A thought for the day from the animal advocacy community.
Friday, August 26, 2011
It's a very human-centered, privileged thing to sit back and ...
It’s a very human-centered, privileged thing to sit back and debate the merits of certain tactics when hundreds of animals are being murdered every second. ~ Peter Young
Peter's comment seems to reflect the frustration many activists feel with the urgency of the animals' plight. Most activists also feel the pressure to be as effective as possible and maintain a sense of optimism in order to keep going. This is much of what the work of ARZone is about, to learn from one another in order to be as effective as possible.
I don't think there's anything wrong with discussing tactics, provided that what we learn from such discussion is put into action and leads to more effective ways of bringing about animal liberation. If it all just stays at the level of discussion, that's no good.
Corey, I've thought about what you've said for a day or so now and I think I realized what you meant (although, if I'm right, it really has nothing to do with Peter's quote). What I think you mean is that since we've supposedly had 200 years of animal welfare and yet, here we are, still facing a world where other animals are slaughtered by the millions every day, that means that anyone who doesn't adopt your preferred approached must be happy to repeat the same mistakes, achieving nothing. It's a silly argument, not the least because, as far as I know, there's no evidence that there has been any credible organized movement to liberate other animals lasting 200 years. Moreover, we simply have no way of knowing whether the animal welfare movement has actually led to positive developments we are seeing in the world insofar as there does seem to be an increasing awareness about human obligations to other animals. In other words, where we would be now had there been no animal welfare movement? Anyway, despite what you may have read to the contrary, there is not likely to be any one approach that will solve the problem of nonhuman exploitation and, if the actual history of the world is any guide, it will take a multifaceted and multidimensional effort over decades to come (if not centuries) to solve it.
Should we just run around willynilly and keep repeating the same mistakes over and over and over for 200+ years instead?
ReplyDeleteCorey, I'm sure that inside your head your comment makes sense, but to the rest of the world it's only gibberish.
ReplyDeletePeter's comment seems to reflect the frustration many activists feel with the urgency of the animals' plight. Most activists also feel the pressure to be as effective as possible and maintain a sense of optimism in order to keep going. This is much of what the work of ARZone is about, to learn from one another in order to be as effective as possible.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's anything wrong with discussing tactics, provided that what we learn from such discussion is put into action and leads to more effective ways of bringing about animal liberation. If it all just stays at the level of discussion, that's no good.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCorey, I've thought about what you've said for a day or so now and I think I realized what you meant (although, if I'm right, it really has nothing to do with Peter's quote). What I think you mean is that since we've supposedly had 200 years of animal welfare and yet, here we are, still facing a world where other animals are slaughtered by the millions every day, that means that anyone who doesn't adopt your preferred approached must be happy to repeat the same mistakes, achieving nothing. It's a silly argument, not the least because, as far as I know, there's no evidence that there has been any credible organized movement to liberate other animals lasting 200 years. Moreover, we simply have no way of knowing whether the animal welfare movement has actually led to positive developments we are seeing in the world insofar as there does seem to be an increasing awareness about human obligations to other animals. In other words, where we would be now had there been no animal welfare movement? Anyway, despite what you may have read to the contrary, there is not likely to be any one approach that will solve the problem of nonhuman exploitation and, if the actual history of the world is any guide, it will take a multifaceted and multidimensional effort over decades to come (if not centuries) to solve it.
ReplyDelete