Joan Jett: Why ranchers are upset over Macy's parade choice

Joan Jett, a vegetarian, will perform in the South Dakota float in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Some ranchers are rankled because Joan Jett is an animal rights advocate.

Some South Dakota farmers and ranchers are upset by the selection of singer-guitarist Joan Jett, a vegetarian and animal rights advocate, to perform on the state's float in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts are scheduled to appear at the annual event in New York City, riding on the float that promotes South Dakota tourism and the Mount Rushmore National Memorial located in the Black Hills.

South Dakota Cattlemen's Association President Cory Eich, who farms and ranches near Canova in eastern South Dakota, said Wednesday he thinks it was a mistake to select Jett because she is a supporter of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which promotes a vegetarian diet and criticizes livestock production practices. Her stands don't mesh with South Dakota, a state where the cattle industry makes up a huge part of the economy, he said. The Rapid City Journal first reported some South Dakota residents were upset with the pick.

"To me, it seems like a huge blunder," Eich said. "I guess I couldn't disapprove more. I don't understand what they were thinking."

South Dakota Tourism Secretary Jim Hagen said many people have mistakenly assumed state officials selected Jett to appear on the float. None of the artists the state proposed were available or willing to appear in the parade, so Macy's selected Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, he said.

"It's not because of any ill will Macy's is trying to create or anything," Hagen said. "They were just trying to do what they thought would be a great artist for us."

Hagen said state officials are sensitive to the concerns of the livestock industry, particularly since tens of thousands of cattle and other livestock were killed in the massive rain and snow storm that hit western South Dakota in early October.

Larry Gabriel, a former state lawmaker and state agriculture secretary who ranches near Quinn in western South Dakota, said Jett is entitled to her beliefs, but he hopes she doesn't use her appearance on South Dakota's float to promote her vegetarian beliefs or PETA.

Kristen Foster, a spokeswoman for Jett, said that Jett has played in South Dakota countless times and is a fan of the state. Jett just accepted a gracious offer to appear on South Dakota's float, she said.

Dan Mathews, senior vice president of PETA, said the livestock industry is being defensive because it is the South Dakota industry most destructive to the environment, human health and animals.

"We're surprised that ranchers want to draw attention to themselves by being crybabies over the appearance of a vegetarian icon such as Joan Jett on the state's float," Mathews said in an email.

Eich, of the Cattlemen's Association, said PETA wants to destroy animal agriculture and added that farmers and ranchers treat their animals well.

"You don't mistreat your livelihood," Eich said.

Hagen said the state paid $175,000 to support the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and have a float in the event, and $5,000 of that goes to pay expenses for the artist on the float.

Hagen earlier had said Jett is a rock 'n' roll legend who appeals to a generation of visitors that South Dakota wants to attract.

He noted that more than 3 million people are expected to watch the parade on the streets of New York, with more than 50 million watching the event on television nationwide.

"It's never been about the artist for us in terms of who's on that float. It's about the fact that Mount Rushmore and South Dakota can be seen and heard by tens of millions of people," the tourism secretary said.

Neil Diamond appeared on South Dakota's float in 2011, and Don McLean, singer of "American Pie," appeared last year.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Joan Jett: Why ranchers are upset over Macy's parade choice
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/1114/Joan-Jett-Why-ranchers-are-upset-over-Macy-s-parade-choice
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe