newslib / CC

As a towheaded tyke in Dallas years ago (how many years ago I'm not saying), I loved nothing more than to visit Six Flags Over Texas. It seemed like an enchanted wonderland of whimsy and harmless thrills ….

Obviously, those days are long gone.

In a sure sign of desperation, Six Flags Inc.—whose stock has been performing so poorly that it's in danger of losing its listing on the New York Stock Exchange—has decided that the way to drum up business is to have park visitors eat bugs. We can only be glad that these financial geniuses weren't responsible for writing the recent bank bailout legislation, right?

Now, you may recall that Six Flags recently announced that it was going to end the horrible cockroach-eating stunts of the past couple of years during its Halloween-themed "Fright Fest." So, to pretend it's being true to its word, it's announced that it still won't use cockroaches this year—instead it'll offer other kinds of bugs to eat, such as "superworms, larvae, caterpillars, cicadas, night crawlers, crickets, and grasshoppers." Boy, that should make for some delightful childhood memories, huh?

When Six Flags originally announced the end of cockroach-eating, its public relations manager, Sue Carpenter, said, "We're on to other Fright Fest events that do not include any living creatures!" So, what's the dealie? Last we checked, crickets, caterpillars, and grasshoppers were living creatures—and not at all eager to be chewed up so some yahoo can have cuts in the rollercoaster line. Plus, it sends a dangerous message to kids that it's okay to harm others to get ahead.

As soon as we got wind of Six Flags' bait-and-switch nonsense, we wrote to its vice president of communications, Sandra Daniels, to express our outrage and offer another chance to do the right thing.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

i76 / CC

Six Flags had been planning to include a live Madagascar Hissing Cockroach–eating challenge as part of their Halloween "Fright Fest" festivities.

So we wrote and explained that encouraging teenagers (or anyone!) to hurt and kill even the smallest life form "just for fun" can desensitize them to suffering in general. Besides, all insects, like them or not, play a role in our ecosystem. And there's also the small matter of health risks like allergic reactions, nausea, and gastrointestinal distress—humans, you may realize, are not meant to eat giant hissing cockroaches.

Six Flags agreed! Six Flags public relations manager Sue Carpenter said, "We're on to other Fright Fest events that do not include any living creatures!"

Roller coasters, Halloween, and no harm to animals? Sounds great to me!

We're so glad that Six Flags has decided to pursue only animal-friendly events that we're sending a small token of our appreciation to Ms. Carpenter—a box of vegan chocolate roaches—completely cruelty-free, maybe a little bit scary, and 100 percent delicious.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

firstshowing / CC

Tonight marks the release of another animal-free (and human-free) flick from the awesome folks at Pixar. The upcoming blockbuster WALL-E features a lonely robot on an abandoned planet whose only friend is a cockroach—portrayed in a very cute and cuddly manner without being anthropomorphized in the least. In this Entertainment Weekly article, the director calls him "our version of Jiminy Cricket"

The friendship between the main character and a cockroach really makes me wonder how much thought folks have put into how incredibly complex and resilient these little guys are and how to humanely control them as opposed to just killing them, which is futile because more will arrive later—and with a score to settle. Heck, you could get so awestruck that you snag a "Crow and Roach" T-shirt to wear out to the theater.

Beyond being pro-roach, the film also has a strong pro-environment message woven in, as WALL-E's "profession" involves compacting trash on the now over-polluted planet Earth. What more could you ask for in a children's movie? They seem to be advocating two hugely important causes and icing it off with the family- and animal-friendly tradition of Pixar. Be sure to grab the nearest 8-year-old and check this one out!

Posted by Sean Conner