On more than one occasion, activists or vegans have asked me what they can do to be more effective against animal exploitation. In this article, I am going to discuss our first responsibility to out animal relations. No matter who we are or where we may find ourselves this responsibility never leaves us. That responsibility is to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. I know it sounds simple and elementary and usually when I say that to one of my vegan sisters or brothers I get that look like I am being semantic or too basic with my advisement. Buts it is not such a simple task and its vastly important that we as individuals and groups of individuals master this elusive skill.
Anytime we speak third party, its difficult to not throw in our own opinions, beliefs and emphasis, actually its nearly impossible. But in the broader sense an over abundance of personal projection will invariably lead to a completely compromised message. So then the questions arise how do we speak for others not even of our own species? What statements can we make that apply to all species of sentient beings? What are the most effective and important points to make on behalf of our animal family?
Let's look at these questions one at a time:
1. How do we speak for others not of our own species?
First off, we speak out in their favor. But in order to do that we need to be speaking from the heart and not just our heads. There is nothing wrong with intellectual and reasoned arguments but they can be taken to a fault. As anyone seasoned in the art of debate knows, if you are clever enough you can find a logic to nearly any side of an issue. So before we speak up and speak out we must understand that our voice is for them. We must understand that we are going to purposefully fashion points of our conversation in favor of animal liberation because that is how we feel. We love animals. We love the Earth. When we fashion our intellectualism around our love, passion and ferocity, two incredibly important things happen. First, we will attract other passionate people. Secondly, no matter what the outcome of the conversation you will speak authoritatively instead of playing on people's sympathy which always comes across as weak.
Next, when we speak for the animals we do not need to be constantly concerned with how people will take it or if they can handle it. This overly concerned mentality of how your points will be perceived leads to all kinds of problems and compromises. Our responsibility is to say what needs to be said. Not how people will take it. Trust me on this, I know, I can write a brief paragraph and 100 people will see it from 90 different perspectives. If you become worried about how everyone takes things, you will quickly find yourself constantly explaining what you meant. No matter what anyone thinks about a statement like “Animals exist for their own intents and purposes, not human ends”, it is incredibly important that its said.
There is a very faulty logic that welfarists and supplicants embrace. Its an idea that every little subtle point made may one day blossom into that person turning into an uber-conscience vegan. More in keeping with reality is that you're asking too much of people. You cannot expect people to connect the dots on their own just because you did. This kind of compromised approach leads to the single issue syndrome. Anti-fur activists that drink milk, prairie dog activists that go out for burgers after a demo and so on and so forth. But statements like the aforementioned or “Your rights end where another begins” better explain why its never OK to use another for their body or by-products. Whether they are a cow being, sheep being, bee being or human being. Which brings us to the next question.
2. What statements can we make that apply to all species of sentient beings?
This question is a large reason why I prefer the term “animal liberation” instead of “animal rights”. The term “animal” is used as a blanket statement it covers so many critters and various forms of life that its hardly adequate when it comes to considering autonomy and individuality. That said its still a very applicable word primarily because our kind is in a constant state of oppressing all kinds. With our food choices, technologies, societies, and constant attitudes of human supremacy. And this is truly the difference between “human” and “animal”. Ours is a premeditated subjugation. Indeed you will never find an elephant that enslaves bees so they can dine on their puke. But since species vary so radically in so many ways, their individual rights in accord with human use become profuse. And just the cataloging of each beings “rights” is an exercise in futility. But since human use and abuse is their common problem, then liberation from that use and abuse is the answer. At the end of the day, animals do not need our love, people constantly exploit the objects of their “love”.
Animals need us to leave them alone. We need to love animals because as humans we will never fight and sacrifice for others in any meaningful way unless we feel a strong or powerful emotional connection like love, hate, or true empathy. So in answer to the question what statements apply to all sentient beings? It is those which speak to their total freedom from human usage. This is more than mere abolitionist rhetoric. Its an honest assessment of the wishes and desires of others. If you give a hen the choice between death by factory farm, a life of laying eggs in a “free range” prison or a coop on a family farm, she will choose freedom from any human use every time. So as long as the animals are abolitionists, we should be too!
3. What are the most effective and important points to make on behalf of our animal family?
First and foremost, we need to always challenger the validity of animal enterprises. The idea that meat eaters need animal flesh, the idea that hunters need to help control animal populations, the idea that animals want to be used by humans, or the idea that god has given us dominion are pure bullshit! People profit off of, or in someway personally gratified by, animal exploitation and murder. All their arguments to the contrary are just word games to justify what they want to do in the first place. Another important point that can always be made is the speciesism involved in all of our decisions to use animals. Practice reciting a person's answer back to them only replacing the animal with a human to expose what they are truly defending. You do this very effectively in nearly any conversation or debate.
Examples include but are not limited to:
Vivisection
Statement: “It is OK to experiment on animals because they aren't as smart as humans”
Answer: “So why don't we experiment on the mentally challenged, they're not as 'smart' either”
Animals for food
Statement: “People have been eating animals for thousands of years, its natural”
Answer: “Men have also been raping women for thousands of years, incest has been taking place for thousands of years. Ever more to the point, cannibalism has been around on a global scale up until about 3,500 years ago. So are these abuses also 'natural' just because they've been around for a long time?”
Animals for entertainment
Statement: “They are fed and taken care of, they have it better than they did in the wild”
Answer: “So if we sentenced you to a life in a cage and put you on display, you would be doing better than the people in the free world because your meals are free?”
The ways in which you can use this tactic to expose speciesism are the limitless and very effective. As far as debates are concerned, like I said in the beginning of this article, its vastly more important that we speak the truth for animals and their agenda of animal liberation than we often think. A compromised voice for others invariably leads to compromised actions. And the next thing you know, you're back to the vegan tupperware party seriously thinking that brownie and cookie recipes are activism.
Giving voice to those that have none is a primary function of a vegan ethic. Veganism and animal liberation are not just a diet or a way of thinking. They are an ethic. One that is quickly becoming lost and co-opted by producers of products and consumer driven markets. Honestly, I don't have a problem with the dietary promotion of veganism. Because if the masses are ever to embrace it, then it must be marketed to them at some point. But in a rush to win converts over to this lifestyle, the message and higher conscience that accompany it have been dumped by the wayside. This is why nearly all my writings have been and will be targeting my own vegan and animal lib communities. Because until, and unless we start straightening out our own thinking on the relevant issues, ethics and bottom-lines, we will forever lack cohesion, radicalism and the teamwork necessary to move these mountains of murder. And personally, I find it rewarding to be able to shake my vegan sisters and brothers out of their doldrum and replace it with a zeal and passion.
Even if I can only reach you a few at a time, because I am much like you, I never feel like I am doing enough for animals. It seems the more active we become the more that frustration can grow. Its simply a symptom of being a caring person in a cruel world that you cannot immediately change. I, to have stood in awe at the horror and callousness that our kind inflicts on all kinds, have had nightmares and terrible feelings of guilt and shame for all those I cannot save because I am just one, little imperfect person raging against institutionalized cruelty. And I have eating a piece of vegan cheesecake with glee because just like many of us, my inner child is a fat kid with his hand in the cookie jar. But I have also come to understand that nothing great is won for ourselves or others without great sacrifice, hard work and focus. And I would rather die fighting these injustices than go along with business as usual for even one more day. And if that's how you feel inside, then we truly know each other even though we have never met.
Animal Liberation, whatever it may take!
Walter Bond, Press Officer
North American Animal Liberation Press Office
Prisoner of War
