PETA miffed at President Obama's fly "execution"

[Gawdzilla Sama]

PETA miffed at President Obama's fly "execution"

POLITICO (Washington) - The president has been getting lots of kudos for a lightning-fast, Mr. Miyagi-worthy swipe he employed to slay a pesky house fly that was buzzing him in mid-interview during a taping with CNBC that aired Wednesday.

"He stopped the interview to track and kill the fly," said talk show host Conan O'Brien.

"That's some pretty impressive hand-eye coordination right there," Jimmy Fallon gushed. "Makes Obama look like a bad ass."

But now People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, calling it an "execution," wants the commander-in-chief to show a little more compassion to even "the least sympathetic animals."

"Believe it or not, we've actually been contacted by multiple media outlets wanting to know PETA's official response to the executive insect execution," a blog on the group's website explained. "In a nutshell, our position is this: He isn't the Buddha, he's a human being, and human beings have a long way to go before they think before they act."

The group has sent Obama a device that traps a fly so it can then be released outside.

"We believe that people, where they can be compassionate, should be, for all animals," PETA spokesman Bruce Freidrich explained.

The fly saga began Tuesday, and it was the subject of a news report on Italian TV and almost a dozen Youtube postings that have been viewed more than 750,000 times. Thousands of people also have added commentary, including one who wrote, "But can he duck a shoe?" in reference to a hugely popular video of former president George Bush ducking a shoe thrown at him by an Iraqi cameraman during a news conference in Baghdad.

"Get out of here," Obama said as the fly buzzed him during his interview. The pest persisted, and when it landed on his left forearm, Obama smacked it.

"Now, where were we?" the president said without missing a beat. Pleased with himself, he added, "That was pretty impressive, wasn't it? I got the sucker."

Several observers in the room gave congratulatory shout-outs. Obama pointed to the floor and instructed an obliging cameraman to get a close-up of the corpse.

"It's like he's got one of those fly Terminator targeting systems in his eyes," said an awed Jon Stewart.

(c) Capitol News Company, LLC 2009

[Chinaski]

Oh gimme a fucking break. Compassion for flies? PETA is so full of shit it's incredible.

[Animavore]

PETA are a bunch of arse-biscuits (the real ones not the non-biscuit American ones).

[AshtonBlack]

The biggest (well ok 2nd) bunch of hypocrites I've ever had the misfortune to hear about. Did anyone ever tell them that humans are animals?

[Animavore]

The biggest (well ok 2nd) bunch of hypocrites I've ever had the misfortune to hear about. Did anyone ever tell them that humans are animals?

So are aliens. Well, I mean the ones that are animals. Obviously not the plant types.

[irreligionist]

PETA are a bunch of arse-biscuits (the real ones not the non-biscuit American ones).

Nah, they may as well be the American ones with that grey gloopy gravy on them

[AshtonBlack]

PETA are a bunch of arse-biscuits (the real ones not the non-biscuit American ones).

Nah, they may as well be the American ones with that grey gloopy gravy on them

Not not a meat based one though eh?

[ScholasticSpastic]

I knew this was coming as soon as I saw the footage. Just once I'd like the imbeciles at PETA to fail to live down to my expectations.

[Existentialist1844]

Well, I can give two-shits about PETA, but I don't support the killing of any living thing without justification. Sure, I eat meat, but I try to avoid killing any insects in my house or stepping on ants (if I can avoid them). The fact of the matter is that you wouldn't want someone hunting you down and killing you, so what gives anyone the right to hunt down a fly and kill it? IIRC correctly, if bees were to go extinct, the human population would die in five years. Now I dont know whether or not flies are as beneficial as bees, but its something to think about in terms of the importance of all living things. One entomologist stated that when a human kills a bee, we think nothing of it-but to the bee "community," it can be a devastating effect. Each bee plays a crucial role in its environment.

I guess a perfect analogy would be if a superior, intelligent race existed, and wanted to wipe out all of humanity, it would have every right to do so (if they felt we weren't needed). This would be akin to the belief that we (humans) are superior to other species (animals, insects, etc) that are supposedly below us.

[Kristie]

It's just a damn fly.

[Geoff]

PETA are a bunch of arse-biscuits (the real ones not the non-biscuit American ones).

+1

(nicely done...)

[eXcommunicate]

Just about the only bugs I feel bad about squashing are bees, even though I am allergic to them.

[Existentialist1844]

It's just a damn fly.

Ahhhh, the superiority of humans . Like I said, if there happens to be a species that is much more advanced than us, and wants kill us, I guess you would have no problem with them saying "Its just a damn human." I mean "it's just a damn fly."

I recommend:



It's a good read.

[ScholasticSpastic]

It's just a damn fly.

Ahhhh, the superiority of humans . Like I said, if there happens to be a species that is much more advanced than us, and wants kill us, I guess you would have no problem with them saying "Its just a damn human." I mean "it's just a damn fly."

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. I'll start caring about whether individual flies live or die when it can be demonstrated that the flies, themselves, care whether they live or die.

Survival instinct =/= caring whether you live or die.

I don't eat mammals, just in case. Flies really don't have enough brain to warrant equal consideration.

[Existentialist1844]

It's just a damn fly.

Ahhhh, the superiority of humans . Like I said, if there happens to be a species that is much more advanced than us, and wants kill us, I guess you would have no problem with them saying "Its just a damn human." I mean "it's just a damn fly."

I'm going to have to disagree with you here. I'll start caring about whether individual flies live or die when it can be demonstrated that the flies, themselves, care whether they live or die.

Survival instinct =/= caring whether you live or die.

I don't eat mammals, just in case. Flies really don't have enough brain to warrant equal consideration.

So, just because you are more advanced than flies, and can ponder your own demise, that gives you superiority over an insect? Sorry, I disagree with you. I believe everything has a right to live, whether or not they have the mental capacity to ponder their own death.