Have you ever seen a chinchilla? Cute, huh? How about bunnies? Adorable, no?
And of course, if you’ve ever looked at a ferret you know what a mink looks like. Sweet and a little dangerous all rolled up in one furry package.
They all look like the kind of critters you want to hold and snuggle and sneak treats. That might not be the best idea sometimes, especially with the minks, but they still emit a “love me” vibe nevertheless.
So why, I ask, would anyone wear one? The answer: because people are ignorant, egotistical and cruel.
Not all people, certainly not. There are millions of people who would never think of wearing a real fur – whether it be a coat, muff or that “little bit of trim” on a jacket. Sadly, there are, however, millions of people who also think it’s not only OK to wear fur, but that it’s fashionable, sexy or even a status symbol.
Frankly, the only thing I think when I see someone wearing fur can’t be printed in the East Tennessean.
I don’t understand the fascination with wearing the skin of another creature. How do fur wearers look at themselves in the mirror and not feel like scum? How do they not feel like the epitome of shame and pathetic-ness?
It’s not like fur companies ask the foxes, “Hey do you want a haircut?” and then trim away some fur without harming the animal.
No wolf or seal cub volunteers their pelts for fashion. No animal would ever submit to the pain, agony and sheer hell that go along with fur farming. No animal would like to be caught in a leg trap for days by their foot, snout or tail either. But these are the methods of getting the fur that’s paraded around like a badge of honor.
I mean, would you like to have your face caught in dull, heavy, painfully hard jaws of metal for a week just to be stomped to death so some old hag can wear your outsides when the air gets nippy? I certainly wouldn’t.
Now before I go any further, I want to make sure everyone understands something. Inevitably someone out there is thinking that fur isn’t bad because it’s what helped found this nation. Well, realistically it’s not what made us what we are, but I’ll go with it for the sake of argument.
Yes, a whole lot of men slaughtered a whole lot of animals hundreds of years ago in order to make a buck and help make this continent a nation (well, a couple nations actually). But what went on 400 years ago is not a valid excuse for today.
Today we have a million different methods of making money, and a million different options for warm, winter wear including realistic synthetics dubbed “faux fur” (before anyone brings up the argument that fur is warm). There is absolutely no logic behind wearing fur in this day and age.
The only fur that should be worn by humans is the kind that grows abundantly on men like Robin Williams. And really, that should be a no-no as well. But I digress.
So now that we’ve established that I think fur is bad and those who wear it suck – if that offends you, good because fur wearers offend me – I’ll explain why fur is such a disgrace.
I’ve already explained briefly that fur is not obtained humanely or even reasonably kindly. Fur is one of the sickest and cruelest forms of animal torture I’ve ever seen.
I’ve had the opportunity to watch undercover videos of chinchilla and Chinese fur farms before writing this and if I can say anything about them it’s that my growling at old women in fur coats over the years has not been enough.
My cat, Ishmael, is sitting next to right now purring. He was there while I watched the chinchilla video and all I could think while watching the snuff film was, “what if that was Ishy?” His ears perked and lowered out of confusion as he heard the chinchillas squeaking in pain and fear, all the time I sat there hand over mouth trying not to cry. I can’t describe the videos here, they’re too graphic frankly, and honestly I don’t want to watch them again to get the details straight.
While I don’t recommend the videos as Friday night date movies, I certainly think anyone out there who is un-phased by fur wearers to check them out. And if you wear real fur, please see what goes on behind the closed doors of the fashion industry you are a slave to. I hope it’ll make you think a little harder before you purchase the carcass of someone’s mother, father, sibling or child in the name of sex appeal. These videos and others can be found at www.furisdead.com, and really, the name says it all.
I can’t imagine the inhumanity a person must live with to do what is shown in those videos, but I truly believe that karma is a bitch, and I think what goes around comes around. I hope that goes for fur wearers.
The callousness that must be required to wear a skin of another living creature for fashion also astounds me. It’s not just ignorant old socialites who have never watched an undercover PETA video. It’s not just the young girls who think fuzzy, rabbit-trim sweaters look cool.
What really, really pisses me off is the people who know better. The people who have seen the videos, read the reports, heard the lectures and continue to keep up the charade of fur as fashion. Those are the people and companies I am avidly against, the ones that I hope all of you will boycott with me.
Now, there are numerous companies that sell fur, numerous celebrities that wear it, including the infamous fur hag, editor Anna Wintour, who is the reason I never read Vogue. I’m not going to list them all – I couldn’t list them all – I’m going to list the ones that have seriously agitated me as of late.
* J. Crew – formerly one of my favorite stores. They told PETA that they had no intention of ever selling fur in their merchandise lines after being told of the atrocities that go with it. Guess what’s in J. Cruel’s stores this fall – fur. Needless to say, J. Crew lost my, and a lot of other compassionate shoppers’ money as soon as the fall line hit stores. There is even a web site dedicated to educating the public on the matter: J.Cruel.com. Check it out. Join the boycott. Send the CEO a nice letter telling him his store made a huge mistake putting fur on the market.
* Jennifer Lopez – or J.Ho as fellow animal advocates have begun to refer to her. The most pathetic excuse for an attempt to look sexy and chic is Lopez and her wardrobe of horror. Not only does she personally own numerous fur coats, her new line of clothing has fur in abundance. She might claim ignorance, but she’s actually been given copies of fur farm videos and more information than you can fit in the seat of her pants. She just wants the public to think she’s too stupid to know better.
* Andre Benjamin/Andre 3000 – a “vegan who also likes to look good” by wearing fur made from endangered grey wolves. In other words, a big damn liar and fraud. No vegan wears real fur, no self-respecting vegetarian does either. Hell, no decent person in the 21st century wears real fur. All I can say to Mister 3000 is your former PETA’s “Sexiest Vegetarian” title was nice while it lasted, because you’ll be on their hit list soon enough, you tool.
Well, those are the three that have chapped my ass recently. Hopefully you’ll all think twice about purchasing anything by them in the future – at least until they reform. I also hope you’ll check out more info on fur and how tacky it actually is.
Just remember folks, there is nothing sexy about cruelty.
And before I forget, the web address in my last column was dead for a bit. It seems OK now but here’s another vegetarian statistics site in case you want double the information. Happy researching! www.selfempowermentacademy.com.au/pdf/L3_LIVING_on_LIGHT/Glob_Journ/5-vvmbd.PDF
And as always, feel free to share your thoughts with me. Mohawktown@hotmail.com or etnews@etsu.edu.
And be sure to stop by the new animal rights organization meeting next week. Keep your eyes peeled for flyers.

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