I Protest!

Since going vegan almost a year-and-a-half-ago (January 8th, 2010), I've become increasingly involved as an animal rights activists and general advocate for equality for all animals, human and non-human.  It's good to get out and stop wasting time arguing with idiots on the internet, although I think that these debates, if you can call them that, did their share in preparing me for real-life discussions.

My latest addition to my activist life has been protesting.  I've gone to two "Ban-Horse Carriages" protests.  I had never been to any protests before.  Something that I like about PAN's protests are even though they are singling one issue out, they use this single-issue as a gateway to deeper discussions on animal use.  The leaflets that we gave out detailed out thinking on this, and I was sure to wear my vegan shirt.

The protesting takes place in Old City, directly across from where the carriage horses and their drivers are waiting to take customers.

A few years ago, I wouldn't have seen anything wrong with horses pulling people around the city but now my thought process is this:

1.)  I wouldn't like to be doing what the horse has to do.  The weight that I can carry is not the weight that I want to be carrying.  And I wouldn't want to be carrying this in smoggy traffic where people are in a hurry to get to where they are going.

2.)  As many carriage drivers will tell you, many of the horses that they work with are rescues.  "These horses would be dog food if we didn't save them!" they'll inform you.  To me, there's the problem.  The horse can be dog food or they can live the life I described above.  How horrible is it that the lives we bring into existence we only see as valuable as in what ways they are useful to us.

3.)  Horses used for carriages also have to endure a stressful training process.  Horses have loud noises set off by their ears and are purposefully frightened in a variety of different ways, just to get them to not be as scared when it happens "on the job".

4.)  Some would argue that the horse has a good deal because he is fed and housed in exchange for his work.  I wrote a reaction to this here on my vegan blog.

5.)  I don't doubt that the carriage drivers, for the most part, treat their horses as best they can.  But how well can you treat a piece of property?  At the end of the day, the horse is seen and treated beneath his human "master" and there is no reason for that to stay unchanged.

6.) There's also things like this that happen:

Not A Day Off For the Animals

The day I'm writing about is April 20th, 2011.

As I got ready for the day, it crossed my mind that I was a little crazy to be spending one of my rare days off being so busy with vegan activism.  Then I considered two things.

1.)  I'm happiest when I'm doing vegan activism (among other things I love doing).
2.)  The animals never get a day off.

So I spent a large portion of the day putting these together.

They are envelopes on which I painted "You're invited to Veganism".  Inside there's a card that says, "What's with the invite?  VEGANISM is a celebration of all life.  Learn more-->" On the inside of the card I put a vegan "business" card.  Also inside the envelope I put a PAN handout which had all kinds of interesting information.  So I put about 45 of these together, threw together a new vegan shirt, and then I walked to the library with Wayne Pacelle was scheduled to talk about his new book The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them.  

I was volunteering at the library on this night.  My jobs were to make sure no one sat in the first two rows because those seats were reserved with people who were associates of Wayne and to handle the microphone during the Q & A session at the end of the talk.  Wayne talked a lot about very specific travesties happening to animals.  Things like dog fighting, seal clubbing, horse meat, etc.  I don't like any of these things but the thing is, all animal use is unnecessary and I don't like any of it.  I don't see a point in talking to people about these very limited topics.  No, actually, I do see a point.  I understand that if you have a large percent of the population agreeing with something that is very easy to agree with, chances are, you'll be able to get some money out of this large population.  So, I get it.  But the talk just aggravated me so much!  All those people there, clearly, deeply interested in animal rights, and no mention of veganism!  What the hell?!  If you gave people a chance, they could get it!  But no, you spend the last seven-minutes of a 45-minute lecture talking about Asian shark fin soup.

There were various questions.  One that sticks out to me is a woman who was very passionately asking about stray cats.

"...they're behind every school, in every alley, in every barn, in nearly every place in the world.  What is HSUS doing for them?"

Wayne talked about various problems but the answer was lackluster and it was clear that the woman was not satisfied with the answer. 

Originally, I had planned to ask a question kindly suggested by a friend of mine.  But Asian shark fin soup had me so irritated that I switched gears.  I'll never know for sure if I made the right decision but watching everyone shake their heads in disgust as Wayne described the shark killing process really made my blood boil. 

I was the last person to ask a question and I asked, "You mentioned Asian shark fin soup and I'm wondering, what is the difference between shark fin soup and any other non-vegan food.  It's all unnecessary and it's all cruel.  We don't need animal products to survive.  All the animals used for food are treated equally cruelly and it's all not needed, so what's the difference because between shark fin soup and anything else that's not vegan."

Wayne replied, "I think what you're saying is we can live healthy without animal products so why not be vegetarian --"

"Vegan." I said.

"Vegan." He repeated.  "Well, it is true that we don't need animal products to live but for me I separate what is more cruel and what is more wasteful and to me, cutting fins off of sharks and throwing them back in the ocean just that.  But I understand the point you're making."

That was nearly as good of an answer as I could have expected.   

After the talk, I walked up the lobby with everyone else.  As a volunteer, during the book signings my assignment is to help people get their books personalized.  That involves writing their names on a post-it note, sticking the post-it on the book jacket, and folding the jacket on the title page.  As I did this, I gave anyone who wanted one an envelope.  I was pleasantly surprised that some people were already vegan!  How lovely!

While all this was going on, there was a vegan cake also in the lobby.  This cake was made by Vegan Treats, a heaven-sent bakery whose tasty slices leave me daydreaming for more nearly every day.

The owner was standing by the cake which shaped like a dog with a well-wishing, edible sign.  The cake was free for anyone at the event or even hanging out at the library.  There were also other Vegan Treat employees and an Animal Planet camera crew working on a special about Vegan Treats!  How exciting!

Once I was finished with my post-it job and handing out my info, I started a conversation with one of the Vegan Treat workers.  I was given a piece of cake though soon I gave the piece to a library-goer who was curious about what was going on.  I gave him the cake with an enthusiastic explanation that this cake was vegan meaning it was made with no animal products.

"So there's no milk, eggs, butter, or any other animal products in this!"  I told him.  He was intrigued and once he took a bite he was thrilled!  I helped myself to another piece of course!

Then, I got in line to get my book signed.  While in line, I spoke with the woman who had voiced her concern about feral cats.  She told me that she was very upset about how little Wayne addressed the problem with cats.  I told her that Gary Francione works with feral cats in New Jersey.  She was hopeful and interested.  I gave her an envelope and encouraged her to check out the abolition website and she could contact Gary through the site or the connected forum.  This seemed to help her frustration.  I was surprised and happy to learn that she was vegan!

Once I got the the front of the line, I talked to Wayne as he signed my book.  He thanked me for my question and said that he could tell I was very passionate about animal rights.  This is how he signed my book.

And this is how I fixed it.

I also gave Wayne one of my envelopes. 

I left the building unsure if anyone's mind was completely changed but glad that I had come.  On my walk home I realized, had I not been there, the word "vegan" would never have been mentioned.  I was proud of myself.  "It's a sad state for animal rights," I thought, "but at least I was there."

Wood You Come to My Birthday?

Yesterday was my birthday.  I turned 24 and had a wonderful time in the process.

For one thing, I finally have a full-time job!  I now work at grocery 
store that is a 7-minute walk from my house.  Everyone I have worked with so far is very nice and I'm glad that I will at last be able to have some stability.  I even get paid every week instead of every other week.  When I first thought of working at South Square, I thought how the job would offend my vegan-self.  I still have these thoughts.  You should see me as I gingerly pick up the very tips of a cheese or meat package to scan it.  I also worry about how my paycheck is partially coming from animal exploitation.  It's not an ideal job for me in this respect but the way things have been for about a year now, I've barely been getting by.  I've been surviving more than living but this is more than I can say for the animals' whose body parts and products I slide across my scanner and announce the price of.  What would my thighs go for?  What about my life?

Sadly, the job that I was barely getting by with ended and I needed another job.  This was the first one that I could find that would pay my bills.  I will continue to look for better options for me but in looking at the situation as it is, I see an excellent opportunity to do some activism.  Here I am, being presented with pieces of people's lives.  I recently listened to a debate between Gary Francione and Erik Marcus and Gary mentioned he always starts the conversation by asking about people's pets.  At my job, I'm ringing up their cat and/or dog food.  What a perfect lead in!  I've ordered some free business cards for The Abolitionist Approach and as soon as I'm finished my training I'm going to start talking to people about veganism and giving them cards at the end of our conversations.  I'll probably get myself into some kind of trouble but as long as I'm not selling anything, I don't see what's so wrong about having a conversation made relevant by a person's pets.  So, I'll see.

For my birthday, I worked and then I went back to my apartment where my boyfriend was waiting for me.  He got me tasty vegan pizza and a delicious vegan dessert.  After eating, he gave me a present which was a ukulele!  How exciting!

Then, I dragged my roommates, friends, and boyfriend to Woody's, a wonderful, gay bar and I think that everyone had a good time.  I had a good time.  Sunday is 80's night meaning some drinks are 80 cents and there is lots of 80's music.  I love Woody's!  Everyone there is so full of joy and there's so much love in the room!  This sounds corny but I don't care.

Oh, and P.S. I got a popcorn maker as a birthday gift!  Hooray!  The lid turns into a bowl!

Sigh.

Feeling a bit like Sisyphus. 

The most notable thing I did this week was think.  Maybe I shouldn't think too much.  In this week's case, more than anything, I feel like a failure.

I've been a college graduate for nearly a year now and I don't feel any closer to my goals now than I was a year ago. 

Feeling a bit like Rob Gordon.  

More importantly to me, I've been vegan for almost one year (January 8th, 2010) and I haven't got even one person to go vegan.  Not one person!  Not my family, not my friends, and not any strangers.

I am hereby claiming responsibility for this year's failures.  I didn't get anyone to go vegan this year because I wasn't confident enough when I talked to people about it, if I was brave enough to talk to them at all.  I didn't want to offend anyone and I didn't want to seem like I was looking down on anyone.  As a result, I have not contributed at all to "the shift of the paradigm" as Gary Francione puts it.  I have also been lazy this year and this the biggest contributor to my unhappiness in the personal and professional sense as well as my lack in vegan conversions.  I need to seize every career opportunity.  I also need to grab every chance to talk to others about veganism because this kind of every day activism is the right thing to do.  Only by practicing every day does a person become an expert and if I could be an expert vegan activist, I would be happy.  Also, I need to make up my mind to be happy.  I need to do all of these things and I will.  

Give Me a Break!

This Monday marks the first time I've had more than a day off in a row since The 4th of July.  This break is much needed!

Currently, I work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.  While it is nice to have Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday off, there's a lot that can be said for having two days to unwind.  On this lovely Monday, I feel like a new woman.  The Labor Day Weekend is only half of the reason why.

I don't think I ever desired to be popular.  At least, I hope I never have.  I recall popularity being a thought in my mind in middle school but by the time I got to high school, the issue dissolved.  I never saw a high school movie that I really identified with.  I love some of them (Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Mean Girls) but when I was in high school people seemed to be worrying about different things.  That was my perspective at least.  Maybe just I was worried about other things.  I was a pretty involved student.  I was in marching band, jazz band, concert band, orchestra, Odyssey of the Mind, The Gay-Straight Alliance, and I always had a part-time job.

Ever since I became a vegan, specifically, ever since I became an abolitionist vegan, I've been secretly driven to be a major contributor to the movement.  Part of this is because I think to myself, "Every moment that passes, I already too late for literally thousands of animals!"  I try to stray myself from this way of thinking because it doesn't do much to help either myself or the animals suffering from what I wish to free them from.

The other reason I want to contribute is I've always been drawn to things I strongly believe in.  In high school, I had a friend tell me she found a flier I had drawn saying "Save the Tigers" from when we were in elementary school together.  Once I graduated college though, I didn't really have anything like that anymore.  This shouldn't suggest that I blindly jumped on the vegan wagon without proper research.  I just needed something to believe in and as luck would have it, I stumbled upon some convincing vegan arguments.

A third reason is, on occasion I think to myself, "There's something very great in you."  You might be thinking, "That's called crazy" and maybe you're right, but people generally don't make any real changes in the world acting the same as everyone else.  If I could get whatever this great thing inside me to add some sparkle to the veganism movement, I would be at peace with myself.  I want people to "get it".  I want everyone to enjoy the feeling of contributing to great social change instead of the feeling of  "I'm just one person and what I do doesn't matter."  That reasoning always makes me sad.  I want everyone to realize the power they have on their own.  I want to make things better for everyone.  My veganism isn't about feeling better than others.  It's just about feeling better and making things better.    

So, this is just a long, round about way to say that I am now featured on a website that I have mucho respect for.  I feel closer to being a part of a circle that I admire.  I feels strange for me to desire to be part of something.  In this case, it also feels right.

So, excuse me as I jump around the room but this is kind of a big deal for me!  Did I say kind of?  I meant a really big deal for me!  Thanks Randy!