Tennessee Says 'F-U' To Tofu-Loving PETA Member Over 'Obscene' License Plate

The Tennessee Department of Revenue, Taxpayer and Vehicle Services Division rejected a PETA employee's proposed personalized license plate -- "ILVTOFU" -- citing "vulgarity."

Whitney Calk, a PETA employee who recently moved to Murfreesboro, Tenn., from Virginia, wanted her license plate to "inspire conversation about the benefits of a vegan diet" and eating foods like tofu, according to PETA spokeswoman Kristin Richards.

The Department of Revenue, however, apparently misunderstood the food reference and misread the message as "I-LV-TO-F-U."

"Tofu is wholesome. What's 'vulgar' is the way that animals used for food suffer on factory farms, in slaughterhouses, and on the decks of fishing boats," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a statement.

"The Department of Revenue could help animals, the planet, and human health by reconsidering its decision and allowing more people to discover the joy of soy," Reiman continued.

Calk's license plate request is not original. In 2009, a Colorado woman failed in her attempts to have the same wording put on her personalized license plate over concerns that it could be seen as obscene.

"We're concerned about others who may misread the plate," Mark Couch, spokesman for Colorado Department of Motor Vehicles, told KMGH-TV in April 2009.

No word yet on whether the Tennessee Department of Revenue is reconsidering its decision.

Comments

[cardinalkeith86]

07:08 AM on 09/18/2011

That misses the point. What is embarrassing is finding obscenity where it doesn't exist. A real prude would never derive such an interpretation from it, or someone whose native language isn't English.

What lingusitic phenomenon prompts anyone to read the first two letters of "tofu" as one word, but then the last two letters as abbreviations for two other words, which of course must conveniently represent a vulgar expression, with an implied space in-between them? That's quite a stretch, to say the least. You would have to go out of your way to read it like a rebus, and it's not very creative to begin with, but extremely childish.

Maybe you think Kung Fu, Egg Foo Yung, fugu (pufferfish) and the Hebrew letter kof (it's Hebrew, after all, so it's mean to be read backwards) must also be bad words, too. I mean, just look at them. Really look. Isn't it obvious? See, I can play Boggle and Scrabble, too. It's child's play.

Time to grow up and stop seeing vulgarity in places where it isn't warranted.

[YoureSoShain]

06:09 AM on 09/18/2011

What a bunch of prudish babies we are. This country is embarrassing.

[cardinalkeith86]

08:50 PM on 09/17/2011

Bet most of you think JFK, RFK, Fukushima, F Troop and KFC are also innuendos, too.

[WHOGIVESADAMN pluh]

09:59 PM on 09/16/2011

All they had to do was change it to "TOFUSUX" and they would be fine...

[Sid Monique]

09:44 PM on 09/16/2011

I love it :D

[desertsapien]

09:36 PM on 09/16/2011

Should have read "LVTOFU2"

[section 8]

04:33 PM on 09/16/2011

OH EVOM was a license plate that actually made it through California DMV and was issued...I saw it in my rearview one day on a really big truck.

[sedagive42]

11:47 AM on 09/16/2011

Ah, might mis read? Our world is now for the lowest common denominator.

[Eric Shin]

11:28 AM on 09/16/2011

I don't know one human being that loves tofu. They are like the Mythical creatures that people claim exist but have let to meet one and I'm Asian. Same thing with Brown rice unless you count Sarah Palin. Rimshot! Even with allergies my jokes will not be subdued.

[camanokat]

06:30 PM on 09/17/2011

I love baked seasoned tofu, but rarely eat it since unfermented soy is not very healthy.

[Eric Shin]

09:27 PM on 09/17/2011

If you can eat baked tofu without the seasoning then come back and say you love tofu. Plain tofu is like Pamela Anderson without a boob job.

[miniartcreator]

06:44 PM on 09/17/2011

Jokes?

[Eric Shin]

09:27 PM on 09/17/2011

Miserable?

[Priscilla Files]

11:25 AM on 09/16/2011

"stupid" although "stupin" might be a new appropriate word. Sorry.

[Priscilla Files]

11:24 AM on 09/16/2011

This is just really stupin on all accounts. 1. Tofu tastes really bad unless disguised in a good pad thai, and the texture is disgusting as well - one of the most processed foods on the planet (soymilk's not bad, but almond milk is better) and 2. the license plate folks are just ignorant - quit trying to "protect" us from our own thoughts - talk about regulating "freedom"! Geez!

[Js420]

10:58 AM on 09/16/2011

Iv'e seen real, far more offensive bumper stickers. So, cant get the plates, slap on a sticker.

[yakmeat]

10:51 AM on 09/16/2011

What about the always classic:

3M TA3

Only offensive when viewed in the rear-view mirror.

[camanokat]

06:33 PM on 09/17/2011

License plate seen in L.A. about 20 years ago:
ILV2BE10

I wonder if it's still around. Took me a bit to figure it out.

[blkrvr]

10:23 AM on 09/16/2011

PETA; = People Eat The Animals there peta stick that on ur license plate

[reebops]

10:04 AM on 09/16/2011

It's funny that PETA finds this vulgar, but their sexual exploitation of women and killing of animals is not vulgar...?
PETA is the worst. I am vegan and so anti-PETA. Will never understand those who support the organization, especially women.

[Js420]

10:59 AM on 09/16/2011

What are you talking about!?

[Chinosabroso]

12:52 AM on 09/17/2011

Did you even read the article?