My Beef with PETA

… Or really animal activists altogether.

Hold the cyber-slander.

Hold the temper tantrums.

Hold the tears.

I care about animals too. In fact, if you’ve read my blog, you already know that I try to be conscious of the food I prepare for my mini family; More water and natural seasonings than juice and Lawry’s; and more produce than meat.

I admire the fight that white people muster when it’s time to stand up for something they believe in – Cecil the Lion or animal’s rights in general, [white] feminism and adding gluten-free options to public school cafeterias.

No shade – I genuinely think that all of that is kind of dope. And as I look back on it, it would’ve been pretty cool to have had gluten-free lunch options during my high school years.

Nevertheless, when white people get together and decide to fight for something ruthlessly, they’re more times than not, taken seriously (or at very least, heard). When non-whites get together and fight for, what I see as, slightly more important issues, our feelings, thoughts and concerns are usually thrown by the wayside.

This doesn’t sit well with me; so when I hear of organizations that fight harder for animal’s rights than those of actual humans, I have an issue.

A huge issue.

I can’t tell you how many Facebook posts, tweets and empathetic YouTube videos I came across on the day we found out about Cecil the Lion. I mean, the non-coloreds went H.A.M. I’m not usually one to compare, but I oddly don’t remember seeing as much outrage shown for other injustices happening in, say, America. 

Don’t get me wrong – I think the doc who hunted Cecil down has a serious issue with narcissism, I’ll never spend a dime at Seaworld, and reading articles on the disheartening living conditions of farm animals makes me want to never touch a burger again. [Well, almost never. In-N-Out is the devil.]

You’re ready to riot when you learn of Cecil the Lion, but not a finger is raised or a single-tweet cultivated when you learn of the senseless and animalistic murders of Trayvon Martin or Mike Brown? You know… People – citizens – children?

What, or who, should take priority? Imagine the damage we could do if organizations like PETA transferred their manpower to the current fights for civil liberties to all living and breathing human beings?

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals – how about, People for the Ethical Treatment of other People?

I’d seriously like to go a day without worrying about the unjustified treatment that is inevitably going to meet my son. And until you can promise me that his God-given rights will be recognized fully and without condition, I say frankly and with every breath in my being, “F#CK your animals”.

Ashley Rey is a young, single mom residing in Los Angeles, by way of Detroit. She blogs about her life’s experiences on her personal site, bashinla.com, and is also a contributor for HipHopBattle.com where she writes on topics ranging from racism in America to Hip-Hop “Think” pieces. You can find her on instagram and twitter @bashinla, and keep up with she and her 2-year-old son by watching her weekly recap vlogs on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/bashinlavlog.