Shared from http://veganwarfare.com/unconditional-anti-oppression-rise-anti-speciesism-anarchist-movement/
Negotiation is over. Moving beyond liberal veganism.
About 40 years ago animal rights was a concept promoted and activated
by determined individuals, passionate about expanding their sphere of
compassion. Not only did many of these animal rights activists go vegan
but they also took action in the streets. Big colorful signs, petition
signing, banner drops, and other tactics were deployed to disrupt the
normalcy of routine non-human animal exploitation. Many of these tactics
served to spread awareness of slaughterhouse atrocities in hopes of
generating sympathy and agricultural reform. Overtime as more and more
people began to acknowledge and speak out against non-human animal
exploitation, tactics, ideas, and even other movements began to evolve.
Today there is less sign holding and petition signing as these
previous attempts for change have left many disappointed. As the
treatment of non-human animals continued despite votes and petitions,
activists went underground giving birth to many radical groups like the
Animal Liberation Front, Animal Liberation Brigade, Animal Rights
Militia, Revolutionary Cells, and so on. Many vegan liberals,
disappointed by politicians and the state, had begun to re-examine their
own political ideologies.
As tactical diversity grows beyond the state’s control with the
intent of yielding self-initiated results, the animal rights movement is
now commonly referred to as the “animal liberation movement”. This form
of self-determination by individuals working in cells or affinity
groups has become appealing for its effectiveness. Online petition
signing has seen less activity as prisoner support through fund raising
and letter-writing becomes more popular. Single-issue oriented activists
have begun to diversify their activism in light of acknowledging the
connection with social struggles, eco-defense, and decolonization. This
expanding solidarity and mutual-aid has created new alliances,
collective efforts, and new methods of resource sharing in many activist
communities. The wave of increasingly radicalized vegans poses a threat
to capitalism and the state. Today many once willing-to-negotiate
activists have adopted new approaches that defy the lawfulness of
peaceful protest and political reform. With an increase in property
damage, liberated non-humans and appreciation for direct action, it was
no surprise when the state constructed AETA (Animal Enterprise Terrorism
Act ) in an effort to sway public opinion and discourage the growth of
radicalized vegans.
Anti-speciesist anarchism. None are free until all are free.
Anthropocentrism and Speciesism
Anthropocentrism is the belief that humans are superior and therefore
entitled to dominate other animals and the earth. This form of
discrimination and privilege exists in the anarchist movement, and has
played a key role in the perceiving of non-human animal and earth
liberation as secondary movements. As any other supremacist ideology,
anthropocentrism perpetuates discrimination, enslavement, and murder in
general, and towards non-human animals in particular. It embodies an
interlocking combination of oppressions which manifest in the dominating
social relationship humans have towards each other, the earth and other
animals. Similar to white supremacy with the discrimination of
non-white people, and male supremacy with the discrimination of non-male
identifying people, human supremacy refuses equal consideration and
opportunity for non-human animals to pursue a life free of human
control.
Like racism and sexism, speciesism is irrational discrimination
towards non-human animals based on species. Anti-speciesist anarchism is
an anti-authoritarian challenge to anthropocentrism. Biocentrism or
Deep Ecology is the re-distribution of power and autonomy equally to all
sentient beings through the destruction of human moral elitism. Humans
have generally justified their exploitation of non-humans through the
catagorization of “animals” as inferior therefore rightfully subjugated.
Today many vegan anarchists have replaced “animals” with “non-human
animals” or simply “other animals”.This serves to distinguish non-human
animals from human animals, while also recognizing the shared animality
of both. The word “rights” regarding non-human animals is less often
used. Since “rights” in the political context imply permissions or
privileges granted by the state, anti-speciesists generally feel this
term is inconsistent with autonomous freedom. Anti-speciesism as a
significant element and concept in the struggle for freedom is expanding
as the intersectionality of all oppressions gains recognition.
Intersecting oppressions
Intersectionality is an examination of how all forms of oppression
including but not limited to race/ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,
class, species or disability do not act independently of one another
but instead, are interrelated creating a system of oppression that
reflects the “intersection” of multiple forms of discrimination. For
example, capitalism utilizes speciesism to commodify non-human animals,
reducing them to units of production and capital. The legal property
status of non-human animals can be compared to that of the enslaved
Africans prior to the Civil War. Reproductive control over women
reflects the reproductive exploitation of non-human animals.
Anti-capitalists who have acknowledged the relationship between
non-human animals and capitalism have seen that such a relationship is
the antithesis of freedom and must be abolished. Consuming non-human
animals perpetuates the capitalist and human supremacist notion that
they are sources of food rather than sentient beings deserving of their
natural born right to freedom as humans expect for themselves.
Communication, language and imagery contribute to the mutual
reinforcement of all oppressions. Since non-human animals are viewed as
inferior, their imagery and identity is used as a derogatory way of
describing disliked, oppressed or uncivilized humans. For example some
of the most commonly known slurs towards women attack their physical
appearance and involve non-human animals. In addition to degrading
individual women these insults marginalize entire species of non-human
animals as well. The hatred and speciesism towards pigs is encouraged
when they are used to reference officers of colonial law. In various
contexts, pigs, cows, and dogs are considered dirty, unclean, ugly,
unlovable beings. These serve as stereotypes that excuse and encourage
their exploitation. In the eyes of a speciesist, non-human animals serve
to metaphorically reference oppressed humans. Some non-human animals
are used to describe people of color (monkey, ape, coon etc) other
non-humans are used in the same way for women (bitch, chick, cow etc).
People of color who break laws or act out their emotions are often
referred to as animals, and a women who acts out her frustration or
anger is often referred to as a “bitch”. The marginalization of
non-human animals is intimately intertwined with the oppression upon
them. When examined, the mechanisms of domination, violence, and control
are the same.
Beyond “veganarchism”; anarchism means total liberation for all
The term “veganarchism” has played an important part in
distinguishing the growing wave of anti-speciesist anarchy from
traditional anarchism. But as earth and non-human animal liberation gain
recognition for their place in the anarchist struggle, the continued
usage of “veganarchism” becomes problematic. The term “veganarchism”
preserves the same false division currently withering away. It also
draws more attention towards veganism as an action without a preexisting
cause. This leads to more dialogue and attention on veganism as merely
dietary rather than enough dialogue on the oppression of non-veganism.
Speciesism, anthropocentrism, and the authoritarianism in consuming
other sentient beings for food receives less exposure to criticism than
veganism. This imbalance usually results in drawn out debates about
veganism being classist or racist. While it is a common mistake for
speciesist anarchists to impose white imperialism upon veganism (which
marginalizes vegans of color by assuming that whites are the only ones
concerned with deep ecology, health, and non-human animal liberation,
this mistake is almost inevitable when the scope of veganism is reduced
to Western culture rather than global anti-colonialism. Anti-speciesism
is increasingly viewed as consistent with anti-oppression, and
biocentrism consistent with anti-authoritarianism. This combination of
earth, non-human and human animal liberation presents an anarchist
struggle for total liberation.
Speciesism is still widely tolerated in many anarchist communities.
Despite the growing number of anarchist vegans, speciesism and
anthropocentrism are still viewed as secondary problems. Some blame the
language barrier between human and non-human animals for this lack of
consideration. Intelligence, physical limitations and sometimes even the
question of sentience all play a role in speciesist apologism. But as
more anarchists acknowledge the intersectionalism and interdependence of
all oppressions, veganism is viewed as the logical process of being
anti-speciesist. Anarchism without anti-speciesism allows space for
irrational discrimination, domination, and oppression. Furthermore,
anarchism without veganism allows space for patriarchy and rape culture.
The consumption of milk from cows or eggs from chickens enables the
coercive and sexual exploitation of vagina-bearing individuals. Without
total freedom for all, authority and oppression remain over some to
benefit those in a position of power and privilege.
More anarchist collectives have extended solidarity to non-human
animals through promoting veganism, opening up anti-speciesist spaces,
and being vocal against non-human animal oppression. Guerrilla
gardening, community gardening and polyculture are on the rise in many
anti-oppression communities in an effort to combat monoculture and
Genetically Modified foods which colonize other lands with
industrialization and environmental destruction. Despite ever-increasing
state repression, a gradual increase of property destruction attributed
to non-human animal liberation continues. In online forums and in the
streets, speciesism within the anarchist community is receiving more
constructive criticism. Anti-speciesism means critically examining
social interactions and communication between all animals, human and
non-human alike. In the process of eliminating oppressive language and
practices, solidarity is extended with power, respect, and equality to
all who are oppressed. Many anarchists across the globe have embraced
veganism not only as a practice of healthy survival but also as an
extention of solidarity beyond the speciesist limits of human struggle.
Today one can see the merging of the anarchist
anti-capitalist/anti-fascist struggle with the eco-defense, animal and
earth liberation movements. These struggles in combination present an
uncompromising war against capitalism, the state, civilization and the
myriad of colonial oppression.
-Blitz Molotov XVX
