Sunday, June 21, 2009

Presidential execution on video

June 19, 2009

The first time I saw this footage, it struck me as disturbing. Still does and I’m not sure why. Not the fact that he killed the fly. It’s more the way he went about it…the satisfaction…the pride…the look on his face…the way he kept kicking it and that he didn’t wipe his hands. And then there’s the creepy cheering like it was unusual feat of physical prowess, his demanding it be filmed and the way he spoke to Gibbs. The whole thing is off. And why would the leader of the free world want to be videotaped killing a fly, kicking it and then gloating about it? And is there no one in the White House that thought twice about this getting on the internet?

I wondered if PETA would chime in. They did but only after the media kept bugging them.

6-18 Alisa Mullins for PETA

As we all know, human beings often don’t think before they act. We don’t condemn President Obama for acting on instinct. When the media began contacting us in droves for a statement, we obliged, simply by saying that the president isn’t the Buddha and shouldn’t be expected to do everything right—if not for that, we would not have brought it up. It’s the media who are making a big deal about the fly swat—not PETA. However, we took the opportunity, when asked, to point out that we do offer lots of ways in which to control insects of all kinds without harming them, including the humane bug catcher we sent President Obama.

We can’t stop all suffering, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t stop any. Our wish is for all people to act wisely and mercifully toward animals.

CNBC via REUTERS

PRESIDENTIAL FLYKILLER

That was pretty impressive, wasn’t it? I got the sucker.

Why is it he can’t act that immediately and decisively about something that matters?

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