A Few Words for Steven Kolb and PETA

I recently watched footage of an interaction between CFDA President Steven Kolb and a PETA protester at the COS fashion show in New York. What disturbed me almost as much as the footage was the commentary circulating on social media. Some people defended Kolb, while others simply seemed to enjoy seeing a PETA protester mistreated.

If I were a judge in a court of law, and both individuals stood before me, this is what I’d say:

To the protester:

I don’t care what organization you belong to or what you believe. You are entitled to your beliefs. But how dare you go to someone else's event with the intention of disrupting it and making trouble for others?

If you believe animals deserve greater legal protections, then work to change the laws. Get out there and recruit people to your cause through education and respectful channels. Because right now, your position is a belief, and you cannot force others to share it, much less harass them for disagreeing with you.

Imagine someone barging into your home uninvited, yelling at you because you refuse to wear animal products. You would find that behavior bizarre and completely unacceptable, wouldn’t you? And rightly so. Yet that’s precisely the kind of behavior you’ve decided is acceptable when directed at someone whose beliefs differ from your own.

To Mr. Kolb:

A human being entered an event and disrupted the proceedings. She wasn’t armed, and she wasn’t threatening anyone with violence. I don’t care how important that event was to you or how irritating you found her behavior. You had no right to physically mistreat her.

You’re the president of the CFDA. You’re a leader, and leaders are influencers. Your behavior sets an example, whether you intend it to or not. And what kind of example have you set? That it’s acceptable to physically mistreat someone because you don’t like what they’re doing?

Just as the protester had no right to impose her beliefs on you, you had no right to take your frustrations out on her.

My ruling?

I order you both to perform community service. The protester must compensate COS for any and all damages her behavior caused. And Mr. Kolb, I call for your immediate dismissal from your position as president of the CFDA. Someone in a leadership position who sets such a dangerous example has no business remaining in that position.