If you’re a vegetarian or vegan then you have heard of PETA. In fact, there are probably few people in the US who have not. If the circus is in town then you will likely find caged scantily-clad women somewhere in the vicinity touting the virtues of a meat-free, furless, petless life. Today PETA protesters were reported to be showing up at Buena Vista Elementary School in Nashville wearing bloody elephant costumes to protest the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. Of course, the mere mention of this event in the local newspaper drew vile comments.

I’m not a supporter of PETA for reasons I won’t discuss here though I will say they’re not of the typical anti-PETA reasoning. It isn’t easy to find a PETA supporter in the vegan ranks. They are out there, many of them celebrities who lend their voice to the cause and can be found plastered on billboards or on pages of vegetarian magazines but the usual day-to-day vegan doesn’t always support PETA and many are as vocal in the distrust of the organization as the are the love they have for tempeh or tofu.

Many people point to PETA’s euthanization practices as a disconnection point. Many others claim their tactics are far too in-your-face to be worthwhile. You can find all of the information you desire agaist PETA simply by searching for “anti peta” and I won’t list what can easily be found elsewhere. There’s equally the same amount of information in support of PETA. That’s not what this is about. This is about my curiosity. I simply want to know why people are so set off by the mention of PETA. The local story I mentioned earlier has a list of comments from people blasting PETA.

Do you agree or disagree with PETA? If you disagree and want to blast them feel free to do so in the comments but back your remarks up, don’t just post hearsay and rumors without the facts. Yes, those anti-PETA, non-veg, pro-meat people are free to post but remember, we all know what junior high, imbecilic minds think PETA stands for.