Reply To: No fur on miniatures please!

[Rhoderic]

Rod Robertson wrote:

To me it is interesting that PETA objects to the depiction of fur on miniature figurines but seems OK with the depiction of the death and destruction of sentient beings in ersatz war. I can’t speak with authority about alien races but aren’t people/humans animals too? I think they missed the point somewhat in their criticism.

shelldrake wrote:

Yeah, those were along my lines of thought too – fur is bad, but the portrayal of mass death and destruction is ok. I am sure the furry animals on any planet would also be collateral damage on a far larger scale to some pelts worn by marines.

On that subject, I think I can discern the point PETA is trying to make, although ultimately I don’t really agree with it.

The thing is this: On the one hand, yes, 40K is an excessively nihilistic setting wherein bloodshed and torture of humans and other sophonts is happening on a massive scale. Yet on the other hand, there are themes that the setting does not touch for the superabundantly obvious reason that they are simply too horrible, and too close-to-home, to have a place in any form of entertainment that isn’t either sadist pornography or “Beasts Of No Nation”-style heavy drama. So I think PETA is arguing that depicting the wearing of fur belongs in that category, because in real life animals are helpless, innocent beings that, when farmed for what essentially amounts to “fur harvesting”, are often kept under inhumane conditions. And that’s why, in PETA’s view, 40K shouldn’t “go there”, just like it wouldn’t touch some of the themes that movies like Beasts Of No Nation cover.

Now, as I said, even though I can reconstruct that argument in my head, I ultimately don’t agree with it. Typically when a 40K figure is wearing fur, it’s implied the animal was hunted “good-old-fashioned-like”, and often it will have been some fantastical beast that could kill a power-armoured Space Marine. Now if Horus Lupercal was to be modelled striding into battle adorned with kittens and puppies impaled on spikes, then yeah, I could see what the problem is, but that’s not where we are.

Then there’s the argument that making warriors look cool wearing fur in miniature is going to make people want to wear it in real life. There’s some point to that, I’ll admit. So it might be worth quickly reaffirming that anyone who would walk around wearing a fur cloak in real life isn’t going to look cool, they’re going to look like an absolute wanker. Not a big deal, though. Not one worth much of a ruckus.

I hope I’m not annoying anyone by keeping this topic active (which is probably the kind of thing PETA is ultimately aiming for with these media stunts) and shifting between points of view. Just call me a susceptible conversationalist. I consider it a harmless, inoffensive topic, mildly interesting to discuss with a cool head but of little weight either way.