For example, there was an article about punk rock music and animal rights (Oct 95) and this quote caught my attention: "To end the enslavement and the slaughter the antidote is veganism. Don't let your outrage for injustice end where your selfishness begins. I have conquered through self control... A peaceful world can evolve after animal liberation." It's from Earth Crisis who, at the time, was a popular and militant straightedge band (apparently they were described as "New York Vegans", whatever that means).
The song is "Eden's Demise".
I need to start listening to more animal rights-based music...even if I did grow out of hardcore music years ago. It's gotta be better than the shit out there right now.
This article was very informative as well. It aligns itself with my belief that animal testing is outmoded, unsafe, unreliable, and dangerous to humans.
This quote, by Carol Adams, is insightful, People who eat animals are benefiting from a dominant/subordinate relationship, but our culture encourages invisibility of the structures enabling this, and invisibility of the animals hurt by this. Indeed, the animals are seen as unified masses. There is a complete denial of their individuality, so that it is not seen as subordination. We see meat as the ontological reason for animals' existence, that they are there to be eaten. But when you talk about intervening with an ecofeminist care-ethic, one of the things we need to say is, "What are you going through?"
Or finding this out, though I knew that it is standard practice to feed factory-farmed animals other dead animals..mixed in with their feed (and, wtf?, these are herbivorous animals! Why they're being fed flesh is a sickening travesty brought on by the huge demand humans have for animal consumption. Eew): Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) or "mad cow disease." For a number of years, until the late 1980s, British farmers fed their cattle a concoction of animal remains including dead sheep's brains infected, it so happened, with a degenerative disease called "scrapie." Soon, tens of thousands of cows were exhibiting behavior such as disorientation, muscle spasm and collapse, and finally death. Autopsies revealed their brains to be full of holes, like sponges. You are what you eat....
Or this, There is, of course, one final irony. When we have imported the baboon's liver, the pig's heart, the cow's spleen, and whatever else into our body — maybe we'll start recognizing that there's not such a moral difference between human and non-human animals, now that the physiological difference is diminished to almost zero. I doubt it somehow. I agree. I mean, why is it ok to implant animal body parts into our own bodies but still refuse them status as fellow beings? Yes, we're different species but we all live on the same planet, sharing its resources, though we humans have done a bang-up job on gobbling up most of them. Literally.
This article, by Matt Ball, about being vegan is just as true today as it was when this was published, in 1996.
Just like these tips for effective letter writing:
Ideas are powerful. Most of us have opinions and when we feel strongly will spend much time talking about them. But talking is not enough. Doing is what makes activists effective.
Writing letters to the editor is a simple and effective way of taking action. Letters to the editor are powerful tools. The letters section is one of the most widely read parts of a newspaper or magazine. Your letter can reach thousands and even millions of readers. And beyond the cost of a stamp, it won't cost you a penny for typesetting, paper or distribution.
It you need to write 20 letters until one gets printed, it's well worth the effort. And even when your letters are not printed, they alert the editors to readers' interest in an issue. Occasionally a letter can touch a nerve or spark a dialogue which continues for days, weeks and sometimes even months.
It has been our experience that certain steps can maximize your chances of getting that letter printed.
• Before putting pen to paper or finger to keyboard, know exactly what you want to say.
• Whenever possible, bring new information or a fresh perspective to the subject.
• Ideally, you'll address an item which just appeared in a publication. Respond immediately. Don't spend undue time trying to craft the perfect masterpiece. By the time you succeed, editorial interest in the issue may be long gone.
• Let your words ring reasonable, rational, and well thought-out.
• It's okay to be critical, but don't come across as nasty or hysterical. A reasonable tone is usually persuasive, insults are usually not.
• If at all possible, stick to just one issue. It keeps things uncomplicated.
• A well chosen headline can help keep you and your readers sharply focused.
• Familiarity with the letters page will suggest what kind of letters the editors tend to select for publication. Write with this in mind.
• Write as if you're talking to another person and want to hold their interest.
• Keep your language simple. Try to make it flow naturally with short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.
• Avoid trite phrases and clich..s.
If your writing skills are a work-in-progress, consider starting small. It may be a lot easier to get your feet wet with a community paper rather than starting at the top with major national publications.
Once your letter gets published, make copies and circulate them for additional impact. Take advantage of the ripple effect. Encourage your friends and colleagues to do the same. And if your letter doesn't get published, don't give up. Keep trying. A well written letter with something to say will inevitably wind up where it deserves to be. In print!
Or, how to be an activist:
Civil Disobedience (CD) - breaking the law of the day to argue for a greater goal - has been used as a form of activism for many years. Both Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. used it. Ben White lays down some philosophical ground rules for those who feel they wish to undertake CD. The following is not intended as a recommendation to undertake CD; that is entirely a personal decision.
1. Challenging the infliction of suffering is the right thing to do. Feel proud. If you act like a criminal, you will be treated as one.
2. Treat everyone - police, your opponents, the press - as potential converts. Be persuasive, not angry.
3. Be peaceful. Completely. If verbally attacked, smile. If physically attacked, protect yourself without responding in kind. Look the person in the eye.
4. Remember why you are doing it - to keep from personally acquiescing to suffering. The more oppressive the treatment of you, the more obvious the institutional protection of systemic violence.
5. There is power in numbers.
6. Come across as a normal person. Otherwise your opinion is considered by many to be worthless.
7. Know your subject. Don't answer any question from the media that you're not sure of.
8. Appeal to the inherent sense of fairness in your opponent or the police who are encountered.
Tips for preventing burnout:
• Don't mourn, organize! The last words of the great labor organizer Joe Hill before his execution early last century still ring true. Let your sorrow for the victims of oppression fuel your activism. Nothing will change if you are paralyzed by guilt, unending grief and despair. Dwell on solutions, not suffering.
• Campaign to win. Translate your ultimate goal into something you can accomplish today or tomorrow. You can't end all animal abuse today, but you have a good shot at convincing your cafeteria to offer more vegan options. Get involved in an existing campaign—or start one of your own. Choose something you enjoy. Winning even small battles can give you momentum, energy and inspiration to go on.
• Pace yourself. Think long-run. You can't operate in crisis mode all the time. Whatever the issue, you can be sure that it's not the whole world or the last campaign. Take time to pause, listen to your heart, and then act.
• Embrace friends, food and fun. Share your worries and feelings. Celebrate victories. Run your ideas by others. You are not alone! Even people who are not connected with your particular issue can be valuable "reality checks" and sources of ideas and inspiration. Don't neglect yourself, your partner or your companion animals. When adrenaline is high, eat like a fruitarian. When calm returns, feast on luscious vegan food prepared with love and gusto. Sing in the shower, make love, play with your cats, giggle with your kids.
• Move. These days activists spend way too much time behind the computer. Get out of the house and move your body! Hike, bike, walk on the beach, skinny dip, do yoga, stretch. Connect with nature, breathe fresh air, notice the seasons. You will gain perspective and renew yourself for the long journey ahead.
I think I'll buy this book soon. It's called "Dead Meat" by Susan Coe. The link will take you to a review Satya published in June '96. I found this site of her other work, as well.
dream, a painting from Susan Coe's series (Graphic Witness)
Another gem from Carol Adams, this article on fur and the homeless. Particularly, her use of this quote from an Indian text:
The Laws of Manu really captures this dynamic: "He who permits the slaughter of an animal, she who kills it, he who cuts it up, she who buys or sells meat, he who cooks it, she who serves it up, and he who eats it, are all slayers." (I have tried to equalize the pronouns.)
So too with fur: the slaughterer, the manufacturer, the retailer, the buyer, the group that donates fur to the homeless, the wearer--are all implicated in the slaughter.
Cow Myths by Angela Starks.
Interesting article on Heifer International. I had stopped buying Seventh Generation because they support them. This article reaffirmed my dislike towards HI. Interesting that it mentions Mary Steenburgen. She is on the latest issue of Delicious Living, available (free) at Whole Foods. And she was pimping Heifer International like it was going out of style. I recall her saying that she suggests people give donations to HI at Bar Mitzvahs, birthday parties, holidays, etc. I threw the magazine in the recyle bin with absolute disgust.
Something I am also aware of, as I do like to sip a glass of wine: not wines are vegan. Here's an introduction to vegan wine, by Catherine Clyne.
Why I feed my dogs a veg*n diet can be explained, partly, by this article. And, it's vet-approved. On the flip-side, there's "natural" pet foods. Not all of them are good.
Some other articles:
What is animal cruelty?
About the actual size......
An interview with Ian MacKaye.
Animal rights and wrongs, by Lee Hall.
Restoring the small farm ethic, with Diane Halverson.
I know I've highlighted mostly animal rights/vegan related topics but Satya focuses on environmental and social justice issues, as well. There was just so much to sift through.
If I wasn't an optimistic person, I'd say our world (or, rather, its humans) are rotten.
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