Shut-up Stupid Sunday: Angelina Jolie and PETA

Sometimes stupid rises to a new level, and the story of Angelina’s new purse made of horsehair really pushes the envelope for stupid.

If you haven’t heard about this, good for you. You’ve spared your brain from some idiotic swill. Basically Angelina received a gift of an Akris ecru horsehair bag, a bag made from horsehair. PETA raised a fuss over that.

I had two ponies when I was young, so I know I little bit more than I want to about horsehair. Horses and Ponies grow a winter coat of hair during the winter just like dogs and many other animals. In the spring they shed this coat, with dogs the amount hair can be annoying, with horses and ponies the hair filled the barn in the spring and we had to rake it up (not a metaphor we had to use an actual rake) and put it out in a pile for the birds to use for their nests.

For the longer hair on their manes they got mats and tangles just like human hair and had to either be braided or cut to stay straight. My one pony loved having his hair braided and tied off with red ribbons. He would prance around all proud for a few days after. My other pony would do everything possible to get rid of the braids so we ended up giving him a trim instead.

Making a bag or any other garment out of horsehair is merely taking the hair that would have to be thrown away and using it for another purpose, if it replaces fur all the better.

So to anyone upset over Angelina Jolie accepting a horsehair bag I say, “Shut-up Stupid, the horsehair is something you get from taking care of your horse.”