06 December,2018 04:35 PM IST | | mid-day online correspondent
Twitteratti had a field day on Tuesday when People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) tweeted terming that particular animal-based idioms are homophobic and racist. The animal rights group claimed that idioms like 'beating a dead horse' or 'catching a bull by the horns' promote cruelty towards animals in a certain way and suggested replacing these terms with neutral statements.
Suggesting idioms like 'flogging/beating a dead horse' and 'catching a bull by the horns', PETA said that these terms can be replaced with "feeding the fed horse" and "catching a flower by the thorns" respectively in order to avoid "Specism"- a term which the organisation call it for using phrases and language targetting race, gender and special needs.
Furthermore, PETA also suggested using 'bring home the bagel' instead of 'bring home the bacon'. In another post, the group also argued that the use of language should also be evolved in the same way as our understanding of social justice has evolved over time.
"Just as it became unacceptable to use racist, homophobic, or ableist language, phrases that trivialize cruelty to animals will vanish as more people begin to appreciate animals for who they are..." it added.
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The post has irked several people on social media. Many Twitterattis have started raining 'cats and dogs' with memes and further suggestions.
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