Hi folks-
 
As delighted as I was with Ben Stiller's apology (and I was!), I must
weight in and say that I DO support writing polite, persuasive letters to
the hen-party...er, ladies...on The View asking them to take back some of
their comments.  While I respect anyone feeling as though ferrets would
not be the ideal pet for themselves, I contacted them in regard to the
comments I found distasteful such as the reference to making fur coats
out of ferrets as well as the comment that ferret owners should "get a
life" in regard to their squealing discovery that there was a magazine
(two, to be accurate!) devoted to ferrets.
 
While I find these comments less harmful and less offensive than Mr.
Stiller's comments, I do feel that it's important to speak up when the
idea of keeping ferrets as pets comes under fire or is presented as a
negative or unsavory choice.  The reason for this is that there is
considerable action being taken to make ALL animals classified as
"exotic" illegal to own as pets.  I believe this was discussed in some
detail at the Atlanta Symposium.  This is a very frightening prospect to
me as a ferret owner (and someone who doesn't want my pets taken away).
This moves me to defend ferrets - not every single time someone mutters
that they don't like ferrets, but when comments are made very publicly
that denounce the idea of keeping ferrets as pets or question the wisdom
of having them legal to own.
 
My communication to each of the ladies at The View is as follows:
 
I just wanted to let you know that I am an ABC viewer who was very
disappointed at the negative comments made about ferrets on a recent
episode of your show.  While I respect the right to people's opinions,
and Ms. Aniston and all of you are welcome to not embrace ferrets as
the ideal pet for yourselves, it was quite cruel and unthinking, as
well as disrespectful and frankly disgusting, to say such rude and
negative things about ferrets and especially to refer to ferrets in
terms of fur coats.  Ferrets are the #3 pet behind cats and dogs in
terms of popularity and numbers in households; would you suggest that
perhaps cats or dogs be used for fur coats?
 
In response to the comment that ferret owners need to "get a life" in
response to your discovery that there is a magazine devoted to pet
ferrets, I can only ask why this would not apply to those who read cat
magazines, dog magazines, horse magazines, bird magazines, etc.  I am
frankly quite surprised that a show that relies on steady viewership
would choose to thoughtlessly categorize thousands of ferret owners as
people who need to "get a life".
 
I realize that in the interest of maintaining the "hen party" atmosphere
of the show you perhaps indulged in this behavior and these remarks to
an extent that (I hope) you do not truly feel.  If you have any sense of
fairness, you will invite someone onto your show to display the playful,
affectionate, companionable nature of ferrets and perhaps explain to
you all some of the facts about ferrets that you displayed a rampant
ignorance of on your recent broadcast, much to the dismay of many ferret
lovers and owners.
 
In closing, I am someone who keeps five ferrets as cherished, friendly,
affectionate pets.  I am also a professional person who "has a life" -
and I will make a point of NOT watching "The View" since you have no
qualms about making rude comments such as these about something I care
deeply about.
 
 
The easiest way to contact the ladies at The View is to go to the home
page of their website at http://abc.go.com/daytime/theview/index.html.
In the upper left-hand corner are four links, one to email each of them
(and the automated responses you get back insist that they read their
email, so hopefully at least one of them will see the message!).  I
wrote my email in Word and then as I opened each link to email them, I
just pasted the reply inside each box.  They don't give you direct email
addresses; you have to go through this system.
 
Again I express my extreme satisfaction with the recent efforts of Mr.
Stiller to retract his harmful statements about ferrets and to repair
some of the damage by publicly engaging in handling and interacting with
ferrets in a positive manner.  Whether it was "sincere" or not - and
unless we can get inside his head, how will we ever know that?  - the
positive image it projected reached thousands and thousands of people
and hopefully helped foster a "warm and fuzzy" view of ferrets.  I
also cherish it as perhaps the only public, high-profily apology ferrets
and ferret-lovers may see in my lifetime, so I am extra-determined to
enjoy it!
 
Now, maybe there will be a second miracle and those pin-heads at The View
will apologize for what were very unnecessary and potentially harmful
comments.  I'll "stay tuned" for it...!
 
-Heather W.
Massachusetts
[Posted in FML issue 4398]