Absolutely crushed: that feeling when one of your icons or all time favorite “somethings” lets you down. When that song you loved ends up being about a sandwich or maybe when your childhood Disney role model takes off all her clothes. For me, it was when that rapper who sang about equal rights demonstrated ignorance about animal cruelty. No one is perfect, but it is not that hard to be compassionate. Macklemore is a cool dude, a great rapper and is sending some important messages; unfortunately, he recently made a statement that was very unimpressive.
He made it clear that he is unconcerned about his image promoting fur as fashion. Fur is cruelty and those who wear it support that.
In the video in which Macklemore makes this statement he begins by saying that the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contacted him. He wasn’t surprised, nor was anyone else, as he has flaunted fur coats and skins in multiple music videos. He goes on to say that his fur coat was made from “a beaver” killed thirty plus years ago, implying only one beaver was killed and that, regardless, it doesn’t really count or matter. In actuality, it likely took between 10 and 12 beavers to make that one coat. Those beavers may have been killed years ago, but upwards of five billion more are still killed and exploited each year.
Sure, we all know Macklemore is a thrift shopper, so his furs are probably second-hand. I admit I would rather him get it that way and skip monetarily supporting the fur industry. But what about all his fans; what about all the people watching him? Every time he wears or uses fur he is making a statement that it is acceptable and even fashionable to wear. Fans and fashion designers are taking cues from those in the spotlight.
Despite his fur being used, that doesn’t negate the fact that each year, according to Last Chance for Animals (LCA), 40 million minks, 2 million dogs and cats, 600,000 chinchillas, polecats and raccoon dogs, 65,000 seal pups, 10 million wild animals and various other species are exploited and abused. These animals are cruelly snared, drowned, crushed, packed into tight cages and brutally murdered or skinned alive. All in the name of “fashion.”
The fur industry is far from being in decline, and has actually grown in the last few years. According to Born Free USA, 50 million animals, from mink and raccoons to chinchillas and foxes are raised on fur farms. In addition, there are five billion rabbits killed annually. In our very own “land of the free,” we have 300 fur farms.
All of these defenseless creatures, after being abused every day of their lives, are gassed, poisoned or electrocuted. In this same manner, many cats and dogs, which for many of us love and call our pets, are being submitted to cruelty and abuse. Disturbingly, as documented by PETA, dog and cat fur is often intentionally mislabeled in the U.S. and marketed as another species or even “faux” fur.
This also does not include the 10 million creatures being trapped. Beavers, for example, have their leg caught in a “drowning set” which drags them down into the water while they struggle to survive, sometimes for up to 15 minutes before they die. Macklemore’s last statement in this video was that the beaver who died for his coat once had a dream and that that dream was to crowd surf at a concert some day. That is an indifference to the sentience of others.
For someone to say that any living being would willingly give up its life for another’s pleasure is sheer arrogance. It is incredible that anyone would allow themselves to think even for a second that that beaver, or really those dozen beavers, would have wanted anything but to build a dam and care for their families.
Those beavers’ lives were stolen from them. Millions of animals’ lives are stolen from them every day after being brutally mistreated. Is this ok? No. Is it ok to make light of? No. Same love? Prove it. How about some compassion for animals too?
