A n i m a l W r i t e s ©
sm
The official ANIMAL
RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Established 1997
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Issue # 01/11/04
Publisher ~ Susan
Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Journalists ~ Greg Lawson -
ParkStRanger@aol.com
~ Michelle Rivera -
MichelleRivera1@aol.com
~ Dr. Steve Best -
sbest1@elp.rr.com
THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ The Challenge of Animal Rights
by Dr. Steve Best
2 ~ #A066766 Name Unknown
3 ~ Vegetarianwedding.net
4 ~ The Ultimate Challenge In Defense of Animals
5 ~ MeatOut 2004
6 ~ I Am Your Dog
7 ~ Website of Note
8 ~ ACT Radio, Animal Concerns of Texas
9 ~ I Know Why by
Diana Morton
10~ Memorable Quote
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~1~
The Challenge of Animal Rights
By Dr. Steve Best - sbest1@elp.rr.com
Five million years ago, our ancestors branched off from ancient
apes; within the next two million years, the hominid line of evolution
underwent tremendous changes in the transition to evolve into a species that
was bipedal, big-brained, and in command of language and technology.
In the last hundred thousand years, human beings changed very little in their
biology, but they evolved rapidly in their social and technological capacities.
Unfortunately, our technological evolution has greatly outdistanced our moral
evolution. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, "We live in a world
where misguided men use guided missiles."
Human beings have made moral progress, but slowly. In Western culture, it took
over two thousand years to dismantle the ignorance, prejudice, and biases
informing the myths that legitimated inequality, hierarchy, and inferiority as
rooted somehow in human nature or the natural scheme of things.
Western society has made rapid moral progress since the 1960s. The student,
black, brown, feminist, and gay and lesbian movements advanced the
universalization of rights process, overcame major barriers of prejudice, and
deepened human freedom.
During this turbulent period of social strife, riots, mass demonstrations
against the U.S. war in Vietnam, and worsening problems with poverty,
homelessness, and class inequality, Dr. Martin Luther King formulated a vision
of a "world house." In this cosmopolitan utopia, all peoples around
the globe would live in peace and harmony, with both their spiritual and
material needs met by the fecundity of the modern world.
But to whatever degree this dream might be realized, King's world house is
still a slaughterhouse, because humanism doesn't challenge the needless
confinement, torture, and killing of billions of animals. The humanist
non-violent utopia will always remain a hypocritical lie until so-called
"enlightened" and "progressive" human beings extend nonviolence,
equality, and rights to the millions of other species with whom we share this
planet.
The next logical step in human moral evolution is to embrace animal rights and
accept its profound implications. Animal rights builds on the most progressive
ethical and political advances human beings have made in the last two hundred
years. Simply put, the argument for animal rights states that if humans have
rights, animals have rights for the same reasons. Moral significance lies not
in our differences as species but rather our commonalities as subjects of a
life.
This is the challenge of animal rights: can human beings become truly
enlightened and overcome the last remaining prejudice enshrined in law? Can
they reorganize their economic systems, retool their technologies, and
transform their cultural traditions? Above all, can they construct new
sensibilities, values, worldviews, and identities?
The animal rights movement poses a fundamental evolutionary challenge to human
beings in the midst of severe crises in the social and natural worlds. Can we
recognize that the animal question is central to the human question? Can we
grasp how the exploitation of animals is implicated in every aspect of the
crisis in our relation to one another and the natural world?
Animal rights is an assault on human species identity. It smashes the compass
of speciesism and calls into question the cosmological maps whereby humans
define their place in the world. Animal rights demands that human beings give
up their sense of superiority over other animals. It challenges people to
realize that power demands responsibility, that might is not right, and that an
enlarged neocortex is no excuse to rape and plunder the natural world.
These profound changes in worldview demand revolutionizing one's daily life and
recognizing just how personal the political is. I teach many radical
philosophies, but only animal rights has the radical power to upset and
transform daily rituals and social relations. "Radical" philosophies
such as anarchism or Marxism reproduce speciesism uncritically. After the
Marxist seminar, students can talk at the dinner table about revolution while
dining on the bodies of murdered farmed animals. After the animal rights
seminar, they often find themselves staring at their plates, questioning their
most basic behaviors, and feeling alienated from their carping friends and
family. The message rings true and stirs the soul.
Let's be clear: we are fighting for a revolution, not for reforms, for the end
of slavery, not for humane slavemasters. Animal rights advances the most
radical idea to ever land on human ears: animals are not food, clothing,
resources, or objects of entertainment.
Our goal is nothing less than to change entrenched attitudes, sedimented
practices, and powerful institutions that profit from animal exploitation.
Indeed, the state has demonized us as "eco-terrorists" and is
criminalizing our fight for what is right.
Our task is especially difficult because we must transcend the comfortable
boundaries of humanism and urge a qualitative leap in moral consideration. We
are insisting that people not only change their views of one another within the
species they share, but rather realize that species boundaries are as arbitrary
as those of race and sex. Our task is to provoke humanity to move the moral bar
from reason and language to sentience and subjectivity.
We must not only educate, we must become a social movement. The "challenge
of animal rights" also is our challenge, for animal rights must not only
be an idea but a social movement for the liberation of the world's most
oppressed beings, both in numbers and in the severity of their pain. As with
all revolutions, animals will not gain rights because oppressors suddenly see
the light, but rather enough people become enlightened and learn how rock the
structures of power, to shake them until new social arrangements emerge.
Are we asking for too much? Justice requires only what is right, and is never
excessive. Is the revolution remotely possible? In a thousand ways, the
revolution is gaining ground.
One can see the battle between old and new identities in the struggle to ban
bullfighting in Spain, Mexico, and elsewhere. Bullfighting is a critical issue
to consider because for tens of thousands of years the bull has been embedded
in the "traditions" and cultural identities of Mediterranean peoples.
Apologists for bullfighting see it as an art form and not as cruelty, and they
develop their species identities through the old contest of "man vs. animal."
Although bullfighting is still popular, its appeal is rapidly plummeting as
ever more people find animal abuse unacceptable. Polls by the World Society for
the Protection of Animals show that 90% of people in Spain, Europe, and Mexico
oppose bullfighting.
Here we see the profound challenge of animal rights: millions of people are
confronting the wrongs of their ancient traditions as they modernize their
personal, cultural, and species identities and become more psychologically
mature. Without their ties to animal cruelty, bullfighting aficionados feel
bereft and forlorn. They simply will have to reinvent their identities and find
ways to define humanity and culture apart from cruelty.
Whether people realize it or not, this is not a burden but a liberation. One no
longer has to live the lie of separation; the opening of the heart and
emotional channels brings a profound healing; one can awaken to the true power,
that of animals and the earth.
Increasing worldwide opposition to bullfighting is a strong marker of moral
progress and the ground the animal rights movement is gaining. Animal rights is
the next stage in the development of the highest values modern humanity has
devised - those of equality, democracy, and rights.
Our distorted conceptions of ourselves as demigods who command the planet must
be replaced with the far more humble and holistic notion that we belong to and
are dependent upon vast networks of living relationships. Dominionist and
speciesist identities are steering us down the path of disaster. If humanity
and the living world as a whole is to have a future, human beings must embrace
universal ethics that respects all life.
Growth is difficult and painful, but the human species is morally immature and
psychologically crippled. Human beings need to learn that they are citizens in
the biocommunity, and not conquerors; as citizens, they have distinct
responsibilities to the entire biocommunity.
The meaning of Enlightenment is changing. In the eighteenth century it meant
overcoming religious dogma and tyranny; in the late twentieth century, it meant
overcoming racism, sexism, homophobia, and other prejudices; now, in the
twenty-first century, it means overcoming speciesism and embracing universal
ethics that honors all life.
We can change; we must. The message of nature is evolve or die.
<><><><>
To see more from Dr. Best,
check out the following website:
http://utminers.utep.edu/best/
Dr. Steven Best
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~2~
#A066766
Name Unknown
A stray female chow mix was a bundle of nervous energy.
She was submissive but distracted, unfocused and jittery. She couldn't handle
the over stimulation of the shelter environment and deteriorated quickly,
becoming more scared, her energy level nearly frantic. "It's so stressful
in here," sighed a shelter worker.
No one came to claim her, and after four days, the decision was made.
We have made dogs to be our most loyal friends, and they live that role, to the
very end. And so they go willingly, with trust. They cooperate when the leash
is hooked to their collar, and follow obediently on the last walk they will
ever take. She didn't know what would happen to her, but she went. Willingly.
With trust . . . a trust betrayed first by the family who lost her, and then
again by a society who can do no better than offer this as their answer.
~ From the book - One at a Time: A Week in an American Animal Shelter
This book is dedicated to animals whose stories are told within these pages,
and to homeless animals everywhere.
May they forgive us . . .
. . . and may we be worthy of that forgiveness by giving them the only fitting
tribute: to stop the killing.
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~3~
Vegetarianwedding.net
Donna Zeigfinger - dzeigfinge@aol.com
Phone - 301.320.2892 - 202.478.1810
Less stress for vegetarian wedding planners
Your online resource for vegan and vegetarian weddings.
Cabin John Maryland
So you want the vegetarian wedding of a life time to go off without a hitch.
That can sometimes be easier said then done. You need a catering service who
truly knows what the meaning of vegetarian is, you want a wedding dress that
did not kill any silkworms to make, and most important you want to be able to
eat your own wedding cake without wondering what is in it.
Vegetarianwedding.net has a data base of listings from catering services to
photographers and even vegetarian honeymoon specialists nationwide!
We are also looking for vendors to list with us so if you are a catering
service, photographer, baker, wedding dress designer, makeup artist, musician,
or reception venue, please contact us at Dzeigfinge@aol.com
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~4~
The Ultimate Challenge In Defense of Animals
Calling all athletes, couch potatoes, or weekend warriors!
In Defense of Animals is putting together an athletic team consisting of
individuals who want to support the image of strength and leadership in animal
advocacy. I invite you to join us in walking, running, biking, and swimming
events to show off your athletic prowess, have loads of fun, and inspire
others!
Why are we doing this? Because world-class, professional athlete Eric Harr and
In Defense of Animals have joined together to promote animal compassion and
bring exposure to the guardian effort. Eric is embarking on an athletic
endeavor titled The Ultimate Challenge In Defense of Animals. Throughout 2004
he will travel the globe to compete in ten, famous sporting events. Because of
Eric’s compassion for animals and generous nature, the funds raised will go to
animal protection/advocacy organizations. To find out more about The Ultimate
Challenge In Defense of Animals you can visit Eric Harr’s website at
www.uchallenge.com/charities.htm, and www.uchallenge.com/press_1.htm.
All you have to do is show up! You don’t have to be a runner or even a walker,
merely a cheerleader, willing to wear our Team IDA shirt and show your
pro-animal attitude.
There are a many ways you can join us in this effort:
1. Participate by running, walking or cheering in the kickoff, San Francisco
half-marathon or 5K on February 1st.
2. Participate and cheer at the growing list of confirmed Ultimate Challenge
events around the country, which are:
The San Francisco Home Depot Half Marathon, San Francisco, CA - February1
Snelling Professional Half Cycling Classic, Snelling, CA - February 22
Menton Triathlon, Menton, France - March 23
London Marathon, London, England - April 18
Norba Napa Valley Dirt Classic Mountain Bike Race, Napa Valley, CA - April 25
Dipsea Run, Mill Valley, CA - June 8
Ironman Coeur D’Alene, Coeur D'Alene, Idaho - June 27
Xterra National Mountain Bike Triathlon Championships, Lake Tahoe, CA -
September 28
Alcatraz Invitational Swim, San Francisco, CA - October 4
Hawaii Ironman World Championships, Kona, Hawaii - October 18
For detailed descriptions of these events see:
http://www.uchallenge.com/events.htm
This list of up to twenty events will be continually updated at the link above.
3. Run, bike, swim and cheer in your own, local events, wearing your Team IDA
apparel. Below is a list of links to events around the country to choose from.
Please contact us if you’d like to go to one of them so that we can get you
together with other Team IDA members in your area and mail you your
complimentary shirt.
www.active.com
www.theschedule.com
www.runnersworld.com
www.lungusa.org/events
www.lungusa.org/local
We want so badly to see all of you out there, representing Team IDA. Athletic
prowess has nothing to do with what you can give to this effort! If Eric feels
our power and absolute dedication to better the lives of our animal friends,
how can he not succeed?
The difference between wanting something and getting something is actually
putting your body in the spot where it needs to be. Because In Defense of
Animals is the sole beneficiary of all the money Eric will raise with his
stellar athletic prowess, this is a golden opportunity for us to multiply and
harness our power. But we need numbers…numbers of people who really care about
animals to show their faces and say so!
Sign-up now by going to www.idausa.org/teamida and look forward to donning the
Team IDA complimentary t-shirt that showcases your cause while you sweat, pump,
train and cheer! Please contact me if you have any questions about Team IDA
membership.
Jessica M. Thomas
Team IDA Captain
Ultimate Challenge IDA Director
jessica@idausa.org
(415) 388-9641 ex. 222
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~5~
MeatOut 2004
IT'S TIME TO BRING MEATOUT 2004 TO YOUR CITY!
Time to visit our updated web site at www.meatout.org.
Time to start planning your Meatout activities for March.
Time to promote healthy and compassionate eating.
* Meatout is your best once-a-year opportunity to have your friends and
neighbors "kick the meat habit and explore a more wholesome, less violent
diet of vegetables, fruits, and grains."
* Meatout is your best opportunity to inform your friends and neighbors of the
health, environmental, and ethical benefits of plant-based eating.
* Meatout is your best, once-a-year opportunity to save thousands of animals
from the agony of factory farms and slaughterhouses.
Every 1% reduction in U.S. meat consumption prevents the agony and death of 100
million innocent, feeling animals - more than the combined number of animals
victimized by all other human activities. Every person you turns away from
animal products spares as many as 2,500 animals.
This March, join thousands of caring people in all 50 states and 20 other
countries in hosting a Meatout event in your area.
For simple instructions, visit www.meatout.org to order your Free Action Kit,
even if you are just thinking about it or merely curious.
Dawn Moncrief
National Coordinator, Meatout 2004
www.meatout.org; info@meatout.org; 1-800-MEATOUT
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~6~
I Am Your Dog
Author Unknown
I am your dog, and I have a little something I'd like to
whisper in your ear.
I know that you humans lead busy lives. Some have to work, some have children
to raise. It always seems like you are running here and there, often much too
fast, often never noticing the truly grand things in life.
Look down at me now, while you sit there at your computer. See the way my dark
brown eyes look at yours?
They are slightly cloudy now. That comes with age. The gray hairs are beginning
to ring my soft muzzle.
You smile at me; I see love in your eyes. What do you see in mine? Do you see a
spirit? A soul inside, who loves you as no other could in the world? A spirit
that would forgive all trespasses of prior wrong doing for just a simple moment
of your time?
That is all I ask. To slow down, if even for a few minutes to be with me. So
many times you have been saddened by the words you read on that screen, of
other of my kind, passing.
Sometimes we die young and oh so quickly, sometimes so suddenly it wrenches
your heart out of your throat. Sometimes, we age so slowly before your eyes
that you may not even seem to know until the very end, when we look at you with
grizzled muzzles and cataract clouded eyes.
Still the love is always there, even when we must take that long sleep, to run
free in a distant land. I may not be here tomorrow; I may not be here next
week. Someday you will shed the water
from your eyes, that humans have when deep grief fills their souls, and you
will be angry at yourself that you did not have just "One more day"
with me.
Because I love you so, your sorrow touches my spirit and grieves me. We have
NOW, together. So come, sit down here next to me on the floor, and look deep
into my eyes. What do you see? If you look hard and deep enough we will talk,
you and I, heart to heart.
Come to me not as "alpha" or as "trainer" or even "Mom
or Dad," come to me as a living soul and stroke my fur and let us look
deep into one another's eyes, and talk. I may tell you something about the fun
of chasing a tennis ball, or I may tell you something profound about myself, or
even life in general.
You decided to have me in your life because you wanted a soul to share such
things with. Someone very different from you, and here I am.
I am a dog, but I am alive. I feel emotion, I feel physical senses, and I can
revel in the differences of our spirits and souls. I do not think of you as a
"Dog on two feet" -- I know what you are. You are human, in all your
quirkiness, and I love you still.
Now, come sit with me, on the floor. Enter my world, and let time slow down if
only for 15 minutes. Look deep into my eyes, and whisper to my ears. Speak with
your heart, with your joy and I will know your true self. We may not have
tomorrow, and life is oh so very short..........................
Love, (on behalf of canines everywhere)
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~7~
Website of Note
MeatFreeZone
- The Meat Free Zone (MFZ)
The
Meat Free Zone (MFZ) campaign is intended to make the MeatFreeZone logo as
recognizable a symbol as the "Smoke Free Zone." The idea was
originally conceived when The WARM Store in Woodstock, NY, was in operation
throughout the '90's (Woodstock Animal Rights Movement). The store was truly a
meat free zone as it was the first cruelty-free, Vegan, socially conscious animal
rights store in the United States. Now that the Vegan and Vegetarian movements
have been growing so rapidly, more and more people are showing concern about
the food in their diet and their overall health and nutrition. Many people are
giving up eating fish, chicken, beef, pork (pigs ), dairy (milk, cheese,
yogurt, ice cream) and eggs. Headlines of Mad Cow disease, E-coli and
salmonella are in the news with greater frequency. Vegan and vegetarian recipe
cookbooks are standard now in all bookstores and many restaurants have added
Vegan and Vegetarian options to their menus. We hope you will help us with the
Meat Free Zone campaign by putting the signs up in your homes and workplaces
and by spreading them to all the vegetarian and vegan restaurants that you know
and frequent. And someday we will have true "meat free zones" in
establishments that serve meat.
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~8~
ACT Radio, Animal Concerns of Texas
By Greg Lawson - ParkStranger@aol.com
Be sure to listen to Act, Animal Concerns of Texas with cohosts
Greg Lawson, Steve Best and Elizabeth Walsh tonight at 7:30pm Mountain time.
Tonight we discuss Mad Cow Disease with our guest Dr. Michael Gregor. Act can
be heard on the web with Real Radio, which is a free download.
Click here to listen to Act.
http://www.ktep.org/program_detail.ssd?id=103
El Paso NPR - KTEP 88.5
: National Public Radio for the Southwest
Click here for information on how to get Real Radio and for a link to the
archive of our past shows.
http://utminers.utep.edu/vsep/actradio
ACT Radio
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~9~
I Know Why
By Diana Morton -
morton_diana@hotmail.com
october 2003.
I know why caged bird sings
imprisoned with broken wings
I know why a piglet cries
as Mother prematurely dies
I know why veal calves moans
wrenched from Mama, all alone
I know why chimpanzees scream
souls laid waste of jungle dream
Yes, I know why a baby lamb ba's
longing for their long lost Ma's
Death be nimble, death by quick
arsenic plates, poison chopsticks
I know why dairy cows low
spent of milk, to butcher go
Humans mean, people cruel
love to make sweet animals pule
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~10~
Memorable Quote
"A man of my spiritual intensity does not eat corpses."
~George Bernard Shaw
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online
http://www.oocities.org/RainForest/1395/
-=Animal
Rights Online=-
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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