A viral PETA tweet making the rounds online is telling people to stop referring to each other while using animal terms. The animal rights organization is speaking up against society's use of animal verbiage to insult and degrade each other in the place of words that already exist in our vocabulary. Editor's Choice: Canada's Hotel Quarantine For Travellers Has Been Explained & There's A 3rd COVID-19 Test “ Calling someone an animal as an insult reinforces the myth that humans are superior to other animals. PETA PETA took to social media to call out people and ask that they stop saying words that "perpetuate oppression" towards animals. "Anti-animal slurs degrade animals by applying negative human traits to certain species," the nonprofit said. Words can create a more inclusive world, or perpetuate oppression.Calling someone an animal as an insult reinforces the myth that humans are superior to other animals & justified in violating them.Stand up for justice by rejecting supremacist language. pic.twitter.com/HFmMWDcc5A— PETA (@peta) January 26, 2021 They believe that these words make animals seem weak, dirty and heartless which in turn 'desensitizes the public and normalizes violence against other animals." In the photo posted online, which has over 18,000 replies and over 23,000 retweets, they highlight how humans use animals to express behaviours seen in humans. For example, calling someone a chicken when referring to them as being a coward or using the word snake when referring to someone being a jerk. What's more, they call this conduct 'speciesism,' which is defined on their website as one species believing they are better than another. "Always be kind and consider not using insults at all," they said.
