Animal Rights Activists and Vegans: Heroes for a Day?

On January 10th of this year, this brand spanking New Year, a rock legend died of cancer – liver cancer. David Bowie was just 69 years old, young by today’s standards many have said. No would argue that in his short time on this earth David Bowie  altered the landscape of rock and roll and pushed  social boundaries with his sometimes bizarre clothing and hair, his two stage personas, Ziggy Stardust and The Thin White Duke, as well as his provocative comments and claims about his own sexuality,  thereby shocking the establishment and titillating the young folk who are always searching for an understanding of their own identities. There is no doubt that his haunting and provocative music and life will endure in the hearts and minds of many for  years to come. He will most certainly be remembered for his ability to challenge and shift social mores, especially in North America which he once said was highly puritanical.

Although I did not follow his career, I did enjoy much of the music he created. Looking back, I would have to say that he really was, in a sense, by virtue of always pushing the envelope, his own social movement. I find myself today in a position of relating to David Bowie in a way that I  did not while he was alive, even though he was of my generation. This is so, not because I am a news maker of note or even mildly controversial,  but rather because I am part of a growing social movement that is pushing its own envelope, demanding change and liberation for all the enslaved nations on this earth, not our earth, just this earth.

I am inspired by David’s song Heroes and by one lyric in particular:

I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing,
nothing will keep us together
We can beat them, for ever and ever
Oh we can be Heroes,
just for one day

Because I approach my veganism, advocacy and activism with humility, I kinda’ cringe at the idea of viewing  myself as a hero. This has never been my goal or the goal of all the activists who I know personally. But if I look at it from the perspective of the enslaved animals and all who have gone before them,  I imagine that if they knew what we are doing,  these beings  might think of us as heroes, even though, for the most part, we are unable to save them.

I think of photojournalist   Jo-Anne McArthur of WeAnimals  and The Ghosts in Our Machine who said:

Leaving is always the hardest thing and leaving is the reason why I am haunted. I am closing the door as I leave this factory farm or this mink farm or the slaughterhouse. I am closing the door and leaving them behind. Leaving is the hardest part of my work.

In his poem, Point of View,  Shel Silverstein has this to say about the the perspective of enslaved animals.

Thanksgiving dinner’s sad and thankless
Christmas dinner’s dark and blue
When you stop and try to see it
From the turkey’s point of view
Sunday dinner isn’t sunny
Easter feasts are just bad luck
When you see it from the viewpoint
Of a chicken or a duck
Oh how I once loved tuna salad
Pork  and lobsters, lamb chops too
‘Till I stopped and looked at dinner
From the dinner’s point of view

Animals who have had the good fortune to be rescued, routinely  recognize our efforts and  show their thanks in a myriad of ways. This is not surprising  because they are, after all,  emotional and sentient beings.  A most notable video is that of a heartwarming farewell between Jane Goodall and a chimp named Wounda.  The chimp had been rescued and nursed back to health before being released back into the wild. Before leaving, Wounda turned back for  a last hug filled with emotion, love and thanks.