FW: White priviledge in the AR movement (Blog)‏


These wing nuts just don't get it. They compare animals to black slavery & meat packers to Jewish Holocaust and now they can't figure out why Blacks & Jews, don't gravitate or give a hoot about the ARA campaigns.

Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2008 09:43:38 -0800
Subject: White priviledge in the AR movement (Blog)


Choose MOGO (Blog)
White Privilege in the Vegan and Animal Protection Movements
by pdxmogo
Posted on December 1, 2008
http://choosemogo.org/2008/12/01/white-privilege-in-the-vegan-and-animal-protection-movements/

Go to a vegan or animal protection conference or attend a local veg potluck or animal rights meeting, and you're likely to see mostly white faces. It's well-known that the animal protection and vegan movements are primarily composed of white folks (and the leadership is mostly men, even though the majority of the members of these movements are women). So, why is that? Why are people of color not more involved in these movements? And why are animal protection and vegan activists so blind to the role white privilege plays as such a barrier to participation by a broader coalition? (By the way, I don't think this situation is limited to the vegan/animal protection movements; I've also seen it in many environmental and peace organizations.)

Recently I came across an insightful two-part essay about veganism, animal rights and white privilege (both are long, but worth reading). The first part of the essay uses objections by people of color to PETA's Animal Liberation Project as a springboard for looking at white privilege and differences in perspectives.

Here are a couple of excerpts:

<"The neutrality of the word and idea of 'animal' for white middle-class animal advocates means something quite different to people of color who are always at risk of not being fully human in our racist society. Thus, when white vegans say that because they are not offended at being compared to animals neither should people of color, they equivocate between two grossly different contexts. One veg*n of color explicitly addresses this point on her blog:

'Many white folks are perfectly happy to insist that *they* have no problems at *all* being compared to animals–but it is not white folks that are being killed on genocidal turkey shoots either… this comparison of brown human beings to animals/insects, is not something in the past that is occasionally drawn on to make a point is something that exists in the very fabric of our current society and as such, carries very real repercussions.'"

"That Afro-Americans understand that there is nothing wrong with being an "animal", will not ultimately end their ongoing oppression and trauma in America as subhumans unless PeTA (and other groups) move beyond single-issue politics. It's not that 'We are all animals,' but that 'None of us are subhuman.' Until AR groups incorporate this anti-oppression stance into their philosophy and/or mission statement, these organizations and philosophies only superficially address 'liberation' and 'oppression' since it is institutional privilege–be it white or human–that is at the root of subordination, not simply bigotry.">

The second part of the essay looks at how "the animal/vegan movement(s) systematically ostracize people of color…most often without any consciousness of doing so."

Here's an excerpt:

"Instead of sending an anti-oppression message, which used to be inherent in the definition of veganism before its appropriation, many vegans come across as the enlightened colonialist exercising his/her privilege over Other cultures. Johanna at Vegans of Color describes how animal activists come across to many people of color allover the world through the methodologies employed in anti-whaling campaigns:

'[W]e in the West feel it's our high-and-mighty duty to go & tell other countries, with which we have had an adversarial & racist relationship, what to do. Instead of listening to local activists & supporting them if & when they request it (& in the manner they request), US activists love to barge in, without thought to cultural context or self-determination & autonomy for folks in the countries they're horning in on… There's a difference between not entering 'the international debate' & doing so in a way that is helpful, respectful of other cultures & people.'"

As an activist, I have witnessed activists looking to the handful of people of color at an animal rights, environmental or peace conference as spokespeople for how to reach out to all people "like them." I've heard activists say "It's not my issue" when referring to issues such as modern slavery, racism, sweatshops, environmental justice, and so on, completely oblivious to (or ignoring) the fact that all these issues are interconnected. I've seen activists of color attend conferences, giving talks about how to bridge vegan/AR issues with communities of color to only a handful of activists, while the majority of activists were attending sessions about direct action or how to deal with police.

White privilege is an unfortunate reality in the vegan and animal protection movements, and it's important that we address it as a core challenge, rather than relegating it to the sidelines. While it's essential that we work for the protection of all animals as individuals, it's also essential that we work for the rights and freedoms of all who are oppressed and exploited. As a friend of mine said recently, "I tend to think that in any new social or political movement, trend, or shift there are 'first adopters,' and it is very important that these first adopters, whoever they are, remain open, welcoming and enthusiastic about huge diverse masses of others joining their ranks or they will find themselves to be not only the first adopters, but the last adopters as well."

To keep up on issues of race in the vegan and animal protection movements, check out blogs like Vegans of Color. The bloggers there share some great perspectives.

~ Marsha