| World Vegan News | March 11 2006 |
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The online magazine Salon.com has an advice column run by Cary Tennis. Today's column, March 8, is headed, "I'm so vegan it hurts. I'm becoming increasingly militant in my vegetarian activism, and it's causing me to isolate and be depressed."
The writer talks about the problem she has just walking down the aisle in a grocery store and seeing the dead animals, and of being involved in wider social activism groups. I recommend reading her whole question, and Cary's thoughtful reply, at salon.com.
To summarize -- the "militant vegan" writes:
"Whenever I bring up the question of animals at broader activist coalitions, I am told flat-out that I am demeaning the plight of X (where X stands in for a group of humans who are somehow oppressed, though few of them are being slaughtered, I might add) by suggesting that we extend our fight for all life that is oppressed by Power."
And she asks, "How do I stick to my principles -- for I am unapologetic on this issue -- without bouts of anger and depression?...In short, how does one live as a joyful, ethical vegan, fighting for life and liberation against all forms of oppression?"
Cary's extraordinarily thoughtful reply suggests that we often "adopt beliefs that meet certain personal needs" and that until we are aware of that, we "are likely to respond to conflict and setbacks with uncontrollable emotion."
But she writes, "You may fear that if your beliefs have a personal motivation they are somehow less valid. But adopting certain beliefs that fulfill certain emotional or spiritual needs does not mean those beliefs are invalid. It only means that you choose certain causes among many because those certain causes have a personal meaning to you. The trick is to know what that personal meaning is. Knowing that will not only help you avoid pitfalls but can also be a source of great strength.
"This is true because you are not just working for a cause; you are expressing your deepest sense of who you are."
On coalition work she writes:
"In working with activist coalitions, you may find at times you have to let other people work out whatever they are working out, and offer them support, even if it feels as though to do so weakens your own cause. There are many things worth fighting for in this world, and though activists may differ about priorities, they are all basically good people trying to improve the world.
She ends with:
"It may appear that I have steered clear of the topic of animal rights. What I respond to is your inner turmoil, your emotional suffering, which would be important to me no matter what the substance of your beliefs or the nature of your conflicts with others. I support your struggle to improve the world by advocating greater compassion and awareness of other living things. And I think the way to wage that struggle is to gain greater awareness of the forces in your own life that drive you to do it."
Her answer is more than twice as long as the above, and a worthy read for animal rights activists who find this work at times dispiriting and alienating. At the bottom of the page (the URL is at the top of this alert) is a link at which you can send Cary Tennis a note. Her comments on activism and compassion deserve some thank you notes. Please write.
As it discusses personal motivations and activist effectiveness, this alert seems to be a fitting place for me to mention that last year, on the advice of extraordinary activists such as Julia Butterfly Hill (the environmentalist who sat in the tree called Luna for two years) and Bruce Friedrich (head of vegan campaigns for PETA) I participated in a program called The Landmark Forum. It changed my life and particularly my activism. Within two months of completing the advanced course I had my first three solo op-eds published in leading US papers. The Forum did not change the amount of knowledge I had on animal issues, but it changed the tone of my writing and my ability to enroll other people in the cause.
The Forum is like a significantly softer gentler version of an earlier program, some of you may have heard of, called EST. The Introduction takes place over an intense three day weekend. One learns a lot about one's own motivations and one's personal relationships. At the advanced course, another three day weekend, one works on one's place in the world and learns how to enroll other people in projects. At the final stage, the Self Expression and Leadership Course, one takes on a project that will make a difference in the world. You can learn more about The Forum at www.LandmarkEducation.com and I would be delighted to answer any questions you have. The more animal advocates who do the Forum, the stronger our movement will be.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn.
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
