fowl. How much the animals suffer -- or whether they suffer at all -- has been the subject of much debate. -- steve simitzis : /sim' - i - jees/ pala : saturn5 productions www.steve.org : 415.282.9979 hath the daemon spawn no fire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 i found this part of the article especially interesting: <snip> A sacred Buddha statue in Manrique's yard was also damaged. Manrique, the French-born chef of San Francisco's famed Aqua restaurant, is a practicing Buddhist. <snip> hmmm... now i know that vegetarianism is a big debate in the buddhist community, but it seems to me that " a practicing Buddhist. " would be concerned with non violence towards all beings... guess money is more important than torturing a few thousand animals, eh? now, i will be the first to admit that i do not condone the damage to this man's property but i find the article strangely ironic. cheers melody ---- Begin Original Message ---- Steve Simitzis <steve Tue, 19 Aug 2003 03:05:59 -0700 sfBAVeg [sfBAVeg] foie gras media coverage here's what the SF chron had to say about it: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/08/19/VANDALS.TMP some highlights: - the first sentence uses the phrase " domestic terrorism " . - the entire article focused on damage and intimidation tactics. - no exposure was given to animal rights unless you count this lone, anemic paragraph: Foie gras -- fattened goose or duck liver -- has become controversial because of the way it is produced, which involves force-feeding fowl. How much the animals suffer -- or whether they suffer at all -- has been the subject of much debate. -- steve simitzis : /sim' - i - jees/ pala : saturn5 productions www.steve.org : 415.282.9979 hath the daemon spawn no fire? BAY AREA VEGETARIANS (BAV) is a community group for veggies to network & find support. Free membership and lots of free events :-) See below links for more veggie info.... Event Calendar, Charter, FAQ (/) and More! http://www.bayareaveg.org/ BAV Message board (discussions and carpool posts) http://www.generationv.org/forum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 19, 2003 Report Share Posted August 19, 2003 no matter how you feel about direct action, it's crucial that the media hear from animal activists of all types about stories like this to urge them to report the animals' and activists' side of the story. letters explaining foie gras' inherent cruelty and why activists might take action such as this are so important. Steve Simitzis [steve] Tuesday, August 19, 2003 3:06 AM sfBAVeg [sfBAVeg] foie gras media coverage here's what the SF chron had to say about it: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/08/19/VANDALS.TMP some highlights: - the first sentence uses the phrase " domestic terrorism " . - the entire article focused on damage and intimidation tactics. - no exposure was given to animal rights unless you count this lone, anemic paragraph: Foie gras -- fattened goose or duck liver -- has become controversial because of the way it is produced, which involves force-feeding fowl. How much the animals suffer -- or whether they suffer at all -- has been the subject of much debate. -- steve simitzis : /sim' - i - jees/ pala : saturn5 productions www.steve.org : 415.282.9979 hath the daemon spawn no fire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2003 Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 The story will be on the KTVU channel 2 news at 6pm tonight. --Brian - Nora Kramer SFBAveg list Tuesday, August 19, 2003 10:06 AM RE: [sfBAVeg] foie gras media coverage no matter how you feel about direct action, it's crucial that the media hear from animal activists of all types about stories like this to urge them to report the animals' and activists' side of the story. letters explaining foie gras' inherent cruelty and why activists might take action such as this are so important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2003 Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 regardless of her slant and her past articles (which few people would have known about), the fact that she was chosen by the chron to write the article should say something. there are two ways to engage in public debate - (1) present your stance in a manner that is so principled and so indisputable, that either the media has no choice but to take your side, or you *own* the media coverage of your action (because they are open and willing to just copy your press releases directly). result: the majority of the public is either on your side or willing to consider your side. or (2) operate with a flagrant disregard for anything else but your cause. negative media is released, convincing about 90% of the public that your cause is bad. then, gather your choir and all your allies, and mount a reactive defense against the negative media. result: although the public will largely ignore the follow-up story or the letters to the editor, you might convince 1% of the original 90% to change their minds. everyone else will remember the word " terrorism " and will spend the rest of the next few years harassing their vegan nieces and nephews at thanksgiving. it's all a matter of strategy. the first strategy requires careful understanding of how to reach people and how to appeal to their sense of self-interest. the second strategy involves running blindfolded at everyone, friend or foe, with hammers and axes. either you can lead public opinion, or you can let public opinion lead you around by a chain. it's not enough to have a good idea. the key is knowing how to reach people who don't care about your idea. that is everything. hell, if people on *this list*, full of vegetarians, vegans, and animal rights supporters aren't even on your side, how do you think you're going to win anyone else over? i don't care how many letters you send to the sf chron; as far as the public is concerned, you've lost this debate permanently. think about it. which article are people going to identify with more strongly? (1) A top San Francisco chef has become the target of radical animal rights activists in a series of attacks that police are calling domestic terrorism. (2) An unknown SF Chronicle journalist was reprimanded today for writing a biased article about radical animal rights activists. furthermore, the PETA quote was actually extremely damaging. quotes like that in that context reinforce the notion that whenever violence in the name of animal rights takes place, PETA must be behind it somehow. which is a shame. the public isn't going to remember, " oh the chron called PETA and they're not involved, i guess they're swell! " . they're going to remember " animal rights " = " terrorism " = " PETA " . i can no longer hand out PETA literature or link information from PETA websites to non-veggies without receiving ridicule, thanks to this image. if you don't believe me, get to know middle america sometime. the word " PETArd " is used to describe any vegan or animal rights supporter. animal rights activists are quickly becoming thought of in the same light as abortion clinic snipers, and to hear you justify your position is deeply depressing to me. On 08/19/03, animal_avenger <lorax wrote: > Hi. First of all, as many of the activists I work with are on this > list, I obviously wasn't condemning the whole list as useless with > my last post. I was referring to those who do nothing more than > criticize others from the sidelines and try to dictate how people > who are actually out actively fighting animal torture should act. > Why not do something for a change and let your actions speak for > themselves. > > Next, the SF Chronicle article was not as entirely biased as was > posted on this list. There was also a good quote from PETA. However, > the article was incredibly imbalanced. Perhaps this is because the > reporter, Kim Severson, is an avid foie gras supporter and food- > critic writer. An article she wrote last December lauding foie gras > with false information about how " humane " it is and advertising > Sonoma Foie Gras can be seen at: > > http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? > file=/chronicle/archive/2002/12/08/CM136247.DTL > > This article was months before any of the recent direct action, so > nobody better say direct action causes this kind of blatant > propaganda. At least now people see there is opposition to this > atrocity, and some statements about why did make it into the article. > > But the article was incredibly imbalanced and written by a reporter > who can't even PRETEND to be unbiased on this issue, so complaints > on that matter can be lodged at: > > http://www..com/feedback > > -b > > > > > BAY AREA VEGETARIANS (BAV) is a community group for veggies to network & find > support. Free membership and lots of free events :-) See below links for more > veggie info.... > > Event Calendar, Charter, FAQ (/) and More! > > http://www.bayareaveg.org/ > > BAV Message board (discussions and carpool posts) > http://www.generationv.org/forum > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2003 Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 Sometimes, no matter what you do, media & corporate-led public sentiment is against you. An example is Earth First, who was labeled a terrorist organization for spiking trees, when, in fact they never did the spiking. The media picked it up and ran with it, and to this day, I still hear people say that Earth First is a terrorist organization. Today, for the first time, I heard a news anchor on a major network news program describe how chopped liver is made. It was described in an unbiased way, with the same emphasis as the description of the vandalism that was done. There are many people out there who now know how their pate is made. (This is not an acceptance of violence, only a comment on public sentiment and the media) Marcy > (2) operate with a flagrant disregard for anything else but your > cause. negative media is released, convincing about 90% of the public > that your cause is bad. then, gather your choir and all your allies, > and mount a reactive defense against the negative media. result: > although the public will largely ignore the follow-up story or the > letters to the editor, you might convince 1% of the original 90% to > change their minds. everyone else will remember the word " terrorism " > and will spend the rest of the next few years harassing their vegan > nieces and nephews at thanksgiving. > > it's all a matter of strategy. the first strategy requires careful > understanding of how to reach people and how to appeal to their sense > of self-interest. the second strategy involves running blindfolded at > everyone, friend or foe, with hammers and axes. either you can lead > public opinion, or you can let public opinion lead you around by a > chain. > > it's not enough to have a good idea. the key is knowing how to reach > people who don't care about your idea. that is everything. hell, if > people on *this list*, full of vegetarians, vegans, and animal rights > supporters aren't even on your side, how do you think you're going to > win anyone else over? > > i don't care how many letters you send to the sf chron; as far > as the public is concerned, you've lost this debate permanently. > > think about it. which article are people going to identify with more > strongly? > > (1) A top San Francisco chef has become the target of radical animal > rights activists in a series of attacks that police are calling > domestic terrorism. > > (2) An unknown SF Chronicle journalist was reprimanded today for writing > a biased article about radical animal rights activists. > > furthermore, the PETA quote was actually extremely damaging. quotes > like that in that context reinforce the notion that whenever violence > in the name of animal rights takes place, PETA must be behind it > somehow. which is a shame. the public isn't going to remember, " oh > the chron called PETA and they're not involved, i guess they're swell! " . > they're going to remember " animal rights " = " terrorism " = " PETA " . > > i can no longer hand out PETA literature or link information from PETA > websites to non-veggies without receiving ridicule, thanks to this > image. > > if you don't believe me, get to know middle america sometime. the word > " PETArd " is used to describe any vegan or animal rights supporter. animal > rights activists are quickly becoming thought of in the same light as > abortion clinic snipers, and to hear you justify your position is deeply > depressing to me. > > On 08/19/03, animal_avenger <lorax wrote: > > > Hi. First of all, as many of the activists I work with are on this > > list, I obviously wasn't condemning the whole list as useless with > > my last post. I was referring to those who do nothing more than > > criticize others from the sidelines and try to dictate how people > > who are actually out actively fighting animal torture should act. > > Why not do something for a change and let your actions speak for > > themselves. > > > > Next, the SF Chronicle article was not as entirely biased as was > > posted on this list. There was also a good quote from PETA. However, > > the article was incredibly imbalanced. Perhaps this is because the > > reporter, Kim Severson, is an avid foie gras supporter and food- > > critic writer. An article she wrote last December lauding foie gras > > with false information about how " humane " it is and advertising > > Sonoma Foie Gras can be seen at: > > > > http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi? > > file=/chronicle/archive/2002/12/08/CM136247.DTL > > > > This article was months before any of the recent direct action, so > > nobody better say direct action causes this kind of blatant > > propaganda. At least now people see there is opposition to this > > atrocity, and some statements about why did make it into the article. > > > > But the article was incredibly imbalanced and written by a reporter > > who can't even PRETEND to be unbiased on this issue, so complaints > > on that matter can be lodged at: > > > > http://www..com/feedback > > > > -b > > > > > > > > > > BAY AREA VEGETARIANS (BAV) is a community group for veggies to network & find > > support. Free membership and lots of free events :-) See below links for more > > veggie info.... > > > > Event Calendar, Charter, FAQ (/) and More! > > > > http://www.bayareaveg.org/ > > > > BAV Message board (discussions and carpool posts) > > http://www.generationv.org/forum > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted August 20, 2003 Report Share Posted August 20, 2003 Steve Simitzis's line pretty much sums it up for me: > if people on *this list*, full of vegetarians, vegans, and > animal rights supporters aren't even on your side, how do > you think you're going to win anyone else over? Going a little further. Last nights KTVU news report said that the FBI may be investigating the incident as an act of domestic terrorism. Given that, I'm certainly not going to be writing any letters condeming the actions of the restaurant owner. " Hey FBI, over here, look at me! " Somebody also mentioned, or at least alluded, that regardless of the coverage, media coverage is a good thing. Something no doubt akin to the Hollywood adage, " There's no such thing as bad publicity " . But that publicity is a two way street. The restaurant owner is receiving a lot of free publicity. And, what shuts a restaurant down most effectively? Simple - lack of customers. Likewise, is the goal to shut the restaurant down? Or, is it to stop producing/serving fois gras? Certainly the chef knows how to make more than just foie gras. --Brian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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