Defenders of Wildlife ColBEAR Campaign: On Notice!

I'm not sure how many of you are aware of Defenders of Wildlife's latest campaign for Bear Awareness Week--The ColBEAR Campaign. While the links--"Stephen Colbert's War on Bears" and "Trash Stephen Colbert..and Help Save Some Bears"--don't do the lengthy email newsletters' allegations justice, these outlandish attacks against Stephen Colbert have driven me to composes the following letter to Roger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife President.

To: Rodger Schlickeisen, Defenders of Wildlife President

From: In Medias Res 

Date: 20 May 2011

Subject: ColBEAR Campaign

I’m writing in concern of your recent Bear Awareness Week Campaign—The ColBEAR Campaign—that has been making ridiculous and outlandish allegations against Stephen Colbert with the verbal wit and tongue-in-cheek humor of a two-year-old.

Your most recent attack entitled “Trash Stephen Colbert…and Help Some Bears” is no more humorous than your previous campaigns against Stephen Colbert and begs the question as to whether or not you understand satire and/or sarcasm? In this case it would seem that “sarcasm” should be used as a noun and defined as such, Sar-chasm (n.): The giant gulf between the sarcastic comment and the person who doesn’t get it.

If you had started out your ColBEAR campaign with good humor and jest, then perhaps it could have been successful and not have left people wondering whether you understood that Stephen Colbert is speaking satirically. It’s not until your latest campaign that you state that your “tongue-in-cheek ColBEAR campaign” has been “poking fun at Stephen Colbert for his ridiculous and hilarious attacks on bears”.

You seem to think that Stephen Colbert has been “spreading irrational misinformation and fears about black bears, grizzly bears and polar bears” year after year. The only “irrational misinformation” is your ColBEAR campaign spreading false allegations about Stephen Colbert “viciously and repeatedly” attacking bears. Are you aware that sarcastic segments about bears air on the Colbert Report only a couple of times a year?

While the ColBEAR campaign raised more than $24,000 for polar, grizzly and black bears I’d like to see the Defenders of Wildlife put On Notice for stooping to trash talk against Stephen Colbert in order to fund awareness for bears, instead of attacking the people who are really doing the harm, like so called Animal Rights Activist, Frank Albrecht.

You may recall that German Animal Rights Activist, Frank Albrecht, believed that the captive born baby polar bear, Knut, should be killed after being rejected by his mother. He stated “feeding by hand is not species appropriate but a gross violation of animal protection laws. The zoo must kill the bear”. Perhaps you even remember that segment from the Colbert Report?

It would be in the best interest of Defenders of Wildlife to speak out against those who are actually doing wildlife harm, rather than seeking media attention under false allegations against the host of a satirical news program.

I wish continued success to Defenders of Wildlife for their efforts to aid wildlife and wildlife habitat, as long as it can do so without stooping to the level of a trash talking playground bully. Try to target the right audience, get a sense of humor, and hire an effective writer who will stop you from coming up with ridiculous campaign titles, like ColBEAR. For now you’re still On Notice until those 1,000 plush bears you said you sent to Stephen Colbert show up on the Colbert Report.

Regards,

In Medias Res

While I support Defenders of Wildlife's efforts to help wildlife and wildlife habitat, this campaign has slandered their organization in my eyes. Any wildlife organization seeking false media attention might as well join Paul Watson and the crew of the Sea Shepherd.

Want to share your thoughts? Post in the comments or contact Defenders of Wildlife: defenders@mail.defenders.org