Joanna Krupa, Peta, animal welfare and dackelschnauze

Welcome back!

Dear Reader,

early in the new year, I would like to address a topic with you which has created a lot of attention in the recent weeks and which i think needs to get your attention too from a different point of view. With this article I also want to launch a new series of articles I would like to publish in this year. In this new series I will cover different actual topics and show you what you can learn from this topics for your own life and how you can adopt them into your life, so that you can achieve more fulfillment.

A few weeks ago I had a conversation with my good friend Joanna Krupa on the subject of animal welfare. For those of you who are not familiar with the person Joanna Krupa: The Warsaw-born Joanna Krupa is a globally successful supermodel, which celebrates in Poland and the United States great successes (front page of various magazines, cover of the american Playboy, participant of the tv-show “dancing with the stars” which she finished fourth with her dancing partner – just to name some of her successes) and which has for many years worked for animals in need and actively assists efforts to rescue them. She also was nominated “the sexiest top model in the world”.

Joanna told me of her planned new campaign for PETA. PETA (short for “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals”- an organization engaged in an ethical treatment of animals) a the organization against animal testing, mass attitudes, etc.. When Joanna told me about her new campaign I spontaneously offered her to publicize it to my readers worldwide in several languages. I think that animals need our help and specially the campaign slogan of the campaign “Be an Angel for Animals – adopt instead of buy.” inspired me too. The aim is: people who plan to offer animals as a present for Christmas, should instead rescue a needy four-legged friends from the animal shelter – instead of buying from a breeder or at retail outlets. Peta criticizes for a long period the poor conditions in the international pet trade.

The organization PETA is well known for their provocative campaigns and so the images for Joanna’s campaign where courageous and a little provocative. They show a naked Joanna Krupa as an Angel with Christian symbols and the cross covered all the crucial sexual characteristics on the essentials. From my point of view the presentation of the advertisement is accordingly to the light of action, namely the rescue of animals in need, and uses the media coverage and the attractiveness of the model for a good cause. But get yourself a picture of the following two ads:

Joanna Krupas PETA campaign (adult version)

Joanna Krupas PETA campaign (minor version)

What happened next was expected. An outcry by the media, which was triggered by some Christian organizations, which think the presentation of Christian symbols and the nudity was inappropriate. The criticism of the show goes so far that even the so called “seductive smile” of Joanna Krupa was pulled out of the ads and criticized how”such as smile” can be presented in connection with Christian symbols in this way. And as always in such discussions, this ad has been called in the heat of battle almost as “blasphemy”.

From a marketing or pr perspective the campaign was a “success” because of the large number of discussions on all blogs, forums, TV and radio stations. It has reached a high level of attention. In my view, is extremely unfortunate that the attention was distracted by this discussion of the real goals of the campaign and instead of discussing about “how you can help animals in need” has been debated whether nudity in combination with Christian symbols is a suitable representation.

As you can see in this discussion is that different values lead to different views of the same situation and that such conflicts result in the values of the people to be drawn to absolutism and in the end are neither helpful nor useful for the real purpose. Rather than be aware that every day a variety of animals die or are mistreated and tortured, the Christian camp pulled the discussion over to the representation of symbols.

But they should know it better or not? Just a look into the Bible is sufficient to find a variety of examples in which God or Christ, has just approved of those who have been suspended by the community, and often from the religious community, or despised. The Bible is full of examples where rescued people who did not have a high social status were helped. And do we not find in the Bible’s saying that one should not create a graven image?

So why would such organizations rise to criticize the use of a symbol that was not used negatively in this ad? It was used in a respectful way and is worn to cover herself and to draw attention to something that deserves much more attention. Didn’t offer Jesus Christ in the bible often enough his wardrobe to cover the ones who need it?

If these organizations had made the effort to employ in their criticism a bit more detail with the person of Joanna Krupa, they knew that Joanna is one true Angel when it comes to protect and save animals. Not only that she herself has rescued animals – she sits down wherever she can for the help of an animal. And anyone who has experienced it once, know that she also may set up very hard to ensure the protection of animals, while fighting on the front line. A fact for which one can only admire her.

Faith is helpful and it gives guidance to many people, but faith should never be an end in itself and certainly not be a fanatic. We so called “thinking people” should always allow ourselves to ask if the practical implementation of our faith is leading us into a better world or into more fanaticism. And where fanaticism leads mankind has shown us the history of mankind often enough.

If the qualities of our life is guided by the questions we ask ourselves, then the Christian critics (and each other critics as well) should ask themselves how many endangered animals they have helped on and how many animals were saved. For if the Christian critics of this campaign take their faith seriously, and so vehemently defend the symbols of this faith, they should also take into practice their beliefs. Already in the Bible, which is cited so fond of these critics, has shown us how valuable is forgiveness, and how helpful it is to other people halfway and just those that most were convicted, those were the ones chosen by Jesus or God.

Remember, is already in the Bible:

“The one of you who is without sin cast the first stone.”

I waited with this article deliberately until the Christmas season is over, because right now it is particularly bad for many animals. Animals that were given away as a Christmas present and now fill the shelters, because the recipient does not want to deal with the responsibility and realize that animals are after all living beings, for which one needs to worry about. So today I would like to invite you with this article to donate. Support organizations such as PETA. Or, if you hold these big organizations for too big just go for small projects.

Such a small project is www.dackelschnauze.com that my good friend Judith Rüstmann and Susanne Deparade had launched. Both ladies are dedicated young women who have decided for themselves to make a difference in the lives of dogs who live on the street or in shelters.

Animal Welfare Project www.dackelschnauze.com

To this end, they support an animal shelter in Pascani / Romania, which are maintained in stray dogs. They support this shelter, with its own resources, as well as donations and they succeeded not only to improve the lives of dogs in Romania, but they have also found new homes for 12 dogs from Pascani in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

A project that I think it’s worth supporting in any case and I will also provide active support in this new year in which we donate a part of our revenue to this project so they can save even more dogs. You will foind more information just here www.dackelschnauze.com.

Tell me what you think about these article and leave a comment with your opinion. We look forward to hear from you and to engage with you in a great conversation. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your coach Nuno F. Assis