activism

Today, I came across a blog for the first time, and wanted to share the first post I read from it. There is an effective use of analogy to comment on some key issues for activists and society to reflect on. [I have not included embedded video, links or footnotes]

when we fight we let them win
http://vegina.wordpress.com/2010/08/02/when-we-fight-we-let-them-win/

There is so much to write about, that I have not managed to put something together... I have decided to include someone else's reflections on the last weeks G20 protests in Toronto, as a prelude:

Cop Car Burned! All Criticisms of Global Capitalism Rendered Moot!
http://propagandhi.com/2010/06/959/

i don’t endorse violence. i don’t think it’s the ideal way forward to a better society. i think all sane people would agree. heck, i don’t even endorse vandalism in the “service” of social change. i’m conservative that way. but the disproportionate reaction (to the disproportionate mainstream media coverage) to the image of a burning car and some broken windows at the G20 summit in toronto needs to be put into perspective.

I recently watched The People Speak (2009), and have once again reflected on the amazing and inspirational contribution of Howard Zinn (1922-2010). I was a little taken aback by how frail he seemed when on stage for the documentary. I guess the last footage of his I had seen was in the film based on his autobiography You Can’t be Neutral on a Moving Train (2004). In The People Speak, he summed up what we can all do quite simply:

If we live now as we think human beings should live. In defiance of all that is bad around us, that in itself is a marvellous victory.

Following on from my rush of recent posts with a similar theme, I have some thoughts on the response of the ‘audience’ to a scheduled seminar Lee Hall recently participated in at the London Vegan Festival. If the approach of the self-declared ‘animal rights activists’ in the room is the future of the animal movement (if I can use that term with any validity), the movement is in a very sorry position and the future is very bleak. The shambles that the seminar became are posted on youtube, and linked to at the bottom of this post.