Jan22
Hey, 'Sea Kitten High' ... Don't be Hatin'
Posted at 03:27 PM | Permalink
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Comments (23)
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The school's sourpuss attitude went to a whole new level when Spearfish students created T-shirts that poke fun at our request for the name change. Pshaw.
Not ones to back down, we got our creative juices flowing and pumped out some very fine "Save the Sea Kittens" shirts, which we shipped off yesterday to Spearfish Principal Steve Morford, along with a letter urging him to provide them as an alternative to students who are sympathetic to the plight of sea kittens. You can read our full letter here.
While the whole name-change request may be a bit tongue-in-cheek (Did you like the line about how it's better to be tongue-in-cheek than have a hook in the mouth? Someone deserves a raise!), our message that our finned friends deserve compassion is certainly serious.
Haters, if you're reading this, just note that all the proud "carnivores" who poked fun at my vegetarian ways when I was in high school are still living in their parents' basement and have gained about 50 pounds each. Best of luck to you.
Posted by Christine Doré
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I think it's great that you guys want to help fish (I'm an animal activist 100%!) and it's awesome but maybe trying to get a school (especially a high school) to change their name to "SEA KITTENS HIGH" is going a bit too overboard. I don't believe the name Spearfish is too suggestive as to want to change the name.
Posted by: Izzy | January 22, 2009 04:09 PM
seriously? what is offensive about spearfish? You know how bad it would be to have a school named Sea Kitten? that would be quite embarressing, don't you think?
Posted by: Dan | January 22, 2009 04:53 PM
If my school were called Spearfish High I would be soooooooooo psyched to have it changed.
How amazing would it be to have a Sea Kitten as your school's mascot? Just imagine it--"And here are your very own Fighting Sea Kittens!!!"
Hella yeah!
Posted by: Noah | January 22, 2009 05:44 PM
Wow, some people have no sense of humor. Requesting that the highschool change it's name was a publicity stunt designed to raise public awareness. Just shows how thick the animal eaters are. Puh-lease you'd have to be thick headed to eat filthy artery clogging, cruel animal foods. ...and as for defending spearing fish ???? Huh? anything better to do with your time such as championing PROTECTING animals versus championing HURTING animals?
Posted by: Vegan4animals | January 22, 2009 06:29 PM
This issue always makes me giggle. I wouldn't REALLY want the name of my school changed to Sea Kitten High, but I do appreciate the humor. VERY much.
I love fish - I have several tanks (largest is 74 gallons) that I use to adopt "pet" fish who no longer are wanted, or are being neglected. I always try to explain how wonderfully sensitive their mouths and eyes are, and how they recognize each other, and rustle their tank decor around until it suits them. They're curious, territorial, and beautiful... just like us!
And a high-5 to the writer for the comment about gaining 50 pounds... I went vegan and lost over 80 pounds over a slow and steady course of years... naturally!! I went from a high of 212 to 128 as of today, there is a comparison photo on my website, too, go look! I'm not a beauty queen, but I'm not going to die of clogged arteries either. (^_^)
I wish more people in the world would be more aware of how fragile and wonderful our fishy friends really are.
Posted by: Meech! | January 22, 2009 07:46 PM
"Sea Kitten High" is embarassing? And "Spearfish" isn't?? Okaaay..... Having a high school with the name "Spearfish" makes it sound like the school is some 1800's cabin in the backwoods where the only subjects studied are fishing and hunting. On the other hand, if MY high school were named "Sea Kitten High", I'd immediately sign up for the cheerleading (or dancing, or chorus, etc.) team so I could flirtatiously proclaim that I'm a sea kitten! ;) Whining about it just makes a person sound spoiled and like they think the world revolves around them. And anyone who wants to hate on fish IS that way.
Posted by: Lemnear | January 22, 2009 10:42 PM
Christine, lol!!!
Posted by: Carla | January 23, 2009 10:11 AM
Dear Sea Kitten Supporters,
It is absolutely ridiculous to ask us to change our name. I can defintiely see the point that PETA wants to convey with the "sea kittens" but frankly we weren't named Spearfish to try to promote the gruesome killing of fish. We were given the name Spearfish because of the strong Native American heritage in the area. I believe that we should honor our heritage keep our name.
Posted by: Spearfish Student | January 23, 2009 10:26 AM
I'm a vegan and a peta2 street team member, and i must say their name promotes absolutely no harm to the fish species. Spearfish is a type of fish. Google It!
If their name were "spear-fishing high" then that would be promoting cruelty to our so called "sea-kittens", a name I refuse to add to my vocabulary.
Posted by: mike | January 23, 2009 11:00 AM
As a South Dakota resident and PETA member this is disgraceful to our state. If you had done any research about the history of this state you would understand how ignorant your request is.
In the 1800s the Native Americans were the owners of this land that the current Spearfish lies on. We stole this land from them when we struck gold in this area. We keep the names of these landmarks because of their historical significance.
I understand that you want to get your point across that fishing is cruel. Making this name change would strike up a whole different battle that is beyond PETA's control. You can't change names that have been set there from historic events. PERIOD.
Posted by: Ericka | January 23, 2009 06:59 PM
@Lemnear
First of all Spearfish sounds like the bad ass relative to the sword fish. In reality its not that dumb. If you want to talk about embarassing names for a high school then let me mention that I went to Longwood. Atleast spearfish isn't a hilarious sexual innuendo that got real old real quick.
2) Its a free world. If people wish to protest to keep the name of the school Spearfish is it any less a waste of time for PETA to protest the name being changed to Sea Kitten?
Posted by: Pepsi One Is Fun | January 23, 2009 10:18 PM
How do I get a sea kitten high Tshirt? I really want one.
Posted by: Steve arntt | January 24, 2009 08:42 PM
Wow, reading these comments, I am amazed how how many stubbornly literal people there are out there. Peta does not expect the school to really change its name--though if it did, they would rejoice--they are just trying to make a point. People really need to lighten up and stop bristling in automatic, negative defense whenever the acronym PETA is mentioned. They are only trying to make this world a better place for both people AND animals! GO PETA!!!!
Posted by: Christina | January 25, 2009 08:55 PM
@Christina
If the acronym has done things that some people might consider underhanded to get publicity no matter what kind of impact it might have on the acronym's standings to other people then the acronym must learn to deal with it.
Posted by: Pepsi One is Fun | January 26, 2009 09:57 AM
Surely the term "fishing" should now be "sea kitten-ing"?
And "Spearfish" would technically be "Spear sea kitten"?
As a British chap I find this poor grammar distasteful ;)
Posted by: Matt | January 26, 2009 02:50 PM
Dear PETA Fanatics, I'm a lover of fish...eating fish that is. But I do have an Idea for your next target. Attack Brittany Spears. Her last name SCREAMS "I'm a Fisherma!" My last name happens to be Speirs. My calculous teacher's last name is Spear. Our neighboring city, Deadwood promotes the killing of trees and should be renamed "Tender Sappling". This is only fair and reasonalble. By the way, thank you so much for the publicity this has given our school. We are raking in hundreds of dollars on OUR version of the seakitten shirt!
Posted by: Fishermen | January 26, 2009 02:50 PM
lol... listen to all of this back and forth passive-aggressive banter. Love it!
I like the school name the way it is. Stop picking on each other. The "Sea Kitten" campaign is fun on its own. :)
Posted by: Meech! | January 27, 2009 06:08 PM
Honestly, how anal do you have to be to be offended by "Sea Kittens"? What a bunch of priggish little crybabies.
Posted by: lynda downie | January 27, 2009 09:51 PM
my daughter would love to see her school name changed to sea kitten, she had so much fun creating her own sea kitten and then edditing them with paint (she is 5 years old) and I would like too it sounds so cute would be much cuter than the actual name of her school (in english it would be something like : our lady of the seven pain)!
Posted by: Jadey | January 29, 2009 01:27 PM
hello this is the first time I have ever went to this website and i love it . i think its great that you care about animals and how you made your own website
p.s. i didnt come for the stickers
Posted by: Dara | January 30, 2009 02:38 PM
Heard about the Sea Kittens all the way down here in Louisiana. Friends in San Francisco told me about it. Thought is was quited humorous. Why don't you hold off wasting natural resources to send T-shirts to a principal that is going to throw them away. Do what you can to protect animals and the environment. Think before you act if you want to prove a point.
Posted by: Chris | February 19, 2009 12:10 AM
Dear PETA and Sea Kitten supporters,
As a student of Spearfish high School and opposer of the name change I'd like to clear a few things up (from our point of view)
First off the only reason we sold t-shirts was a way to raise money for the senior class and we all found it quite ridiculous to change our high schools name because it is named after our lil South Dakota town Spearfish which was named after the native americans.
were not cruel to fish, we do fish here but fish are a part of our community they live in our lakes, creeks and fish hatcherys.
We were poking fun at the name not the cause, we are the Spearfish Spartans NOT the Sea Kitten Sea kittens...Who wants to be a fish? seriously
Helping the fish and our sea "friends" as you put it is great but couldn't you come up with a better name
one good thing came from this, our small town got publicity
Posted by: Jean | April 17, 2009 12:05 AM
First off, people that are trying to change the name of "Spearfish" to "Sea Kitten"... yes all of us here in South Dakota realize that animal rights people hate the name because it demotes fish. What everyone is neglecting is the way life is lived here in South Dakota, PETA is trying to change the name of one of our cities that we all throughout the state travel to, play sports against, and many friends of ours reside there. When reading the comments about people who are "unwilling" to change the name from "Spearfish" to "Sea Kittens" and calling them stubborn, change your towns name first to "Sea Kitten" instead of driving it down on ours that you don't even live here. People that don't even live in this state don't realize how big of an issue it was to change a name we have all grown up around, just to please some pencil-pusher of PETA and its followers. You cannot tell me that PETA's hard work through all of their employee's best ideas came the name "Sea Kittens" to change an entire town/communtity. Spearfish is not a town where the only objective is to hurt animals, the reason its called Spearfish is because the town is actually reciding on Native American territory so by respect the town in a sense is named as is. In no way does Spearfish as a community promote cruelty to ANY animals in ANY way. If PETA is really concerned about the name maybe they should talk to some of my Native American friend's names such as "Beartrap", he is still waiting for his letter from PETA to change his name.
Posted by: Tony | October 13, 2009 05:30 PM