Mario's Raccoon Suit Enrages PETA 491
redletterdave writes "PETA believes Nintendo's iconic plumber Mario takes a 'pro fur' stance" because he 'wears the skin of a raccoon dog to give him special powers' in the new handheld game released Nov. 13. PETA illustrated its disgust with Nintendo in an online campaign called 'Mario Kills Tanooki.' The page includes a side-scrolling Super Mario-style game called 'Super Tanooki Skin 2D,' where you play an angry, skinless tanuki that must chase a bloody raccoon-pelt-wearing-Mario across a 16-bit world and try to reclaim its fur."
More Specifically Aimed at Chinese Fur Farms (Score:5, Informative)
Someone tell them about Mario 3 (Score:5, Informative)
Because they're about 11-13 (depending on which region you're talking about) years late on this one.
Culture clash (Score:1, Informative)
Japan has a folkloric reverence [wikipedia.org] for raccoon dogs as mischievous shapeshifters. It's just a silly suit Mario is wearing, and there's no implication that Mario killed and skinned a human-sized raccoon dog to wear its fur and fly in it.
The definition of a Tanuki. (Score:5, Informative)
Are these people aware that a Tanuki is a MYTHICAL Japanese Raccoon Youkai (Spirit) with a magic shape shifting abilities that can normally talk like Humans? That is why Mario has his abilities in the game. He didn't skin an actual Raccoon dog, he gained the spirit energy of the Youkai including its Statue ability...
Re:The definition of a Tanuki. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:More Specifically Aimed at Chinese Fur Farms (Score:5, Informative)
Re:More Specifically Aimed at Chinese Fur Farms (Score:5, Informative)
Re:The definition of a Tanuki. (Score:2, Informative)
Actually, the tanuki is a real animal, just like the kitsune (fox) is a real animal. They're both real creatures that have been given magical attributes in Japanese myths. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanuki
This isn't to say that PETA isn't ridiculous.
Mario: Lost Decade (Score:3, Informative)
Re:More Specifically Aimed at Chinese Fur Farms (Score:5, Informative)
http://www.aolnews.com/2010/03/09/petas-euthanasia-rates-have-critics-fuming/ [aolnews.com]
http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=peta+euthanasia [lmgtfy.com]
Re:More Specifically Aimed at Chinese Fur Farms (Score:4, Informative)
Peta are fuckwits. (Score:5, Informative)
Peta gives a bad name to actual animal welfare activists, you know the ones, the ones that actually find homes for abandoned animals instead of killing them.
Don't give an animal to a PETA "shelter" unless you want it dead.
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BMO
Re:More Specifically Aimed at Chinese Fur Farms (Score:5, Informative)
That's an unfortunate URL to post on /., as it will probably receive few click-throughs due to fears of actually being a link to Goatse.
Just sayin'.
Re:More Specifically Aimed at Chinese Fur Farms (Score:4, Informative)
PETA used to be run by sane people, but then the crazies came in and scared the sanity away.
I don't think the sane people ever got to run it... It was pretty much bonkers when it started and then they got worse... To say that they 'drifted' towards extremism is a gross understatement; they ran there and then they pushed the boundaries. Here's a few signs that they're way off the deep end already:
1) The end justifies the means. Getting the point across no matter what.
2) Humans, the law, common sense - everything is expendable if it just 'saves' one animal.
3) It's okay to lie or blatantly abuse anything (nudity and famous people in particular) in order to gather followers.
4) They never make mistakes or correct errors, even if it kills people.
It's trivial to Google for these things. Arson and firebombing is cool. Gross vandalism is a hobby. Go vegan, even if it kills you - or your kids. And remember: "You can't handle the truth!"