I watched a film titled, "The Ghosts in Our Machine", last week, and got a taste of why vegans, or really, activists of any kind, burn out and become bitter, cynical, counter-productive to their formerly championed cause(s). That movie had me in tears of anger, sorrow, or joy so many times in its ninety-some minutes, I'm amazed I was able to see the screen, at all.
With Fur Rondy and other "quintessentially Alaskan" things just behind us, I can't help but boil with anger at the ridiculous excess I've seen. Fur. Historically - actually, pre-historically - it had a genuine use: To aid us in keeping warm during long, hard winters. But now, it is a fashion accessory. Let me rephrase that - the skins and hair of animals that are, in no way, used for food or any other "useful" means for human consumption, are being used as fashion trim. No, this is not news. But, having seen graphic video (not contained in the aforementioned documentary - just their horrible, overcrowded, infection-ridden, food-less, water-less living conditions) of just how commercially and non-commercially raised/trapped fur-bearing animals are skinned (alive; how's that for starters?), I cannot and will not stay silent on the issue.
It is not the Stone Age. We have wonderful stuff like polar fleece, Primaloft, PolarTec, and other great products that keep you warm, at a fraction of the weight. And mess. And smell. And are machine washable and don't shed. You do not need to wear a dead animal, anymore. And keep your fucking wolf head hat away from my food when we sit at adjacent tables in a restaurant - I'm sure that you're violating some kind of food code, just wearing the poor, unfortunate creature into a public dining place.
You're not "chic". You're not "cool". You represent the clueless, vapid consumer that is accountable for creating the market that creates dismal living conditions and short life spans for creatures, because of what you want, because you're convinced you "need" it. I could understand a tiny, TINY bit better if you were actually of Alaskan or other Northern Native American descent. And maybe you are; after all, I am - can trace my lineage all the way back to my tribe's original village, but you can't really tell by looking. Gotta love the melting pot that is our nation. But by the looks of things, a lot of people that wear - and can afford to wear - fur accessories (that bear no resemblance to traditional Native regalia, I might add, other than the fact that they're made of critter), are NOT Native Alaskan, not Native American, in any sense of the word. And besides, killing things in the name of tradition sounds pretty hollow, when most modern Christians have eschewed Old Testament-style sacrifices to their God, in this modern world.
Get with the times. Stop killing things just because you think you look good in them. A clue, from someone who has held this opinion as an Alaskan, born and raised, and as someone who has not always been vegan, and has attended Fur Rondy, and was raised in the culture: YOU LOOK RIDICULOUS. No, really, you do. Frivolous. Fake. Insecure. And how often are you going to wear that animal, once you've bought it, anyway? Really? And do some research on alternatives - there are countless technologies that create faux fur, that is almost indistinguishable from the "real thing"...other than the lack of odor, of course. Because face it, old or wet fur smells exactly like what it is - a dead animal.
