I'm glad The Vegan Police has a post discussing "Abolitionist History 101: Animal Abolition and Racism." In the post, The Vegan Police challenge the post-racial appropriation of "abolition." The post seeks to challenge readers ignorance and encourage us to dig deeper and learn something about the past and present abolitionist movements with regard to the historical and ongoing captivity of Blacks and other people of color in the United States. (Read more...)
race
The Garden: A Model for Change
I highly recommend watching Scott Hamilton Kennedy's documentary The Garden. This film brilliantly illustrates the following concrete realities as they are experienced by oppressed communities within the United States:
- It shows how the existing power structure is poorly suited to serving the interests of oppressed peoples.
- It shows how the existing power structure works extremely well at serving the interests of the owning-class.
- It shows how the existing power structure is bolstered throughout by White supremacy. (Read more...)
Get Help or Get Lost
Yesterday, Breeze Harper posted on the Sistah Vegan blog about her frustration with White self-identified vegans who think race and racism isn't an issue. Breeze says:
I'm at the point that if I have friends who are not willing to engage in anti-racist activism and aren't questioning "whiteness as a pathology"( because it truly is part of the fabric of the USA foundational beliefs), I am going to start kicking them to the curb. Seriously, if you haven't noticed, your friend Breeze here is B-L-A-C-K! If my real lived experiences of racism STILL don't convince you that it's a problem in the USA ... I can no longer be your friend until you seek therapy for your pathology.
Luckily, there are several self-help resources available to assist those of us who are White in managing our individual, cultural and institutional racism. Read more...
Race, Species and Dehumanization
From the headlines of yesterday's Democracy Now! comes this report of a speciesist and racist "joke" dehumanizing President Obama:
GOP Candidate Jokes About Hunting President Obama
An Idaho Republican gubernatorial candidate is claiming he was only joking when he said he would buy a license to hunt President Obama. At a rally in Twin Falls on Tuesday, Rex Rammell was discussing hunting tags, when an audience member shouted a question about "Obama tags." Rammell responded, "The Obama tags? We'd buy some of those." Rammell says he sees no reason to apologize, because he was joking.
This is not the first time violence against nonhuman animals was employed to communicate a threatening racist message against the president. In February of this year, immediately after a chimpanzee who was being kept as a pet was shot and killed by police, the New York Post published a cartoon depicting the killing with one of the cops saying, "They'll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill," in direct reference to President Obama.
Oppression in the Background
On sunday, brownfemipower made a very insightful comment on the Vegans of Color blog. In her comment, BFP makes two major points: 1) there is no shortage of insensitivity in our society towards the oppression of people of color; and 2) exposure to extremely violent images of others being oppressed does not translate into respect for those who are being oppressed. These are both important points that deserve further consideration by vegans and other nonhuman animal advocates.
How PETA Exploits Black Men
The juxtaposition of the lynching of Black men and the slaughter of a bull, from a PETA exhibit in 2005, offends many Black people and anti-racist activists who object to the juxtaposition as dehumanizing and representative of White supremacy. Many of those (mostly White) nonhuman animal advocates who defend the comparison counter that those who object to the exhibit are just being "speciesist."
Racism on Animal Planet
I come across an interesting post from Fair Weather Vegan, via apoc of IllVox, discussing the racism of programs like Animal Planet's "Animal Precinct" and the colonialist gaze of its other "wildlife" programing:
Feminism Beyond Transphobia
I no longer feel that continued education about trans issues within women's communities would change their oppressive behaviors in any significant degree, unless they are actually willing to change. It is not the lack of knowledge or information that keeps oppression going; it is the lack of feminist compassion, conscience and principle that is. -Emi Koyama, "Whose Feminism is it Anyway? The Unspoken Racism of the Trans Inclusion Debate"
When it comes to asking, "What are we going to do about transphobia among feminist-vegetarians/ecofeminists?" Emi Koyama just about sums it up. These are people who currently dominate the feminist discourse on nonhuman animals; as authors, speakers (in some cases very well paid speakers), and academic they have a vested interest in continuing the status quo. (Read more...)
Being an Ally: Taking a Bullet
I can empathize with people's refusal to accept their privilege. That is, I can understand their situation, feelings, and motives for wanting to hold on to the privileges that come from oppressive systems. I struggle with confronting my own privileges everyday. However, since I feel working to divest ourselves of privilege is so important I have to admit I don't have much sympathy for those situations, feelings, and motives that lead us to believe that giving up privilege is too extreme or impossible. I can't accept excuses for our privileges that need interrogation and intervention.
Anti-Oppression and Law Enforcement
By way of Emily's The Partial Muse, I came across a comment Tim Wise left on Racialicious that backlashes against veganism. Now I think White vegans and other White anti-speciesists can learn a lot from Wise about White privilege and anti-racism. In this respect, I'd recommend people read Wise's work, start with his "Animal Whites" article. However, Wise's comment on Racialicious shows some confusion over anti-oppression work and law enforcement, not to mention a need to learn more about human supremacy and the oppression of nonhuman animals. (Read more...)
