Who Is Sicker, Vick Or PETA?

by Star Parker - August 27th, 2007 - Townhall.com

PETA provides material on its Web site to explain the rationale of the "animal-rights" concept that drives its worldview. "When it comes to pain, love, joy, loneliness, and fear, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy," says PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk.

For more extensive exposition, the site refers to the writings of Princeton philosopher Peter Singer, author of "Animal Liberation."

Now Singer has written on a great deal more than animal rights. He's the author of "Practical Ethics," in which he offers his justifications for euthanasia, abortion and infanticide.

According to Singer, parents should be permitted to kill a baby born with a tragic illness or defect. In "Practical Ethics," he argues that "... the fact that a being is a human being, in the sense of a member of the species Homo sapiens, is not relevant to the wrongness of killing it; it is, rather, characteristics like rationality, autonomy and self-consciousness that make a difference. Infants lack these characteristics. Killing them, therefore, cannot be equated with killing normal human beings, or any other self-conscious beings."

Thus, through a long and twisted road of logic, beginning with one man's own premises about existence, we are led to a conclusion that killing animals is an outrage, but an infant, not.

I am outraged at what Michael Vick has done. The act of allowing two dogs to fight is something that I cannot conceive of as "sport" or "entertainment". It is abhorent.

That said, it outrages me that every single protest of Vick has allowed the liberal press to highlight PETA's opposition as if they have some moral superiority. Star Parker is right to note that an organization which actively praises people like Peter Singer cannot claim the moral high ground. Like their secret killing of Bertie County pets for "convenience" they are a contemptible group that really only cares about liberal and socialist causes and uses animal rights as an excuse to fund raise.

To PETA killing young children is okay. How bizarre is that?