heading in the right direction...

this was one of the few 'good news', welcome articles in my inbox yesterday... 

"MASSIVE new fines, jail terms and unprecedented powers to shut down illegal puppy farms will be introduced in Victoria in a crackdown on animal cruelty. 

 

Premier Ted Baillieu will announce the toughest dog and cat laws in Australia today, with legislation to be introduced in State Parliament next week." from "baillieu government gets tough on illegal puppy farms"...

it's one step closer to achieving 'oscar's law', and one step closer to a more sane, compassionate society, and proof positive that people-power can have an impact...

and how could i not share this from debra tranter, the passionate, committed, brave, strong and determined womon who has fought to expose the brutality of this cruel industry for 2 decades...

"Today was a good day. I still cried like I do most days, but today were tears of relief. Relief that they are listening. Relief for my team who have stood by me for years even when I almost gave up. Relief for the hidden dogs that I am always with where ever I go. Relief for the staunch loyal kick arse supporters of Oscar’s Law who believed “The power is in our hands".

Almost 20 years ago I was a lone voice telling people we factory farm our pets. No one believed me, it couldn’t possibly be true. Today we have succeeded in exposing the industry and it is hidden no more. This is the first time in 20 years that any Government has made a first positive move and listened to the communities concerns.

People have jumped on the bandwagon and I think its great

As I remember back to that day in 1993 and look at the journey so far, so many times we could of walked away, so many times we were ridiculed, attacked, belittled, humiliated and threatened and we never gave up. I am proud of the people who have chosen to take the journey with me, proud that all they see are the dogs, in the sheds, in the cages, in the dirt pens. They don't seek out the kudos and the limelight, they simply stand beside me and get the job done. They are heroes.

It’s a step forward in this long battle.

So I will still cry every day, and my soul will still be torn apart, and we will at times feel like we are on the edge of our sanity, the battle continues and I will remain in those sheds until they are empty.

But today, just one day, I will celebrate this moment of greatness with Oscar, the dog that changed my life, showed me the way and resolved my commitment to never give up. The power is in our hands! I want Oscar’s Law ” ... from deb's blog prisoner's for profit

i wept tears of joy reading that last paragraph - you celebrate sister, enjoy this moment with oscar because you've fought hard for it... thank you for your courage and strength - you are an inspiration and a hero debra...

why don't YOU - yes YOU! - join the movement, because we can't become complacent... it is only a small 'gain', there is still a long way to go...  the fight to abolish puppy factories will continue until the industry is eradicated... oscar's law needs to be 'enshrined in law' to end all companion animal factory farming - at the very least...

"never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world... indeed, it is the only thing that ever has"... margaret mead

another altered meaning…

feminine… mid-14c., "of the female sex," from O.Fr. femenin (12c.) "feminine, female; with feminine qualities, effeminate," from L. femininus "feminine" (in the grammatical sense at first), from femina "woman, female," lit. "she who suckles," from base of felare "to suck, suckle" (see fecund). Sense of "woman-like, proper to or characteristic of women" is recorded from mid-15c. The interplay of meanings now represented in female, feminine, and effeminate, and the attempt to make them clear and separate, has led to many coinages: feminitude (1878); feminile “feminine” (1640s); feminility “womanliness” (1838); femality (17c., “effeminacy;” 1754 “female nature”). Also feminality (1640s, “quality or state of being female”), from rare adj. feminal (late 14c.), from O.Fr. feminal. And femineity “quality or state of being feminine,” from L. femineus “of a woman, pertaining to a woman.” ... from online etymology dictionary

definitely a female word - ‘of the female sex’ - therefore you would assume that no womon can fail to be feminine, no matter what she looks like, how she dresses or how she asserts herself…

so when did it become 'watered down' and interchangeable with ‘ladylike’ (a word i don't 'subscribe' to - you can read my post ‘this womon ain’t no lady’ here) – hmm, it appears to have started changing in the 15th century when we see the words "proper to .. women" creep into the definition... a time when womyn's worth and their roles were being redefined by a misogynistic, patriarchal culture to keep them subservient and silent - you know, seen but not heard… 

because if you were heard, that meant you had opinions of your own - you may just have been a strong womon... and strong womyn were to be feared...

yes, you may have picked up that the 'shift' in the meaning appears to coincide with the growing fervour of the european witch hunts and hatred of all things female, the gathering momentum with the publication of the malleus malificarum in 1487 and the spreading of fear into england...

and henry (yeah, that one - the 8th!!) 'fed the growing fear' when he accused anne boleyn of witchcraft, infidelity and incest - as adultery was considered treason for a queen it was also a very expedient way to dispose of a womon who'd only 'produced' a daughter - elizabeth - but no sons!... 6 years after her execution henry passed the witchcraft act of 1542 against 'conjurations and wichescraftes and sorcery and enchantmentes.'... the act was repealed in 1547 under edward's reign (but he was only 9 so the regency council was making all the decisions at this time!)

alas, repeal only lasted until the elizabethan witchcraft act was passed during elizabeth's reign in 1562 - sad considering her own mother had been accused of being a witch... but then lizzie had very powerful men with vested interests surrounding and advising her, and she inherited (and maintained) an extremely misogynistic 'kingdom'...  "during the Elizabethan era men were all-powerful. Women had few rights and were expected to obey men. Elizabethan women totally relied on the male members of the family. Society and the culture of England was changing. The convents had been closed. The number of poor was increasing and people were far less charitable. Old, poor, unprotected women needed to be supported - and this was resented by other Elizabethans."

so womyn were either witch - non-submissive, old, poor or without male support in a male dominant society - or submissive - totally downtrodden in a male dominant society - the new vision of feminine...

"the english language has been literally man made and it is still primarily under male control, this monopoly over language is one the means by which males have ensured their own primacy, and consequently have ensured the invisibility or 'other' nature of females, and this primacy is perpetuated while women continue to use, unchanged, the language we have inherited" ... excerpt from dale spender's 'man made language'

what's sad now is when I hear womyn labelling themselves with this diminished patriarchal sense of the word as though being a submissive ‘decoration’ is something to aspire to... and then there's the judgement of others - i'm sure you've all heard someone comment on the perceived feminine or unfeminine 'quality' of someone  - maybe you've heard something similar to "she's as rough as ..., so unfeminine" - or the seal of approval that goes along the lines of "doesn't she look feminine in that"?

perhaps next time you hear that you might think 'hey, she's female - she can't be anything but feminine!' - because to be feminine is to be female... to be female is to be feminine - and strong, and loud and proud - it's a womon-centred word... it's a word worth reclaiming...

 

the complicity of silence....

“Our culture, religion and tradition starts with oral history. Our belief in the superiority of humans is rooted in the darkness and superstition, passed on by word of mouth for centuries. It has become holy, writ large by human hands. If we taped an oral history of animal kingdom, the anguished screams would drown out the sound and fury of the Big Bang.” … philip wollen

sometimes i despair at being human  - i weep often and suffer incredible bouts of depression when i am constantly confronted with way too many horror stories of the abuse and  suffering of animals the world over….

my inbox is often ‘overflowing’ with cries for help from activists and organisations worldwide fighting to end the cruelty...

humans are responsible for all manner of horrors, from factory farming, to bear baiting and bile farming, animal experimentation to mass slaughter of wolves, whales, kangaroos and so many others... animal smuggling, the 'exotic pet' trade, poaching, and destruction of habitat placing many species in danger of extinction… then there's the live export shame, bullfighting, fur farming, the dogmeat trade, circuses, 'domestic' cruelty - the litany of  atrocities goes on and on…

“Animal cruelty has become big business. Billions of defenceless animals are killed each year for the mere taste of their flesh, look of their fur or skin, or vain hope that experimenting on them might tell us something about ourselves...

But it doesn’t have to be like this. Knowledge is power, and the power is in your hands to make a world of difference for animals!” ... unleashed australia

knowledge is power - and brave, caring and passionate people risk prosecution, sometimes physical harm, sometimes their lives - all risk their sanity - to discover the truth and then inform others... it’s this that gets me out of my despondency - their knowledge needs to be shared - i'll continue to weep but i have to keep reading, and keep writing... i'll keep pleading with politicians while filling up their inboxes, and i'll keep signing petitions and demonstrating - because silence only benefits the torturors and allows heinous practices to continue - silence makes us complicit in the horrors perpetrated against the innocent and voiceless…

"Animals cannot speak, but can you and I not speak for them and represent them? Let us all feel their silent cry of agony and let us all help that cry to be heard in the world."

... rukmini devi arundale

one thing that did brighten my world this weekend was discovering there is soon to be a vegan b&b in victoria - the first one in australia apparently - bed & broccoli - their official opening coincides with world vegan day on 6th november... and it's part of an animal sanctuary, how appropriate... hmmm, now that might be incentive enough to save for a weekend away...