as plain as the nose on your face...

walking past the fiction shelves in the back room at work the other day - they’re the shelves holding the new novels waiting to be catalogued - a very stunning, yet simple cover called out to me… i opened up ‘the secrets of mary bowser’ by lois leveen and was drawn into it immediately – i reserved it and couldn’t wait to read mary’s story…

this is an historical novel based on the life of mary bowser, a womon born into slavery and owned by a wealthy merchant john van lew... on his death his daughter elizabeth, an abolitionist, freed all of his slaves and sponsored mary’s education at the quaker school for negroes in philadelphia – a ‘free’ but ‘segregated’ community where mary learns valuable insights and questions much (including the notion of freedom!)...

after graduating she gave up her ‘freedom’ to return to richmond, virginia as part of an underground network transporting 'runaway' slaves to freedom... having a photographic memory, her ability to retain everything she reads, sees and hears, and relay information word for word, soon saw her take her place as an integral player in the union spy network... with underground assistance mary was 'installed' as a house slave in the confederate white house of jefferson davis – the perfect place to glean the movements and plans of the enemy and feed them back to the union…

very little information remains of mary’s exploits... according to the women in history website “After the war, the federal government destroyed the records of Southern spy activities, to protect their lives -- including Mary … In 1995, the U.S. government honored Mary Elizabeth Bowser for her efforts by inducting her in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. During the ceremony, her contribution was described thus:

Ms. Bowser certainly succeeded in a highly dangerous mission to the great benefit of the Union effort. She was one of the highest placed and most productive espionage agents of the Civil War. ... [Her information] greatly enhanced the Union's conduct of the war. ... Jefferson Davis never discovered the leak in his household staff, although he knew the Union somehow kept discovering Confederate plans."

while reading this book i couldn’t help but think about our modern day slaves – i saw the parallels to those society uses and abuses because of their physical difference – the perception that they are less than – that they are sub-human…

according to the website on nonhuman slavery in an article “The Dreaded Comparison: Martin Rowe on Marjorie Spiegel’s Groundbreaking Book” ...

“the ideologies of slavery that kept these human beings as property continue to be used with non-human animals today…

This comparison—between the conditions of slaves and the conditions of animals in factory farms, as victims of the hunt, and in laboratories—may not seem particularly surprising. After all, as Spiegel documents, slaves in the antebellum United States were considered literally sub-human….

Of course, this type of thinking does not only extend to slaves or African Americans. It extends to Jews, who were rounded up by the Nazis into cattle-cars and sent to the camps because they were considered less-than-human viral infections in the Aryan body politic. It extends to women who have been thought of as bitches, foxy ladies, vixens, bats, old cows, and less-than-male (i.e. fully human) for centuries. But, and this is Spiegel’s dreaded kicker, this comparison extends to non-human animals—who continue to be beaten, abused, tortured, confined, hunted, and made the play and work thing of those in power."

 can you see the parallels???

can you really not see the parallels?

there are so many others enslaved - from the fur factories, to the feed lots, the slaughterhouses, the puppy farms, the bile farms, the circuses, the 'bestiality brothels', the vivisectors torture chambers - there's such a long list that makes up the current slave trade in sentient beings... i won't add any more graphics though - i will leave it to your minds eye, your conscience, because surely now you can see them? surely now you can understand the parallels of this modern day slavery??? surely it's as plain as the nose on your face?

one of my favourite bloggers, vegan feminist agitator, has recently written a wonderfully articulate post - the next emancipation - after seeing the film 'lincoln' (recounting his efforts in 1865 to get the 13th amendment passed which would abolish slavery) - where she states "I do think that there are parallels, though, with slavery: the concepts of ownership, of sovereignty, of emphasizing the powerful majority’s “right” to the entitlements they want to preserve versus the right of those not so endowed to simply live their own lives. In short, the chilling mentality of exceptionalism..." it's a post well worth reading...

"We can see quite plainly that our present civilization is built on the exploitation of animals, just as past civilizations were built on the exploitation of slaves." ... donald watson

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