Words of Wisdom from Gary Francione

Words of wisdom from Gary Francione, who has been a source of so much wisdom over the years. He is absolutely right. The key is to link Animal Rights and Human Rights. One without the other is meaningless. The violence used against animals comes from the same place as violence used against humans. It is rooted in an objectification of both, the dangerous tendency to see them as means to ends, or commodities, or the "other."

Dear Morrissey: You're Not Helping...

Back in the Eighties, I used to be a huge fan of the British alternative rock band The Smiths. Their songs of angst and irony and pain were, in some ways, the anthems of my youth. I was an alienated teenager growing up growing up in Reagan-era suburbia, out of place in my high school, where I skipped classes more frequently than attended out of boredom and unhappiness. Not much spoke to me in the way of pop culture, but The Smiths proved to be one of the few exceptions.

The Smiths broke up long ago (1987) and they haven't gotten back together, not even for a reunion concert. I've moved on (though I confess: I still listen to their music, although it does seem a bit - how can I put it? - whinier than it did when I used to listen to it). And the lead singer of the band, Morrissey (real name: Steven Patrick Morrissey - he goes by his last name only) has moved on to other solo music projects, gaining some acclaim along the way.

Morrissey is a very controversial figure. He's a classic iconoclast and contrarian. He loves to offend. His views have always been anti-establishment. He was a fierce critic of George W. Bush's administration and the war in Iraq. He has spoken out against British PM David Cameron and he's even knocked the Royal Family. He's made a number of controversial statements about a broad range of issues. In other words, he's not afraid to live life on the edge.

Good for him. Too many people prefer that mushy, warm middle, right on top of the fence, where they don't have to speak out or feel strongly about much of anything at all. Compared to the masses of colorless dullards in the world today, Morrissey can often be like a breath of fresh air.

Which is why I so regret what he said in the aftermath of the recent massacre of innocents in Norway. At a concert in Poland this last Sunday, Morrissey ranted into the microphone:

We all live in a murderous world, as the events in Norway have shown, with 97 dead [sic]. Though that is nothing compared to what happens in McDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Shit every day. (Source)

On the heels of such an appalling loss of human life, Morrissey's words were, at best, misguided. The message is clear: So a few human beings perished? So what? That's nothing compared to what animals experience on a day-to-day basis.

Well, yeeeeeeeaaahhh, but...

The picture is more complicated than that. Unfortunately, those of us who are ardent supporters of the Abolitionist Animal Rights position, which includes living a vegan lifestyle at its very core, often have to deal with absurd accusations of being anti-human or misanthropic. Just look at the response to Morrissey. The Blogosphere and the comments section of online newspapers has lit up with a bright, flashing "TILT" sign of angry responses. Many are predictable: The animal rights "types" don't care about human life the same way they care about human life.

You've heard it all before. You get the picture.

It's not surprising that many of us frequently feel distressed, horrified, revolted and saddened by what our species is doing to other living beings. Who among us doesn't look at the mass murder of innocent animals and hang their head in shame? This history of human-animal interaction has some noble moments, but most of it is a history of savagery and cruelty in the extreme.

But our realization that animals are being murdered en masse does not mean we have to abandon our humanism. In fact, it should reinforce our reverence for the sanctity of the lives of all sentient beings.

Perhaps a better thing for Morrissey to have said - and I know it's hard to give long speeches at concerts (they'll boo you off!) - is that the loss of life in Norway is appalling and sad. Each of those Norwegians - beautiful young men and women in the prime of life - died a horrible, violent death, and each deserves to be mourned. The world is a lesser place without them. Their families deserve our deepest sympathy and support. BUT: It is also true that the very impulse that drove Anders Behring Breivik to murder all of those innocent human beings comes from the same disregard for the preciousness of life that too many human beings have exhibited toward animals for far too long.

Consider one of Breivik's victims: 14-year-old Sheridyn Meegan Ngahiwi Svebakk-Bohn (right). She was the youngest victim to perish in the deadly, nonstop volley of gunfire at Utoya Island. She was one of 76 people killed in this most ghastly of terror attacks. Consider the unimaginable grief her parents are feeling. Their baby girl is gone and she can never, ever be replaced. She had her entire life ahead of her.

Born in New Zealand, raised in Norway, she went to that camp out of a love of humanity, to see if she could learn something about improving the world in which she lived. She was murdered before she had a chance to leave her mark on the world. And when her family learned the news, it is impossible to imagine the shock and grief and emptiness and rage and utter and complete anguish they felt. Multiply that by 76. Imagine the collective grief.

Is this how we should remember Sheridyn: Well, it's sad, but it's no worse than the horrors in a KFC or McDonald's? Surely we can do better than that.

Just as Sheridyn came into the world 14 years ago, an innocent newborn, the animals that come into the world who are slaughtered to become meals at KFC and McDonald's also met a violent end, and they, too, were unable to live long lives to the fullest. They, too, fell victims to a way of doing things and a worldview that disregards the sanctity of life.

But why does it have to be an either/or proposition, as some animal rights advocates insist? Why do we have to care about either the innocents who are murdered in Norway or the innocents murdered in the slaughterhouse? Is there not room enough in our hearts to weep for both?

I hope Morrissey keeps fighting the Good Fight. And I understand his disenchantment with the human race. But part of that disenchantment grows out of an awareness of the depraved things that human beings are capable of doing to other human beings, in addition to the depraved things they are capable of doing to nonhuman animals.

To live a richer and fuller life, and to create a world with any hope of decency prevailing, it seems to me that connecting the suffering of human beings to that of animals is essential. All lives matter. No species is more important than any other. Ending violence, and promoting peaceful coexistence - among different peoples and different species - is the only hope to save a world where a stark disregard for the sanctity of life, which is woven into the apocalyptic and nihilistic philosophy of Anders Behring Breivik, is the only other alternative.

First row from left are: Silje Merete Fjellbu, Birgitte Smetbak, Margrethe Boeyum Kloeven, Bano Abobakar Rashid, Hanne Fjalestad, Diderik Aamodt Olsen and Kjersti Berg Sand (26) from Nord-Oda. Second row from left are: Sharidyn Meegan Ngahiwi Svebakk-Boehn, Guro Vartdal Haavoll , Syvert Knudsen, Simon Saeboe, Haakon Oedegaard, Johannes Buoe and Eivind Hovden. Third row from left are: Sondre Furseth Dale, Sverre Flaate Bjoerkavaag, Gizem Dogan, Dupe Ellen Awoyemi, Silje Stamneshagen, Tove Aashill Knutsen. PHOTOGRAPH BY: HANDOUT, REUTERS/SCANPIX

In Solidarity With Our Brothers and Sisters in Norway

The lofty vision of Animal Rights is not complete without a lofty vision of Human Rights. Human suffering often comes from the exact same source as animal suffering: A lack of respect for living beings and the sanctity of life.

Think of the tragedy in Norway two days ago. A maniacal Norwegian gunman's grisly rampage through a youth retreat at Utoya Island on July 22, where he systematically murdered close to a hundred youths (the death toll still isn't clear), coincided with the detonation of a lethal bomb blast in Oslo the same day. The Mayor of Oslo, Fabian Stang, offered the following reflection on the day of tragedy: "I don't think security can solve problems. We need to teach greater respect."

He is right. Think about it: Greater respect.

Greater respect for the happiness and well-being of others.

Greater respect for differences of opinion and the right of all people to express their beliefs without fear of retribution or imprisonment.

Greater respect for the profundity of life.

I'll let President John F. Kennedy have the final word.

"If we cannot end now our differences, at least we can make the world safe for diversity. For, in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children's future. And we are all mortal."

- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963)

My Sentiments Exactly...

This is a very thoughtful video on the question of Human Rights versus Animal Rights from YouTube user porolita22. Have a look if you get a chance. It's not very long. And porolita22 manages to squeeze a lot of important arguments into this video in a way that is very friendly and accessible. If all vegans could argue this eloquently and this calmly, the movement might even win over more converts. Already, we're making great strides, and thanks to rational arguments like these, we'll keep making progress.

Animal Rights & Human Rights: Different Sides of the Same Coin

Last year, Gary Francione wrote a powerful essay comparing struggles for Human Rights to the fight for Animal Rights. It appeared on his terrific Website/Blog called The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights. Even though he wrote this piece more than a year ago (on May 8, 2009), I'm drawing attention to it because his Facebook group, Gary L. Francione: The Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights mentions it (if you're on Facebook and you haven't joined the group, please do). At one point in his essay, Francione writes that

it is a mistake to see issues of human and animal exploitation as mutually exclusive. On the contrary, all exploitation is inextricably intertwined. All exploitation is a manifestation of violence. All discrimination is a manifestation of violence. As long as we tolerate violence of any sort, there will be violence of every sort.

He goes on to argue, very persuasively, that the same violent tendencies and ways of thinking that perpetuate human rights abuses are also behind violence against animals. It's a terrific response to those people who attack animal rights advocates for not focusing sufficiently on human rights.

On Francione's Facebook page, I posted the following follow-up message:

This is yet another superb commentary by Gary Francione. I might add the slightly less charitable fact that most of the critics who accuse animal rights activists of being indifferent to the suffering of human beings are not themselves human rights activists. Most of the committed human rights activists I know have no problem with animal rights activism. In this case, the accusers are rarely the kind of people you would find supporting Human Rights Watch or protesting against human rights abuses at home and abroad.

By contrast, a number of animal rights advocates (and I count myself in this category) have also worked in the human rights movement. I think it's important to assess the accusers and their background. Most of them are simply anti-vegan, anti-animal rights, and the whole "you care more about animal rights than human rights" argument turns out to be an intellectually lazy way of bashing those of us who advocate on behalf of veganism and animal rights.

Human rights and animal rights, as Francione points out, cannot be separated. They are part of the same struggle. It is interesting that those parts of the world where the worst human rights abuses occur, you are much more likely to find terrible and widespread instances of animal abuse happening too. Countries that treat people horribly usually lack laws or regulations to protect their animal population. The end result is that people and animals are abused. By contrast, those parts of the world where people prize human rights and have good track records also often treat their animals more respectfully.

Without doubt, you'll inevitably run into a few malcontents in the animal rights movement who feel intense loathing toward the human race. This isn't terribly surprising when you begin to survey the lengthy and tragic panorama of humans abusing, exploiting and carrying out violence against animals. Even a brief exposure to the shocking treatment of animals by the human race is enough to make one feel ashamed of our species.

But antipathy toward the human race is not the way to go. Just as there are violent people who exploit and brutalize and murder animals, there are also kind and compassionate souls - like Gary Francione and countless others - who care very deeply for animals. We would do well to remember all of our brothers and sisters who are out there making a difference, using the tools of creative nonviolence and veganism to build a better world. Sadly, the moment we forget that animal rights and human rights are inseparable, our ability to feel an empathic rapport with all living beings starts to diminish.

Tragedy in Haiti

It is horrific to see the tragic images coming out of Haiti in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that rocked the island nation a few days ago. The scenes of death, destruction and despair on television is almost more than any viewer can withstand. If there is any silver lining to this dark cloud, it is this: It is amazing to see how technology is helping the relief effort. People across North America have been texting donations to different earthquake relief organizations. Millions of dollars have already been raised. For those looking to help, the Canadian Broadcasting Company (CBC) has compiled an amazing list of different relief efforts and the ways in which people in the United States and Canada can help. The URL is:

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/01/13/f-emergency-contacts-haiti-relief-aid.html

Every little bit helps - $5, $10, $20 - whatever you can spare. This is a tragedy of gargantuan proportions. I know that a lot of people will be reaching deep into their pockets and doing whatever they can to help the people of Haiti. There is a lot of goodness and generosity in North America. Amazing acts of generosity have already been too numerous to count. Let's all do our own little part to keep that tradition alive and well.