break the silence...

the united nations declaration on the elimination of violence against womyn states “the term violence against women means any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life”.

according to the australian government statistics “One in three Australian women have experienced physical violence since the age of 15. Almost one in five have experienced sexual violence. It is time for that to change.”  

it’s time for our brothers to stand up and say no more – to shout enough is enough – violence against our mothers, sisters, wives, daughters, friends is not acceptable… it’s time to show outrage… it’s time to say ‘that violence deserves punishment’ – it’s time to stop turning a blind eye…

it’s time to stand up and say you are not a believer in men’s domination of womyn, you are not a believer in men’s right to control, brutalize, violate, ridicule or belittle womyn… 

on this white ribbon day you can take a stand by something as simple as acknowledging out loud - in the workplace, at home, in the pub, anywhere, everywhere - that ‘that comment isn’t acceptable’, ‘that joke isn’t funny’, ‘that view is misogynistic’, ‘that behaviour is intolerable’…

it’s time to break the silence that allows violence to continue and flourish... it's time to swear the oath...

the personal is political...

it's been a while since i've heard that 'rallying cry'... it was something we womyn's liberationists used to chant 'way back' in the 70s, so it was quite wonderful to read it in the 'here and now' as the title of vegan feminist agitator's latest blog post "The Personal is Political: Veganism is a Feminist Act"!!! there are some things you read that just resonate, and this is one of those posts, so while i'm procrastinating over writing a new post myself, this one is definitely worth the share (along with her 'rosie the riveter' graphic!)...

"I was born a feminist. I’m not sure where it came from – perhaps my dynamo of a grandmother, confident to the core – but growing up, I never thought that I was anything but a complete equal to everyone else. I was a natural feminist and when I learned that there was a real need for it - that there were those who believed in arbitrary, illogical and repressive hierarchies - the fire within me to correct injustices found its fuel source. When I saw kids throw rocks at squirrels, heard people make bigoted remarks, witnessed others being treated unfairly, my hands would involuntarily ball up into tight little fists. Even if I wanted to keep quiet, to not attract the ire of that bully down the block who threw rocks at the squirrels or the loudmouth at the bar years later, I physically couldn’t do it. It’d be like asking a volcano to please not explode. My feminism and my passion for equality and fairness were always fully interwoven and integrated."  

here i believe though is the time to send you on over to Marla's blog to read her post in its entirety... 

 

there's always one...

you’re at a work function, there’s catering, there’s a big spread for the carnists - then there’s the vegan not-so-varied spread the caterers threw together for those who don’t eat other earthlings… have you ever noticed there’s always some non-vegan who decides they will just tuck into the vegan fare without regard to the vegans missing out?

we had an in-service staff training day last week and it was the obligatory spread for the carnists – morning tea for them consisted of sweet muffins, pastries, scones (you get the picture) - and what did the caterers do for the vegans? a small plate of dry, crumbly, savoury muffins - at least lots of fruit is always provided for all!!!

knowing that would likely happen though i got up at 5.30am to make a dozen vegan muffins to make sure we had something yummy to eat (6 berry, 6 chocolate - and no, not pics of mine - who thinks to take photos that early in the morning while psyching yourself up for work?) - exactly enough for us vegans (and one colleague with all sorts of allergies and special dietary needs who often brings in vegan-friendly stuff he or his partner have made that i can share) - so that meant we had one each for morning tea and one each for afternoon tea…

but of course, there was a lot of cajoling by many - 'are you sure there's none to spare?'  or 'can't i just try a little bit' - did i already mention they had quite a bit of food? - that meant someone had to 'stand guard' over them until those they were made for – the vegans - actually got theirs – oh, did i mention i paid for everything to make them? i'm not begrudging that at all - so long as the vegans were benefitting - but it adds a bit more perspective to something that happened in the afternoon...

nearly everyone understood the refusal (although it can get really draining explaining yourself all the time!!) - many asked me for the recipe on sight alone though (because they looked delicious, and of course everyone knows someone who is either vegan or has some sort of animal-product intolerance) but i had a ‘stand off’ at afternoon tea time… yes, that one particular belligerent, selfish, greedy fucker who was determined he was going to have the last one regardless – i was equally determined he wasn’t and i certainly wasn't going to be intimidated by his belligerence… after a few attempts at 'civil explanation' with his response 'i don't care' and insistence that he was entitled because it was there, i got to the point where i started to sound like a broken record - ‘you’re not fucking vegan, you're not having it' to his 'i'm vegan for the moment if i say so' - a real spoilt selfish smart arse... i really had to contain my urge to pick up the container they were in and smash it across his face – another colleague had a go at him pointing out the obvious:  he was able to eat anything else there, the vegans couldn’t…

i was really pissed off (still am when i think about it!) - guess if you're totally self absorbed and believe in your own entitlement to everything, courtesy and respect for colleagues don't enter the picture... sometimes we've all just had enough, reached our tolerance threshold - i certainly had that day, i was well over pain-in-the-arse selfish uppity humans - especially ones i have to work with (but luckily not often!)...

this sort of shit happens all the time though - i’ve spoken to a number of vegans (and vegetarians) and all have had the same sort of experiences at functions – that’s when vegans even get catered for at all!!

while on 'catering' - whatever happened to the plain old garden variety salad, the type that went perfectly on a sandwich - you know, tomato, lettuce, onion, cucumber, beetroot, perhaps some coriander, maybe some vegan mayonnaise – when did sloppy marinated eggplant, capsicum, etc. become the 'gourmet' ingredients for a wrap that had to sit for who knows how long? don't get me wrong, i love these foodstuffs - as part of a vegan platter... as well as the wraps last week we got wholegrain sandwiches with something that looked like mashed steamed veg on spinach – now that really was a slop sandwich!! where do these so-called caterers get their 'inspiration' for vegan food from? there are so many recipe sites, vegan cook books, information in general so how can they make such crap?

methinks next time i’ll just take my own salad roll for lunch!!

as for being vegan, i long for the day the majority live a compassionate lifestyle and all catering is vegan (and edible!!)...

a good place to find out information on the vegan philosophy, lifestyle and food is at the world vegan day gatherings... and as november is world vegan month activities are happening worldwide, with melbourne's world vegan day celebration to be held on 11 november at princes park in carlton...

but before that celebration, there is soi dog australia's trade of shame demonstration against the brutal dog smuggling trade in asia at federation square on 3 november... perhaps i'll see you there...

"As long as people will shed the blood of innocent creatures there can be no peace, no liberty, no harmony between people. Slaughter and justice cannot dwell together." ... Isaac Bashevis Singer

united we stood...

i stood united with thousands australia-wide at the 'ban live export' rallies held last weekend and heard the remarkable lyn white from animals australia...

and just why were we there? to stand up and be counted, to say enough is enough - this heinous industry must stop immediately... we have seen far too many recent reports of brutality from the moment these beautiful sentient creatures are herded onto the transport trucks, to harrowing weeks and months on board disgustingly cruel slave ships, to the callous and savage butchery that is their final degradation at human hands - how could we not stand up for the violated voiceless?

Lyn White at Ban Live Export Rally, 6th October 2012 from Animals Australia on Vimeo.

people are starting to understand graphic scenes like the following 2 clips are 'the norm' rather than the exception for those who actually survive the harrowing journey...

 

sadly hundreds of thousands of enslaved nonhumans will endure this brutality while the industry continues with the support of politicians...

but change is 'in the air'... members of parliament are starting to stand up and be counted alongside the rest of us...

janelle saffin - introduced a private members bill calling for an end to the trade in 2011, supported by 5 other members - melissa parke, kirsten livermore, jill hall, dick adams and adam bandt (who reiterated his support of a ban at the 2012 melbourne rally)

kelvin thompson - called on his government colleagues to ban live animal exports

lee rhiannon - introduced the greens 'Live Animal Export (Slaughter) Prohibition Bill 2012' on thursday 11 october 2012... "No amount of regulation can end the cruelty that is inherent in the live export trade," she told the Senate yesterday."

many more support a ban privately but need to be brave enough to put what's right before party politics... if a conscience vote was allowed i'm sure more would vote against the trade...

unfortunately change doesn't come quickly enough for those currently enslaved and already on their torturous journey to slow, painful, horrific death...

but i need to believe change will happen as more and more people open their eyes and see the horrors, open their hearts and feel compassion, open their minds and make the connection, open their mouths and shout 'no more'...

"first they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win" ... mohandas karamchand gandhi

a call to action...

this plea from lyn white of animals australia was in my inbox earlier this week so i need to share it's urgent message...

"If you care about animals and want to see them protected from cruelty, then please join us this Saturday as we rally side-by-side, right across the country, for an end to live export.

As you read this, more than 10,000 Australian sheep await an uncertain fate in Pakistan. They have witnessed half their companions slaughtered in the most brutal ways — clubbed, stabbed and buried alive. Every day that passes, more and more animals are put at risk of extreme cruelty and abuse.

Despite assurances from the Australian Government that cruelty in the live export trade would be addressed, animals continue to be neglected, brutalised, and have their throats cut while fully conscious. Tragedy after tragedy reveals that animals exported live will always be at risk. And yet, they continue to be sent. This sends the appalling message to the rest of the world that Australia accepts animal cruelty.

The animals are depending on us — we must urgently let politicians know that caring Australians will not vote for political parties that support live export. This is your chance to join with others at a family-friendly event to rally for a kinder future for animals.

I sincerely hope you can join us, Lyn White Campaign Director

P.S. I realise that Saturday 6th October is short notice for a national rally. But I'm sure you'll agree that the latest shocking abuse of animals in the live export trade warrants a rapid response on a national scale. The Animals Australia team is pulling out all stops to create an event that our politicians won't be able to ignore."

if you have one iota of compassion, please be there for the voiceless - the larger the crowd, the more noticeable the outrage, the harder it is for politicians to ignore us... help end this horrendously cruel aspect of the brutal animal enslavement trade...