Thursday, December 02, 2004

Vegan Lifestyle = Direct Action

Posted by Mickey Z on 12/02 at 07:01 AM
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  1. I became a vegetarian in 1991, then a vegan in 1995 - it sure has been beneficial in so many myriad ways. It’s also about treading softly on our planet, making sure everybody gets fed. I became a vegan and an animal rights activist as a result of stumbling upon a “live poultry market” in chinatown, and watching this wonderful chicken trying to escape from the “worker” who was going to (and did) kill it. The chicken was running on the floor towards the open doors, but she couldn’t outrun her executor. I’ve been involved in the movement to help animals since 1995 - as a leader for 8 1/2 years, and now I do what I can when I can do it. I hope more and more people embrace a vegan diet! I also hope that the movement becomes more supportive of one another, less greedy for the money, and more caring and compassionate. I’d LOVE to be living in a vegan co-housing situation (can’t realistically afford it, but I can dream!), but I don’t know of any anywhere.

    Posted by Rich Griffin from Boston, Massachusetts  on  12/02  at  11:41 AM

  2. Thanks, Rich...I’d love to hear more about your animal rights work.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from   on  12/02  at  12:31 PM

  3. One of the reasons I am so CERTAIN that we cannot quantify things like demonstrations is because of my involvement in this particular movement - it’s just to do what you feel is necessary and not worry so much about outcomes (some worry, but not in a debilitating stopping from getting things done way). I ran a grassroots group called BRAVE (Boston Resource for Animals, Vegans, & the Environment) - luckily, when the group folded, MARC - Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition - picked up the ball! We did thousands of different actions, incl. street demos, but all sorts of different things. One of the best things I did was to organize a Massachusetts conference, to help bring activists together, to create better dialogue, and to work harder on animal issues from a rights perspective in our state. I was also involved in the 2000 ballot initiative to end greyhound racing in Massachusetts (we lost by 2% of the vote; we were outspent by 5-6 million dollars!). We did too many different actions to mention them all, but what’s most important is that we keep trying - and keep supporting each other’s best efforts, even when (esp. when) there are disagreements on strategies. I’m less involved at the moment due to health issues.

    Posted by Rich Griffin from Boston, Massachusetts  on  12/02  at  03:35 PM

  4. I must apologize, Rich. I didn’t immediately remember you as the person who e-mailed me a while back...the person I urged to visit the site and here you are.

    Your efforts are admirable and, yes, I often wonder if I’m too caught up in outcomes. Time is not on our side...but we might be more productive if it wasn’t always about palpable results. I go back and forth on this. Lately, I’m splitting my efforts between the more abstract, big picture work of decoding propaganda, debunking myths, and waking people up via my writing...and short term work like the benefit I’m involved in next week that will offer immediate relief to a few in Bolivia without truly addressing the conditions that allow for such inequality.

    Anyone else wanna jump in here?

    Posted by Mickey Z. from   on  12/02  at  03:43 PM

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