Over the last two and a half years that it has
crisscrossed the United States, SHARK's Tiger video truck has proven
itself to be the most effective weapon of compassionate and nonviolent
direct action in the animal protection movement. The Tiger has
graphically exposed a long and still growing list of animal abuses,
including but not limited to rodeos, bullfighting, slaughterhouses, the
fur industry, Korean dog torture/slaughter, dolphin slaughter, circuses
and most recently, shoemaker Adidas' support of the mass-murder of
kangaroos in Australia.
The Tiger followed the Olympic torch across the country,
educating hundreds of thousands of people about the cruelty of rodeos.
The Tiger has sent fur wearers literally running to escape
responsibility for their theft of the skins of others. The Tiger has
already created enough public pressure to force uncaring administrators
at Baylor University in Waco, Texas to make certain improvements in the
way the school cares for its live bear "mascots," and the truck will go
on to make more changes in this area, where animals have been typically
considered mere possessions to be used, abused and discarded.
The beauty of the Tiger is that it can expose any type
of abuse in a way that is highly targeted, completely unedited, and
very, very hard-hitting. People do not have to visit a Website or come
to a meeting. The Tiger goes to people where they work, play, shop,
worship or whatever. Unless someone is hidden within a windowless cell,
they are likely in Tiger territory. Unfortunately, there is only one
Tiger truck.
It is a mystery to me why the animal protection movement
has not jumped on the effort to bring the message of compassion out to
the uninformed masses. Only one other truck close to the scale of the
Tiger has been built, and interestingly it was again by a small
organization run by lawyer Lori Peterson in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Although SHARK applauds the use of smaller vans as display vehicles by
smaller organizations, the movement needs the "heavy weaponry"
represented by a large Tiger-type vehicle.
I find the lack of forward momentum in this area to be
indicative of a lack of leadership, dedication and commitment. Hundreds
of millions of dollars come into this movement every year. Yet, a tiny
fraction of that money at best goes to bring our message from the animal
rights conferences and meetings, out to the masses. This is
unacceptable. There should be no higher priority than getting the issues
and images of animal abuse out to the public. SHARK can wait no longer
for others to pick up the ball. Therefore, I am proud and excited to
announce SHARK's intent to build two more Tiger trucks, with completion
expected before the end of the year. We also intend to upgrade the
original Tiger to an even more effective and invincible weapon of
nonviolence.
In making this announcement we are putting two different
groups on notice: animal abusers and animal advocacy organizations.
Animal abusers like Adidas, Baylor University, the Rodeo Mafia, etc.,
already know who we are and what the Tiger is, and now they can expect
to see a lot more of both. However, every major animal protection group
now must consider the following questions: if a small group like SHARK
can build a fleet of these compassionate war machines, why haven't the
(much) larger organizations already done so, and when will they start?
Why doesn't this movement already have at least one video truck in each
state?
We have somewhat jokingly named this building project
the "Terminator Fleet" - T1, T2, and T3. One truck will be stationed on
the West Coast, another will be kept on the East Coast, and one will be
in the midsection of the country. We also anticipate excursions into
Canada, and very likely Mexico.
This Terminator Fleet will strategically target, expose,
and terminate various animal cruelty issues across North America.
Nonviolent "Seek and Destroy" by way of public education is our battle
plan. Additionally, we'll lead by example to expose and terminate the
inefficiency and waste within the movement. We are going to make it very
difficult for any sizable organization to NOT have a fleet of mobile
display vehicles.
We know that the animal abusers will dig their own
graves in the court of public opinion if we can just get the message
out. Perhaps a greater lesson to teach now is to animal protectors, to
show that we can nonviolently kick ass. If you aren't convinced, just
watch us; SHARK is going to lead the way.
Now we must raise funds to build this Terminator Fleet.
We also need a secure base of operations for the West Coast and East
Coast Tigers, and good, mature, dedicated people to crew them. So many
times I hear people talking about how they would do ANYTHING to help the
animals. Really? Well, here is your chance!
We hope to have the new Tigers paid off within a couple
years, and we then intend to build three more as quickly as possible --
for a total of six. In this effort, I am looking for very real support,
as opposed to mere kind words. Money is what will pay for these trucks,
not words. I am asking for the support of every person who understands
the importance of bringing animal issues out to the public. I believe it
is the only hope the animals have.
In closing, I encourage the leadership of the animal
protection to take some real action. There are too many "talkers," and
far too few "walkers" in this movement. I also encourage those who speak
of the use of violence in what is supposed to be a compassionate,
nonviolent movement to back off the rhetoric, and get to the real world,
hard work of taking our message to the mean streets. That is where
change is to be made.
If you really want to help animals, join in the effort
to build the Terminator Fleet. Millions of lives are at stake. Failure
is not an option.
Kindest regards,
Steve Hindi
SHARK
SHindi@aol.com
For your convenience, SHARK currently offers several
options, all of which are tax-deductible:
1.) You can mail your check to:
Showing Animals Respect and Kindness
PO Box 28
Geneva IL 60134
2.) We also accept Visa and MasterCard payments. Simply
go to our donation
page http://www.sharkonline.org/support.mv and select credit card type.
Then,
print out the form and mail it to the above address.
3.) Or, if you have a PayPal account, you can send an
online donation. Just go to our homepage
www.sharkonline.org and click
the button "Make A Donation."
For all our new members, if you have never seen the
original Tiger truck, please visit the following links and articles:
http://www.sharkonline.org/indextiger.mv
http://www.sharkonline.org/tribune032501.mv
Finally, if you are not already on our snail mail list,
please e-mail your mailing address to Anthony Bellotti at
bellotti78@hotmail.com
to receive our periodic newsletter.
Once again, we wish to thank all of our generous donors.
There is no such thing as a small contribution so please keep sending
those checks; every dollar you send puts us closer to a new fleet. In
the last couple of years, some very generous donors have earmarked
contributions for the second Terminator. Consequently, we have saved
about 2/3 of the money for the construction of the next war machine. But
we know this movement has very deep pockets. In fact, we could have
already built a video truck in each state. The technology exists. The
money certainly exists. Now it's time to make it happen. Help us finance
T2 and T3 so we can order three more Terminators next time.
Go on to Stop Slaughter of Canadian Seals
Return to 17 August 2003 Issue
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