activism

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.

Following on from my recent post about strategy and tactics, with a focus on conflations and exceptionalisms, I wanted to pen some critical comments on the approach — not the actions — of Sea Shepherd. I want to emphasise the distinction between approach to and the actual actions as this is an area in which there are issues that can, should and need to changed. I am sure I am not the only one with direct action experience, including running training camps and workshops that has noted some serious issues with Sea Shepherd approach to actions.

I have been delving into the debate about strategies and tactics of late — with a focus on animal activists. Rather than focussing on what can be considered the traditional, in the sense of the last ~20 years, welfarist v abolitionist, I have taken to task exploring the debate between abolitionists specifically. What exactly I have been looking at is the debate around tactics, utilising the context of HLS/SHAC/SHAC-7, the AETA and the ALF.

After reading another comment on the murder of Dr George Tiller, I put some more thought into my reaction and reflections more generally on reproductive freedom — and also the actions of those opposed to a women’s right to choose (how they present, often non-considered, challenges to those undertaking action on social justice/environmental/animal issues). I have long supported a women’s right to choose, though still had some questions I had been unable to fully address. I think I have now come to a point where I am able to address lingering questions I had, albeit without a basis free from potential criticism.