Hi Will, its been awhile. I have been working all over the country and have not been able to check in for some time so I am just now seeing this post about me getting paid to post here. I wish that was true. I post here because I am the only one I have ever seen who post here who actually does something to protect the environment and those here who support terrorism need to realize that it is the people like me who really champion the environment.

I didn't know there was going to be vegan ice cream. I would have flown out!

Seriously, good talk.

One way (not original, by any stretch) that our grasroots group (Compassion for Animals) is trying to reach out to a diverse populace is tabling at community events that have a diversity of people, not just in terms of color and ethnicity - though that's important - but also in terms of political and religious views.

For instance, often cities, towns, or neighborhoods have things like "fall festivals;" those may be opportunities to have a registered table in the festival with animal rights and vegan information and to engage in productive discussions with people who stop by the table. The registration fee for these events is usually not too bad.

You can add interest to the table by offering free food samples (if practical and allowed), raffling off a signed vegan cookbook, having a signup sheet to visit (or volunteer at) a nearby farmed animal sanctuary, and so forth. Of course, have your email list signup sheet and contact info there. Some of the people who visit your table may become inspired to start doing activism.

Hope this helps.

Great information, thanks Gary!

Rare white buffalo in bankrupt rescue agency needs help to avoid being sold to profiteers who will not care about/understand her religious significance
http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/national/5383...

Hey Will,
It's been awhile since I've seen anything from you on here...so I figured I'd just check to make sure everything's alright.

Thanks very much for checking in, Lin. Same ole shit. I'm back and will have a post tomorrow, and again on Thursday to ease into things...

Hi Lantz
I just wanted to say that in the UK there are many people of colour + many other nationalities involved with AR & environmental issues & all against the horrible prejudices of all sorts so it's coming.
Keep campaigning - we will, all the best viv

soulgrind....

great discussion, nice tazmanian devil tattoos and thanks for the white makeup to freshen up my goth look...

oh shit....security culture....

i agree 100 percent with l(A)ntz. i think addressing our privilege, building coalitions with oppressed people of color, queers, etc is the most important thing activists should be doing. so why are we not? it should be addressed at every conference, meeting, blog, whatever. it needs to be discussed and its extremely troubling to continue to see these issues be ignored or brushed under the table. i just dont see the ar movement making serious progress until activists begin to connect the issues of human and non-human animal oppression. i cant count how many protests ive been to where "human/animal liberation NOW!" was a protest chant but yet the causes of this human and animal oppression thats so inherently connected is NEVER discussed. i dont have the answers on how to go about buildinig these coalitions but i do know that it needs to be done, that there wont be any formula, that each community of activists will have to address the conditions in their town, city, whatever, that it must be done honestly, genuinely, without some hidden agenda of "recruiting" more people of color for protests, or getting more queer folks to go vegan, that we first need to do our homework and really study and analyze the conditions oppressed people are facing in our area. we need to start speaking out and getting serious dialogue started.

theres a really good article that analyzes some of these issues and i urge you all to take a look at it: http://theanarchistlibrary.org/animal-liberatio...

Hey Lantz -

It's true - PDX is also a prime example of gentrification and segregation (and a centralized source of vegan community + yummy fewds). Add to that with the fact that many activists hate doing outreach (Vs pressure campaigns).

I think it all starts with communication. Another person and I will be in Gresham this Sunday afternoon, getting started on becoming better at outreach with different groups of people. If you have time, you are free to join us.

I'm a vegan PETA employee (green) and an avowed Socialist (red). Does that make me a "Christmas Scare?"

Ha ha ha, YES!

First, Will, thought you might be interested by this article, "Is Dancing Terrorism?" http://slingshot.tao.ca/displaybi.php?0072014

Second, I think everyone needs to step back and realize that someone who is disinterested would not spend so much time attacking activists like Joe is. In other words, Joe is motivated, makes money from, or perhaps paid by interests which are antagonistic against animal rights and environmental issues.

Third, when we have disagreements with each other, let us try to remember to be careful with each other. We need each other as friends more than we need each as enemies.

Hey Jim,

Why so defensive?

I find your comment rather presumptuous in a lot of ways. You assume that, because I am asking for a critical analysis of our movements and the way we interact -- or don't interact, as the case may be -- with other communities, that I am not taking initiative. You assume that I am "waiting for someone else to make the change" without knowing me or anything about me, my beliefs, or my activism (which includes a lot of prisoner support, for a lot of white people, by the way). These assumptions couldn't be further from the truth. Check yourself.

Yes, now that I am more conscious of this serious imbalance in our movements, the next time I organize an event, I will attempt to reach out to other communities outside of my own immediate one. However, that doesn't let other people off the hook.

I think you're avoiding the issue, which is pretty typical when someone tries to start a dialogue that no one else wants to participate in, for whatever reasons. I *am* taking steps to remedy the problem, a problem which I consider to be a big among the animal rights and environmental movements, in my own organizing. To think or to say that my sole initiative is all it takes is pretty ridiculous. The first step is to acknowledge it, which no one else seems to want to do. Movements are not exempt from critique. I'm not going to hang on the cross for asking a valid question.

Take the stick out of your ass. Thanks.

l(a)ntz,
If you think that things need to be directed towards other groups and that everything is based upon catering to white people then why don't *you* address it? Why are you asking other people instead of taking the initiative yourself? It's easy to criticize the way things are going without going through the effort to make it different and just wait around for someone else to make the change.
And with that, yes, there is white privilege, but to act as if everyone who is white has it grand and has never endured any hardships is bullshit and your comment reeks of that idea to me.

dude, seriously, joe... what the f

get a life

and what have I said that could possibly make you think I was racist?

No....are you?

Hey Joe, are you racist? Just wondering.

Steven, no I would not support ones lifestyle that included rape, theft, slavery, pedophilia, but we were not talking about any of those crimes. We were talking about simply the choice of being a vegan or not ......I choose not to be one but I don't care if you are just don't try and force me to be one.

l(A)ntz, I see you are onr of those people that needs praise for every little thing they do. I'm sorry I can't give it to you but have you showed this to your mother yet?

I'm a little bummed that no one has addressed my comment in any way, especially since I find it to be really important. Once again, Joe the Troll (tm) has co-opted any sort of meaningful discourse. Maybe it would be better off as a zine.

Joe,
We will calm down when the problems are solved. It is essential the we, in the words of the great Gough Whitlam "maintain our rage". If you don't like being called a troll, stop being a troll.

As for letting others live the lifestyle they want. Do you support that for someone who's lifestyle involves rape, theft, slavery, pedophilia; 'cause that what I see and it makes me very, very angry.

Oral arguments on the motion to dismiss the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act heard. Read more at:

http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2009/07/14/186...

l(A)ntz, now just calm down.... I know we are not allies but stop calling me a troll, I have just as much right to post here as anyone. I was not trying to twist your words, just wanted to condense your statement into what I felt you meant.

See if I am right, you live a lifestyle that you like and it works for you. So you think that others should live like you do and if they don't want that lifestyle as their own then you (or others who share your lifestyle) try and force your ways onto us, anyway you can.

Michael, I love how you say " convince governments, businesses, and individuals that a new paradigm is needed." by convince you mean terrorize people until you get them to live as you want them to, right?

Hey, Joe. I find it best for people to ignore you. But I have to say: keep your nose out of what I'm "trying to say." You and I are clearly not allies and I will never expect you to understand what I'm "trying to say." If you want to be a troll, be a troll. But don't put words in my mouth, and don't try to co-opt my words and twist them into your own conservative nonsense. Thanks.

Yes, Joe, that's what activists do. They see a problem, and they solve it by trying to convince governments, businesses, and individuals that a new paradigm is needed. You can call it "forciing your agenda on others", but we see it as preventing people from forcing their instruments of death on others.

Why do you still troll here?

P.S. Great video Will. I watched it last week. Looking forward to hearing you at AR (even though the session of yours I REALLY wanted to see is at the same time as my session!)

Thanks Michael! And it always seems to work out that way... I wish I could attend some of these conferences just as a spectator. Looking forward to seeing you!

What l(A)ntz is trying to say is, how can the AR movement force its agenda onto more people?

Will,
Grandma will be so proud of you! Great opening talk.

Fantastic speech!

(I guess I'll get my own ice cream.)

Hello Will, my name is Lantz. Smash the state!

This was a great video. I liked what you had to say, and it was very inspiring.

One thing that has been bothering me lately, that I wish someone (anyone) would address, is that the animal rights and environmental movements are overwhelmingly white. I didn't go to the Let Live Conference, but what I noticed from seeing all of the attendees that were coming in from out of town and stocking up on vegan junk food at Food Fight!, was that they were all (the ones I saw) white. And that sure does bother me.

And this doesn't stop with the Let Live Conference. Many amazing events, camps and workshops, such as the Trans' and Womyn's Action Camp (TWAC) and the Earth First! Rendezvous catered to a very specific type of person, and it's disconcerting, because these are all things that I believe in very deeply, and it would be amazing to spread these ideas to other, more marginalized communities.

Basically, there are a lot of privileged people in these movements, which is not a judgement in any sense. Even being able to choose what you eat is a privilege (one that I also have), and so I feel that if you have the privilege, you should use it wisely and compassionately. Using privilege as a tool to help further a cause is something that happens sometimes, and there's no shame in it. But the question I want to ask is: how can we spread these ideas to other marginalized communities? How can we incorporate people of color into this kind of important organizing? How about transgendered folks? How can we make them feel welcome? How can we stop preaching to the choir and really start building a revolutionary movement?

If we want these ideas to become prevalent, and if we truly want to transform our world into a more just, more egalitarian one, we can't keep catering to the same bourgeoisie, white privileged vegans. We need to build bridges across other movements, and recognize that they are all connected. There should be no difference between animal, earth, gay and black liberation. Oppression is oppression all the same. We need to show other movements that we ACKNOWLEDGE their oppression as being important and related to our struggle on behalf of the animals and the earth. We can't say that we understand, because - really, is a young white person ever going to understand the oppression an older transgendered Black person has to face? But we need to acknowledge it, embrace it, and make them feel welcome in our communities. We need to do more outreach in working class neighborhoods, put flyers for events in Black-owned businesses, we need to tell homeless people about Food Not Bombs, we need to invite day laborers to vegan potlucks. Because why not?

I just read about "The City From Below" in Baltimore, which was a conference organized by the Red Emma's Coffeehouse, Indypendent Reader, and other grassroots organizers to tackle many things in their communities, including gentrification, public transit, fighting homelessness, and other huge issues. It was very inspiring and I think Portland (and other cities) would be well advised to take after Baltimore and organize something of that sort, because we sure do need it in order to build bridges across our movements, and make sure that ALL are welcome in our communities, and to ensure that the word "community" does not become synonymous with "young, white, punk and privileged."

That being said, this is not a dis on Let Live or its organizers. Many of the organizers are my dearest friends, and people I respect personally and politically. It's also not a dis on white people, punk people, or anyone. I just want us to start thinking outside the box. Many vegans are anarchists, but many more are white liberals who think being vegan is enough. Being vegan is not inherently radical. If you're talking about animal liberation, that's radical, but if you're talking about animal liberation, you should also be talking about worldwide liberation for every oppressed group that exists. None are free until all are free.

If you really want to fight against racism, classism, sexism, homophobia, patriarchy, and all the other nasties, it helps to have a stick of vegan jerky in your hand. But it is not required, and it is not the end.

Also, thanks for mentioning the Red and Black, Portland's oldest worker-owned collectively managed cafe. :)