“why not dogs?”

This is a rambling response to a question someone I respect posed in her blog:

How can you advocate for a bill to “protect animals and their owners from harm” and eat another animal that night for dinner?  How can you allow another animal to go through the terrifying, horrendous, oppressive, and murderous process that it takes to get its body or its products onto your plate?  Because it’s not as cute as a dog?

domestication itself is oppressive.  we shouldn’t “own” anything.  we shouldn’t have “pets” — that’s just another euphemism for anthropocentric system of the enslavement and control of other species.  and we shouldn’t be thinking in inherently abusive and exploitative terms such as “resources” (“sustainable resource management” is an oxymoron). [all that begs the question, what SHOULD we be doing?]

Is “vegan hypocrisy” redundant?

I am reposting my response to a vegan soapboxing about animal rights and respect.  The title is provocative — I think there are plenty of ways and reasons to be vegan and vegetarian without being a hypocrite.  I just wish that the hypocritical thinking wasn’t as pervasive as it currently is — it doesn’t help anyone when vegans are constantly trying to position themselves amongst the “elite” of environmental activists, and it calls into question their understanding of the systemic nature of oppression.  To talk about the oppression of animals (and plants, and…), we need to talk about human power, privilege, and identity, and how that shapes our relationships with non-humans on this world.  It means taking a look at our spirituality and the spiritual connection we experience and share (or not) with all living things, regardless of their kingdom.

The argument I hear boils down to “I don’t eat meat because I respect animals.”  I believe it’s a dangerous and incoherent line of reasoning. “Oppose the injustice against the plant kingdom: stop eating plants!”  I.e., the injustice isn’t in what we eat, it is in HOW.  For examples, see many of the aboriginal cultures we are still systematically dismantling.  The full response is below.

Football Fans: Racism, Sexism, Masculinity

Data source: Stokley gets ejected for slapping the ref
sample size: 1622 comments (as of 01:30 12/31/09)

A keyword search of comments reveals the following:
Pussy (and variants) x 72
Sissy x 4
Bitch (and variants) x 63
Fag (and variants) x  32
Gay x 30
blowjob jokes x 18
Nigger (and variants) x 36
Coons x 2

Assuming 1 keyword per comment, ~15.5% of comments are sexist or racist

CAVEATS:

HAVEN: Hip Hop Against Violence Everywhere Now

Who is Diezel P?

DiezelP is one of many talented up and coming emcees who are involved in the beginning stages of a collaborative project entitled “HAVEN:  Hip Hop Against Violence Everywhere Now”

It’s that time of year again…

That’s right, it’s time for the Super Bowl. Again. Although I bet the festive atmosphere will be somewhat muted by the dismal state of the economy, there will always be…the entertaining commercials. And this year, they’re gonna have to try extra hard to get what little cash or credit we have left.

the violence in all of us

Haven Daley of the Associated Press reports:

A woman was taunted for being a lesbian, repeatedly raped by four men and left naked outside an abandoned apartment building, authorities said.

Detectives say the 28-year-old victim was attacked Dec. 13 after she got out of her car in Richmond, in the San Francisco Bay area.

[…]