The Establishment functions to maintain the status quo, sending in storm troopers in tanks to quell dissent or simply imprisoning those who refuse to tow the line. But while the Animal Liberation community may not have the state’s resources at their disposal, we boast our very own establishment dedicated to maintaining the status quo. Our movement’s establishment rails against industrial animal abuse by circulating petitions and filing welfare violations with the state. They make guest appearances on Jane-Velez Mitchell or Dr. Oz, they get a soundbite in the news here and there and, in the interest of fair and balanced reporting, are immediately dismissed by the experts who then discuss the strict federal welfare standards that govern animal care. Never will you hear a member of the animal rights establishment define those strict regulations for the mainstream as nothing more than laws that regulate animal torture.
This powerful faction made up of the big and small animal welfare orgs, journalists, and assorted others may not be very effective at much in terms of Animal Liberation; they do, however, make a nice profit for themselves and sell lots of t-shirts and books. But the insidious animal rights establishment is very effective at quelling any kind of meaningful dissent among vegans and enforces a standard of moderation. How many times have we seen vivisectors commiserate on their blogs about waiting for their welfarist colleagues to speak out against activists that are out of their control? The welfarists oblige on cue. And we silently tolerate this.
Animal torture is a business. We do not shut down businesses with petitions and annual protests. We shut them down by destroying their profits and creating the personal detriments that make it too costly for them to continue. We shut them down by preventing the next crop of abusers from ever reaching maturation. Over the last decade, we’ve repeatedly seen the establishment denounce the same actions as the abusers: blowing up a vivisector’s car, burning down a slaughterhouse, intimidating vivisection students into finding other pursuits, forcing local abusers to live with their own 24-hr security surveillance while keeping a close eye on their own spawn. These actions are called revolutionary. They are called effective!
And those on both sides of the fence who denounce effective actions on behalf of the animals have the same agenda, perpetuating the holocaust.
Every movement is replete with windbags who do nothing but spew rhetoric. And even when one of these jokers simply suggests that we should think about murdering slaughterhouse owners the established members of our community are quick to criticize the mere mention of violence as “irresponsible.” We’ve seen activists who are too controversial and confrontational momentarily silenced by a convergence of single-minded actors composed of industrial abusers and vegans, all with a collaborative motivation. And while their targets sit in an extended time out, all of the 100s of deafeningly-loud critics have replaced their efforts on behalf of the animals with dead air.
History demonstrates exactly how we will move forward effectively. We will recognize that this movement is largely composed of individuals who might be vegan and might care about animals, but they care far more about themselves, their interests, their reputations, their potlucks, and their profits. The establishment and every word that emanates from it is nothing but noise. Contaminating ourselves with the self-serving ideas of moderates renders us tools in maintaining the status quo.
We are at war and we will not win it by waving signs at passing traffic. We must constantly be pushing for an all-out escalation of ideas, confrontational tactics, and creative strategies. When we are able to instill the fear of god in abusers, it’s a good day. When we stand up and take the fight to their doorsteps, it’s a good day. When activists are willing to lay down in front of slaughter trucks, defy injunctions, court orders, or take whatever personal risks are necessary in the furtherance of Animal Liberation, it’s a good day. And like it or not, when vivisectors begin to die, we will know the revolution has begun. Click. Click. Boom.