Deja vu all over again: Animal rights "activists" 10 years ago, "truth movement" today
When will we learn?
There was a time when I was a known figure in the realm of animal rights (AR). My desire to help non-humans clouded my vision as I overlooked the sheer dysfunction of these so-called “movements.”
I could go on with tales of sexual misconduct, racism, hypocrisy, and more. For the purposes of this post, I wanna focus on how AR “activists” constantly self-sabotage their efforts by remaining at war with each other.
Are you an abolitionist or a reformist? Do you follow the cult of Gary Francione or the cult of Gary Yourofsky? Where do you stand on PETA? Are vegetarians welcome to your protest or do you allow only vegans? What if someone shows up to your event in leather shoes? Is honey vegan? (Please note: This post is not about dietary choices.)
This led to bizarre but bitter rivalries as “activists” in NYC kept score of who showed up to which protests. It was an unabashed, open competition to prove who was the most dedicated when it came to “fighting for the animals.”
Never once did they consider uniting to actually present an iota of a threat to the status quo.
They valued reputation more than effectiveness.
Sound familiar?
🤔
You probably won’t be surprised to hear that I did my best to connect with every AR group back then. Thus, I often gave talks at all of their gatherings — sometimes even getting paid for my services.
My presence at your AR event lent you credibility and a guarantee of several quality photos, e.g.
Through it all, each AR sect was CERTAIN they had all the correct answers on the test while accusing the others of things like collaborating with the enemy.
Sound familiar?
🤔
To the outside world (read: 99.99 percent of humans), there is no discernable difference between the different AR factions. In fact, as I’ve written in the post below, we were all accurately lumped under the general category of “crazy.”
Even the Piano Man™ agreed:
That time Billy Joel called me crazy
Finally, this brings me to discuss the “truth warriors” of 2023.
Actually, never mind.
I’ve already made my point.
The urge to form distinct little tribes seems to be baked in to human affairs generally. I've seen the same competitive status panics/purity spirals in many other settings, such as office politics. Out-group elites also appear to be very good at forming crackpot, proprietary tribes. They never last.
Divide and conquer.
I have long figured that most "activism" could be done away with, if we would each work harder at being good stewards. Respect creation and creatures. Don't take what you don't need. But where's the fun in that, LOL?
Sounds too much like the teaching of the ol' patriarchal bogeyman, The Church, doesn't it? Nah. They couldn't be right...