This ad on the front of DU is hard to look at.

[ej510]

http://st.blogads.com/786996932/499086328/click?d=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mercyforanimals.org%2Fcalves%2F&c=148ff5a522b6dc9025dc886dd9618fff
:mad: :puke:

[msongs]

1. don't see any ad there nt

[ej510]

3. Did you watch the video at the link?

[peace13]

5. That's weird, I do. I don't care if DU has ads but bloody meat and sick calves?

Is that really the best we can do? What is next, a baby fetus?

[stuntcat]

7. that's what's happening tho

happening a lot. a lotta lotta lot. And consumers' money is making it happen.

People do so hate reality.

[demmiblue]

2. I don't see any ad on the home page.

:shrug:

[ej510]

4. Watch the video at the link I provided.

[demmiblue]

6. What is it about? I don't usually click on blind links. n/t

[ej510]

10. A guy laughs while he slams a pick axe through a calf's skull.

[demmiblue]

14. Disgusting... I definitely won't be watching. n/t

[peace13]

8. How is that, I would love to know?

I donate and usually let the ads run because if DU makes extra bucks from advertisements I can deal with it but the bloody meat that has been going on for months and now the sad calf is really getting to me. How do I get them off of the screen?

[demmiblue]

15. Adblock Plus or NoScript add-ons for Firefox. n/t

[MineralMan]

9. It's intended to be hard to look at. It's another example of how

whatever organization is running these ads fails. A few people who are already convinced of what the organization thinks will visit the site. Everyone else will simply avoid looking at the ad, and will not visit the site. Preaching to the choir never works very well.

Just ignore the ad. They may eventually get tired of this failed strategy and think about other ways to present their case.

It's the same thing as the anti-abortion morons do with their photos of fetuses and the like. Complete failure.

[peace13]

12. A+.

It's weird that the admin goes for it though.

[MineralMan]

16. I don't know if it's weird, really.

Lots of DUers are on that bandwagon. Most aren't, but that's immaterial. I just refuse to pay any attention to noxious advertising, whatever it's for. DU belongs to someone other than me. Whatever they decide, it's my decision to come here. So, the ad's there. I don't pay attention to it. That's my answer.

It's a stupid ad that is almost guaranteed not to change anyone's mind. Let the people who put it there pay. I just can't be bothered.

[FLPanhandle]

48. +1

I agree. I've always thought the anti-meat crowd and the anti-abortion crowd use the same crappy marketing company since they use the exact same tactics.

[hobbit709]

11. No one is making you look at it.

If you choose to look at something you don't like, then don't complain afterward.

[quinnox]

13. so many ways to not see ads

firefox, opera. How many times do these solutions have to be pointed out.

[Coyote_Bandit]

17. Personal autonomy over one's body

means that women have the right to chose to have an abortion - and everyone has the right to choose their diet. Perhaps someday the vegetarian/vegan evangelists will realize the implications of that.

[truebrit71]

19. I'm a meat-eater and it disturbs the fuck outta me...

..yes animals have to do so i can eat them...they don't need to be bludgeoned to death in order for that to happen though...THAT is the point...

[Coyote_Bandit]

21. Become a responsible consumer

I just bought a quarter of a beef. I know who raised it, how old it was and what it was fed. I have a reasonable expectation of its quality. I know who dressed it, I viewed their processing facilities and I observed them put down the animal. It is a small facility. They put down a single animal at a time with a single shot to the head. Instanteous death. It doesn't get much better than that. I got about 200 pounds of beef. The processing fee was about $100 and my portion of the cow was about $350. That works out to an average of $2.25 per pound - and I did not take delivery of some portions of the animal (notably the organ meats). I have a small 5 cubic foot freezer which is large enough to store the beef in - and have some space left over. I will split my portion of the beef with my parents.

There are abuses in some of the high volume corporate owned processing facilities. That abuse often extends to rampant labor, immigration and environmental violations. You do not have to source your meat from these corporations. Their are other alternatives. Even here in the large metropolitan area where I live.

You don't have to eat meat. You don't have to eat meat that comes from the large high volume corporate processing facilities.

[defendandprotect]

46. Great point -- !!! A meat-earter who gets it -- !! Thank you!!

[fishwax]

22. I've never met a vegetarian who wanted to take away my right to eat meat

Maybe they exist, but I haven't encountered them.

[fishwax]

23. delete--wrong place n/t

[Coyote_Bandit]

29. Please explain

how these kinds of shocking videos and other public displays of a graphic nature differ from things like ultrasounds and photos of aborted fetuses being used to argue against abortion. Both are outrageous, emotionally charged attempts to influence the personal choices of another - choices which specifically pertain to autonomy over one's own body.

There are two main reasons people embrace vegetarian and vegan lifestyles - animal right activism and personal choices having diet and health implications. I've met a number of folks who are animal rights activists (and vegetarian/vegan) who attempt to proselytize - and often do so in an offensive and disrespectful manner. As activists they seem to think it is their duty to influence my choices over matters that are none of their fucking business. Those who make personal choices tend to be respectful of the personal choices of others. They understand and respect boundaries.

[truebrit71]

33. So they way animals are treated is "none of your fucking business"...

...like i've said before, yes i understand that animals have to die in order for me to eat them, that doesn't mean I don't care about the manner in which that death occurs...the fact that some people don't speaks volumes about their own morality...

I don't believe the intent of the video is to turn people into a bunch of raging vegans, but more to educate and advise people that this sort of violent activity is being done on their behalf...how you choose to move forward once informed is an individual choice...

[Coyote_Bandit]

39. Ummmm......No

What I choose to eat is none of your fucking business.

Autonomy over one's own body is a progressive ideal. A woman ought to be able to make her own decision as to whether or not to abort a fetus. Competent adults ought to be able to have the right to refuse - or seek out - medical treatment. And they ought to have the right to choose whether their diet does or does not include meat.

It is entirely possible to be a responsible meat consumer. Problem is that too many people are not willing to make the effort. Others seem to be completely ignorant that such alternatives even exist.

I just bought a quarter of a beef. I know who raised it, how old it was and what it was fed. I have a reasonable expectation of its quality and am well aware that the animal was not diseased. I know who dressed it, I viewed their processing facilities and I observed them put down the animal. It is a small facility. They put down a single animal at a time with a single shot to the head. Instanteous death. That cow was not bludgeoned to death by being repeatedly bashed with a hammer. It doesn't get much better than that. I personally would prefer that manner of death to one of lingering pain - an option not legally available to humans with painful terminal illnesses.

There are abuses in some of the high volume corporate owned processing facilities. That abuse often extends to rampant labor, immigration and environmental violations. Funny, those violations often pass without comment or observation by those who complain of animal cruelty.
People do not have to source their meat from these corporations. Their are other alternatives - even here in the large metropolitan area where I live.

You don't have to eat meat. You don't have to eat meat that comes from the large high volume corporate processing facilities. If it bothers you so much then maybe you should either become a more responsible meat consumer or quit eating meat. In any event I would suggest that perhaps you should mind your own fucking business and be concerned about your own morality before questioning mine.




Oh, yeah, and thanks for your completely irrelevant response. I still don't know what makes these shocking meat videos different from those graphic depictions of aborted fetuses.

[fishwax]

36. attempting to proselytize is not the same as taking away your rights

"(Please Explain) how these kinds of shocking videos and other public displays of a graphic nature differ from things like ultrasounds and photos of aborted fetuses being used to argue against abortion. Both are outrageous, emotionally charged attempts to influence the personal choices of another - choices which specifically pertain to autonomy over one's own body."

Having never actually seen the video in question, I can't speak with authority. But I do know that you have to actually put in an effort to see the video, so nobody is going to be forced to watch the "shocking meat video" against their will. I don't see much similarity between a picture of an aborted fetus, which is intended to shock and disturb, and a picture that could be taken at any butcher block in any grocery store across the country. As to how a picture of an ultrasound compares to a picture of a nice cut of tenderloin--well, neither is inherently harmful. We're skeptical if we see a picture of an ultrasound on a billboard or a picket sign because we know that there is a longstanding, organized, and powerful effort underway to restrict reproductive rights, and that the sign is very likely a part of that movement. There isn't a movement underway to take away anyone's right to bacon and eggs for breakfast. Arguing about the negative effects of meat consumption is not the same as trying to take your rights away.

I've known tons of vegetarians and vegans over the years, but can't think of instances where they've been offensive or disrespectful (in person) about dietary issues. I've seen *far* more disrespect and antagonism directed towards their lifestyle by people who eat meat than the other way around, both online and IRL.

[Coyote_Bandit]

43. The sad thing is

that some women seeking abortions are legally compelled to view those ultrasounds and pictures of aborted fetuses. Why no outrage about that?

The methodolgy of using shocking emotionally charged videos and graphics to influence choices that pertain to autonomy over one's own body is the same. It is manipulative. It is emotionally charged. It ignores other alternatives. It is designed to shame and induce feelings of guilt. It disrespects one's right to autonomy over their own body.

The methodoly itself is offensive - regardless of whether anyone watches it.

[fishwax]

44. there is (justifiably) outrage over that, and it highlights an important difference between the two

I haven't watched the shocking video, so I don't know whether your assertions (that, for example, it is designed to induce feelings of guilt) are correct. I got the sense that it was designed to induce feelings of outrage at how animals are treated.

I don't think that showing actual footage of actual slaughterhouses is inherently offensive. Would this also apply to, say, showing a picture of what smoking does to the lungs? Or documentary footage of the sweatshops used to produce cheap shoes and clothing?

[defendandprotect]

47. Because one is reality ... and the other is accompanied by lies ....

One is making the nation ill with violence, stressed and polluted meat products --

the other is a battle for women to be able to control their own reproductive power --

despite the fact that the plants and information which nature provided for women to

control reproduction have been destroyed by patriarchy. Certainly women would prefer

something less invasive than clinical abortion. RU486 returns us to the idea of making

abortion less intrusive and easier -- but we're not quite there yet. AND, it reverts

back to a plant/drug which once provided that reality for women!

[stuntcat]

37. the third main reason!

It's always overlooked but the biggest impact of a veggie diet is the drop in energy a person's diet burns!

The animals raised for lucky 1st-worlders to *nom* on are fed much better than the tens of thousands of people starving to death each day,
The land cleared and energy used to grow their food and serve it to them, for them to then poop out, making many tons of waste that we still haven't figured out how to deal with.. that's a pretty big effect of not eating farmed animals! :)
This is always overlooked, which is sad.. I had a fat unhealthy in-law tell her cousins once "she doesn't even eat fish" She said this in front of me but with her voice lowered like she was telling some disturbing secret about me. And the people at the table looked at me like I was crazy :eyes: It was funny really, old people just don't care one teeny bit about what goes on with the ocean and with fish farming and with species being wiped out.. wow, it blows my mind... Comfy baby-boomers cannot imagine making any sacrifices for the future, I've had it proven to me over and over and over and over.

[Ignis]

30. +1, yet this bullshit strawman is posted ad nauseam on DU.

Thanks for sticking up for the truth. :hi:

[fishwax]

41. yep -- it pops up in just about every thread like this

It happens with other issues too, I suppose--suggest that something has negative effects and there will be a number of people who respond as though you must be trying to make it illegal. But it seem especially common in threads that have anything to do with vegetarianism.

:hi:

[Codeine]

34. I'd never try to keep you from eating meat.

Hell, I don't even ask my fiancée not to eat meat.

Simply putting the reality of the situation out there for you to see isn't an attempt to take away your autonomy, it's merely disseminating a set of facts you'd rather not see. Just as you have the incontrovertible right to eat meat others have the right to shed light on slaughterhouse and factory farm conditions. Neither right encroaches on the other in any way, nor does either seek to rob anyone else of their autonomy.

[SidDithers]

18. So block it...

how many "lookit this ad!!" threads do we need every week?

Sid

[ZombieHorde]

20. In India, living cows are sacred, in the US, dead cows are sacred.

Only an extreme minority of people in the US think animals are more important than their taste buds. Hick country on a hick planet.

[Ignis]

31. Well played.

:thumbsup:

[BoWanZi]

45. In the US, living dogs are sacred, in China, dead dogs are dinner

[fishwax]

24. The ad is not at all difficult to look at

The movie may be. I don't know because I haven't seen it. But the ad itself is nothing that you couldn't see at about any grocery store in the country. The number of threads complaining about it is a bit silly.

[petronius]

40. Indeed. I'm halfway suspecting that that realization has sunk in - that the people clicking

the link are already on board and the target audience just passes right over the innocuous image - and that some of the hype over the ad is intended to rectify that by calling attention to it...

[cleanhippie]

25. Wait! Something stinks! As a donor, you shouldn't be seing any ads, but you post a link TO the ad

I smell an agenda.....

[leeroysphitz]

26. Cows are food. I don't care what food feels. n/t

[truebrit71]

27. Beaten in the head by a hammer eight times...

...nice to know how compassionate you are...:eyes:

[leeroysphitz]

32. my carrots were cruelly yanked from there homes with their roots torn off and their skins peeled awy

don't car about that either.

[truebrit71]

35. Yeah because vegetables and animals are exactly the same right?

...riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight...:eyes:

[leeroysphitz]

51. They are exactly the same in ONE respect. I and billions of others eat them.

[Ignis]

42. Please point to the CNS in this picture:

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQR9VLgFqUN_2vNoPBXV9bU9cWQYUqz_xwHq3m_xPtRWZC4UcbJ

[Goblinmonger]

28. Soylent Green is people! n/t

[leeroysphitz]

50. Mmmm. People.

[BoWanZi]

38. I watched the whole video and can still say that I would still eat some veal if I could afford it.

I know that the majority of these shock videos are out to show the worst of the worst and don't show the norm. Gross video but gets a meh from me.

[Blecht]

49. Simple solution

Don't look at it.

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

52. I get 404

:P

[Zywiec]

53. The weekly ad complaint thread from someone who can't use a computer...

:eyes:

[Dont_Bogart_the_Pretzel]

54. Can't use a computer or don't have nerd friend(s)

I'm proud to be a nerd! I never see ads.

All computers here at home are ad-free.

[Zywiec]

55. If you can't download a browser and one add-on

You can't say you know how to use a computer.

[a la izquierda]

56. The ads make me cringe...

but also give me some justification as to why I'm going vegan. I'll still hate seeing the ad, but at least not one penny of mine goes to support such sick behavior.

[stuntcat]

58. not one penny

high-five, preach-a-fy :headbang:

I haven't looked at any of these ads or videos, I've seen enough and some of it first-hand & since I don't eat the rotting garbage it makes then I don't have to see it again anyway.

It has been very interesting the angry dick-waving the ads have encouraged :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: etc etc! The people who Hate it the most are the ones spending the most to make it happen. People are so cute and funny that way!

[myrna minx]

57. I've had it with those ads. I don't come here to have to see a tortured, dying calf every time

I switch forums. :puke: It seems that they've become a permanent feature here and I find it disturbing. I guess the ads generate more money than donors like me. :shrug: