What can animalists learn from Vietnam anti-war movement? By Jon Hochschartner Some years ago, I read “North Star,” the autobiography of Peter Camejo, an American socialist. In 1976, Camejo was the Socialist Worker’s Party candidate for president, but drifted away from Trotskyism, eventually finding a home in the Green Party. He likened himself to a …
Category: Essays
Aug 23
Intersectional Animalism Descends Into Cultism
By Jon Hochschartner There was a time, not too long ago, when the animalists who took an intersectional approach were the critical thinkers in the anti-speciesist movement, challenging old dogmas. But recently this intersectionalism seems to have solidified into an unthinking fundamentalism. ‘Intersectionality’ has become the mindless mantra of the day, as ‘abolitionism’ …
Aug 08
White Privilege in the Animal Rights Movement
Disclaimer: I am writing this piece from the perspective of a white female settler within the animal rights movement. When I refer to the settler population, I am also including myself in those critiques. These ramblings are not an attack on the white settler population, but on the system which allows the continued dominance of …
Aug 02
Animals shouldn’t take backseat to ‘intersectionality’
By Jon Hochschartner In recent years, there has been a growing emphasis in the animalist movement on ‘intersectionality,’ by which is meant consideration of human issues such as class, gender and race. This is obviously a worthwhile endeavor on its own terms. And simply from a strategic level it’s good in that a more inclusive …
Jul 15
Does saving an animal’s life make you a good Samaritan or a terrorist?
by Natasha Lennard Let’s do a thought experiment. You’re walking down the street on a sweltering summer’s day and you pass a car in which a dog is trapped. The animal is visibly suffering in the heat, panting, and collapsing; it seems close to death. You know you can easily free the dog by forcing …
Jul 01
The Destiny of Activism is to Innovate Protest
Attracting millions of people to the streets no longer guarantees the success of a protest, says Micah White, 33, the cocreator of Occupy Wall Street. “Occupy was a perfect example of a social movement that should have worked according to the dominant theories of protest and activism. And yet, it failed,” says Micah in an interview …
Mar 24
Why You Can’t Bomb Your Way To Peace – Poem by Marius Mason
Why You Can’t Bomb Your Way To Peace Imagine A steel-walled room, enclosed and full Of children playing, grandmothers and the wash and angry young men with an ax to grind. Oh yes, and a single shooter. The loaded pistol raised, What moral authority will pull the trigger? And if it does, if judgment issues …
Jan 09
Unconditional Anti-Oppression: The Rise of Anti-Speciesism in the Anarchist Movement
Unconditional Anti-Oppression: The Rise of Anti-Speciesism in the Anarchist Movement Negotiation is over. Moving beyond liberal veganism. About 40 years ago animal rights was a concept promoted and activated by determined individuals, passionate about expanding their sphere of compassion. Not only did many of these animal rights activists go vegan but they also took action …
Jan 05
Europe should embrace a cosmopolitan approach to animal rights
London School of Economics and Political Science The issue of animal welfare has become increasingly prominent across Europe in recent decades, with several animal rights parties now competing in European elections – most notably in the Netherlands where the Party for the Animals (PvdD) is currently represented in the Dutch parliament. But how should animal …
Dec 21
Holiday Message from Imprisoned Animal Liberationist Walter Bond
Happy Holidays everybody! Sorry if I haven’t been very responsive as of late. I have just been consumed with my language studies (Spanish/Arabic) and my exercise routine. As a prisoner in a counter-terrorism prison unit; with a few years of time under my belt now. I am becoming a bit reclusive as a matter of …
Oct 09
If we care about justice, why not animal rights?
By Daniel Paz on October 9, 2014 Reposted from The Phoenix October 1 marked World Vegetarian Day, an annual celebration “to promote the joy, compassion and life-enhancing possibilities of vegetarianism” that was established by the North American Vegetarian Society in 1977 to bring awareness to the ethical, environmental, health and humanitarian benefits of adopting a …
Aug 19
Two Thoughts on the Animal Liberation Front
Posted by Eleventh Hour on August 6, 2014 by Ian Smith (Uncivilized Animals) Animals have claws; the animal liberation movement should too. And many animals, when cornered or threatened, won’t hesitate to scratch somebody’s fuckin eyes out if that is what is necessary to secure their freedom and safety. Activists speculate and pontificate about what …
Jul 17
Dr. Steve Best: Speech at the US National Animal Rights Conference, 2014
Link here to the video recording of the talk Dr. Best gave in the opening plenary panel at the US National Animal Rights Conference, on July 10, 2014. He was asked to speak on the meaning of animal rights, and contrasted it to animal welfare, contextualized both in the setting of modern capitalism, and underscored …
Jul 08
What We Must Do To Win, by Anonymous
There are two big issues that are preventing us, animal liberation activists, from being as effective as we can be right now. First, we lack coordination, especially here in the United States. We go and protest a restaurant once and never go back. We go and leaflet outside a target and never go back. We …
Jun 21
The Arsonist of Animal Liberation Revolution
Posted by Negotiation Is Over on June 21, 2014 Editorial Note: This article was originally published for our Spanish-speaking friends under the title EL INCENDIARIO DE LA REVOLUCIÓN ANIMAL. And, since it is such an outstanding and inspirational piece of work, NIO has taken the liberty of translating it into English so that we may …