"When is the next protest?" "Is there going to be a
protest?"
"Ask Joyce; she'll know."
Over the past five years, these questions would flow
regularly into my email inbox or voicemail, or from activists passing by
my table at vegetarian restaurants. I was the protest queen of sorts. As
northeast campaign coordinator for a national animal rights organization,
I organized and attended dozens in New York City. Along with many
extremely dedicated volunteers, I put great amounts of time and effort,
and the organization put forth large amounts of money, into these
endeavors -- the famous Ringling Brothers protests, for example.
When a circus enters our city, animal advocates feel deep
sadness for the enslaved animals, and intense anger at the exploiters. The
first and strongest urge most of us have is to go out in front of the
circus arena, shout at anyone who will listen about the cruelty and
injustice, make sure the circus owners hear us, show video footage of what
really goes on, and try to ensure that audience members never return
again. Laudable actions, right? We are speaking out for these poor animals
and not remaining silent. Yes, laudable intentions, but are these actions
effective?
Every dedicated animal activist should be continually
exploring what the most effective strategies are to achieve our goals. A
crucial preliminary step is to define what our goals are. This process
sounds easy enough, but in fact can be a difficult one, clouded by the
intense emotions we feel about the horrific animal suffering we know
occurs every moment of every day. After years as a protest organizer, I
recently started reflecting on how effective the circus protests, for
example, really are in reaching my goal-for circuses to stop using
animals. Period.
I used to measure the success of protests by such things
as the number of thumbs up we got from passing motorists, the number of
people who said they will not return next year, and, most satisfyingly,
the number of people who actually ripped up their tickets right on the
spot after they saw our video and spoke to us. This was exciting! However,
I realize now that even if, for example, 30 people honked their approval,
four families promised never to return, two families ripped up their
tickets, and hundreds more saw a few seconds of video footage who may tell
others, this sadly does not have an iota of an effect on the continuation
of Ringling Brothers' exploitation. There are still enough audience
members to fill arenas and Ringling Brothers continues their shows in
Madison Square Garden and nationally. To educate enough people to reduce
the tens of thousands across the country who willingly attend the circus
will take decades, if we can do it at all. Unless consumer-oriented
campaigns are able to successfully target and influence hundreds of
thousands of consumers, if not millions, to change their buying habits,
targeted industries will not change because they still have enough
consumers to profit from.
A perfect example of this dilemma is the campaign against
Macy's in which extremely dedicated activists regularly and creatively
protested outside the famous New York department store to convince
customers to boycott Macy's until they stop selling fur. Stacks of
petition signatures were gathered from passersby and meetings were
attempted with Macy's president. A few years later, Macy's continues to
sell fur, still citing large enough customer demand. Despite the periodic
media coverage and the number of passersby influenced, there just wasn't a
large enough consumer base reached to have an effective boycott.
This type of analysis led me to realize that we have to do
something different or we will be protesting for the next 40 years outside
such exploiters as Ringling Brothers and Macy's, and elephants, tigers,
minks, foxes and other sentient beings will continue to be bred, captured,
enslaved, tortured and killed. Upon much reflection and assessment, and
from discussions with others who were also questioning and reflecting, I
realized that while education is a crucial part of the road to animal
liberation, it is simply not enough. The momentary release we get from
chanting in solidarity on a street corner and educating an unfortunately
tiny portion of the "mainstream" is simply not the most effective way of
reaching our goal, if our goal is to really stop animal abuse. If a few
thumbs-up is what we want and nothing more, then let's continue to
protest.
Getting Political
And so I came to find political action. I got involved
with a New York-based political action committee (PAC) called the League
of Humane Voters (LOHV). Animal rights PACs work to get laws passed to
make animal exploitation illegal. Isn't that what we want? Political
action is direct, assertive and meaningful -- we go after the abusers and
say ";you cannot hurt animals anymore; it is illegal!" We force industries
via laws to stop unjust acts. Will it take awhile? Yes. Is it worth it?
Darn right it is!
The purpose of LOHV is to mobilize public concern for
animals through the democratic political process. We campaign for the
election of candidates for public office who will work to enact animal
rights legislation. We assist them in a variety of ways, such as sending
mailings to their constituents, volunteering for their election campaign,
and running ads and issuing supportive press releases. We ask the
candidates to make a public statement acknowledging our support of their
candidacy and their support for humane legislation and specific issues.
If the candidates are elected, we then lobby them on the
bills they agreed to support while they were running for office. It is
really quite simple: they recognize that they need us -- we helped them
get elected and may do so again -- so they want to help with what we ask
for. That's how politics works -- let's have it work for the animals.
It is noteworthy that the National Rifle Association has
fewer supporters than do animal protection organizations yet are much
better organized and politically influential. There is no longer an excuse
for animal rightists to not be the same. Recognizing that animal
exploitation is not just a moral issue, LOHV intends to make animal rights
a mainstream political issue by building support among citizens,
activists, political parties, candidates and elected representatives. We
consistently work to grow our database of animal-sympathetic voters
through outreach and education. We are not just passing legislation; we
are growing a grassroots political movement for animals which can
increasingly influence lawmakers. Long-term planning for long-lasting
results.
Some of the bills being worked on by LOHV will ban canned
hunts (recreational shooting of confined animals), ban force-feeding of
ducks for foie gras, give local governments the power to ban wildlife
trapping, extend the felony cruelty law to include wildlife, and ban some
forms of the use of animals in entertainment (with a goal of eventually
banning all forms).
I like the LOHV approach in that it takes on winnable
issues. For example, it is strategic to first work against the production
of foie gras before an attempt to ban the raising of chickens for their
flesh. Yes, we'd like to outlaw the killing of all animals for food. But
we all know this cannot happen immediately. However, most individuals will
agree the production of foie gras, not a staple in most people's diets, is
cruel once they learn about it; then they will become a humane voter on
this issue. It is strategic to bridge the gap between animal rights and
more mainstream sentiments by starting with more winnable, less "extreme"
issues; grow the number of supporters and then move on to larger issues.
Just as in consumer boycott campaigns, we have to reach out to large
numbers of people but the difference here is we are trying to reach those
who agree with us (i.e. are animal friendly to some extent), not try to
convert those who do not agree (such as fur store customers). The former
is a more realistic task.
An excellent book on creating strategic, winnable,
grassroots campaigns, growing your organization as well as a grassroots
movement, is a book that LOHV has come to consider its "bible" --
Organizing for Social Change; Midwest Academy Manual for Activists by
Kimberly Bobo, et al. We learned from this book how crucial it is to
create a campaign strategy by choosing appropriate short- and long-term
goals, analyzing who your targets are (that is, those who can give you
what you want, such as a politician whose support you want on a bill),
figure out who your allies and opponents are, and being aware of
organizational considerations.
Many activists have fears and often animosity about
politics. Many of us believe politicians are dishonest, corrupt, and
uncaring. Others don't trust or even understand politics. I felt all of
the above and more. I am now comfortable in the world of politics,
although I am still learning something new each day. I have found
politicians who truly do want to stop animal abuse, but even if most don't
in their hearts, that is not important. What is important to them is
votes. So we approach them when they need us; we offer them help, and in
return they, once elected, help us.
Since I joined LOHV in late 2003 I have had extremely
positive and rewarding meetings with several local politicians whom we
have endorsed and who want to introduce and support animal rights
legislation and even help us to lobby their fellow politicians.
So who should get involved in political action for
animals?
* You who no longer attend protests because you doubt their value but feel
guilty that you aren't being an advocate.
* You who attend protests but want to do more.
* You who feel burned out from traditional techniques.
* You who are aware of animal suffering but haven't been spreading the
message.
* All animal activists!
For more information on animals in circuses, visit
www.circuses.com. To learn
more about political activism, volunteering, or financially supporting
LOHV, see www.humanevoters.org
or contact Joyce at klinjoy@aol.com
or (718) 807-6748.
Go on to Bush
Administration Endorses Federal Animal Fighting Legislation
Return to 30 May 2004 Issue
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