CNN’s headline reads: “Animal rights activist on FBI’s ‘Most Wanted Terrorists” list.”  One would think that the FBI was compiling its terrorist list in the same manner that Janet Napolitano makes her “right wing extremist” statements; however, one needs to read until the fifth paragraph to determine why he was put on the list.  Prior to that, there are two statements about the terrorist’s vegan eating habits.

This is appalling on several levels.  The idea that a vegan cannot/should not be a terrorist is silly; some vegans seem to espouse a hatred of the human race, which would incite them to violence against one animal (i.e. humans) while refusing to harm other animals.  Second of all, anyone who is familiar with PETA – and their habit of executing over 90% of the animals in their care – is well aware that many people who promote animal rights are hypocrites.  Furthermore, this man is first and foremost a terrorist: he bombed buildings because they maybe, sort of, could have had a connection with animal testing labs.  The logical conclusion of all of this is to throw acid on the faces of women who wear make-up, assault people who buy shampoo from Wal-Mart, and set fire to every Outback Steakhouse, as they are supporting animal-testing labs or animal cruelty.  Civilised people recognise such actions, however, as wrong, not as something that those big, mean FBI agents will use to lump you in with all those hard-core terrorists.

Finally, the way that CNN reports this – calling the terrorist who bombed buildings an “animal rights activist” – is asinine.  Al Qaeda is not made up of “religious rights activists;” we recognise that activism is a peaceful means of achieving one’s ends.  Sadly, CNN does all activists a disservice with its latest reporting.