The Bullying Has To Stop

A little over four years ago I wrote an article asking “How Entrenched Is Bullying Within The Animal Advocacy Movement?

While I do hold high hopes for this ‘movement’, sadly things aren’t getting better.

In fact, I genuinely believe they are getting worse.

Which is especially concerning considering that this is a ‘movement’ that is supposedly based on compassion, and removing oppression.

It seems that the only way to ensure you don’t become the target of the social media bullies is to support the status quo.

Except that isn’t what veganism is about.

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Why Highchester ‘Shutdown’ Was A Failure

This article is a follow up piece to the article “Activists Shut Down Slaughterhouse… For Nothing“.

Since that time, I have received all sorts of condemnation and abuse.

Ranging from:

  • I don’t know what I am talking about
  • I am anti-vegan
  • I am a meat industry shill
  • I can’t see the bigger picture

So, I decided that another article, clearing up things up was warranted.

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Another Pointless Debate

Source: Facebook
Source: Facebook

Chris Delforce from Aussie Farms has stamped his foot like a spoilt toddler, and demanded that Katrina Hodgkinson, New South Wales Minister for Primary Industries, and Steve Coleman, RSPCA NSW CEO, face off against him in a public debate.
Would a debate, public or otherwise, advance the cause for equal consideration for other animals, obtain some sort of justice for pigs/other animals in general, or allow the challenger to increase his unwarranted 15 minutes of fame?
Cameron Blewett thinks it is the latter, and that he is still doing more harm than good, and explains why.

Carrying On Like A Spoilt Child

There is no denying that what was exposed at Wally’s Piggery was atrocious, and the maturity of the movement can be measured by the way that it responds to this set back. A movement that has a matured understands that there will be ups and downs with progress towards equal consideration for other animals.

Except that hasn’t happened in this case. Instead, the movement, and those who want to be leaders of it, are stomping their feet carrying on like spoilt little children. The protests and theatrics of the past weekend are indicative of this.

I’m not really sure if this behaviour is because they were told no, or that the pride and ego of some has been damaged by the dropping of the charges or a combination of both.

One thing is for sure, that these people have now made it about them, rather than what has happened.

Biosecurity Misunderstanding

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Vegan Police. Keeping The Faith, or Turning People Away

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Vegan Police. Keeping The Faith, or Turning People Away - VeganPolice.com.au
Vegan Police. Keeping The Faith, or Turning People Away
source: unknown

Recently an article published on Vegan.com about the Vegan Police has been doing the rounds of various facebook groups.

Before I go any further on my thoughts on the article, this needs to be said.

As far as I am concerned, and based on my experience, there are usually only two types of people who use the term vegan police. Those who are bullies and those who knowing consume animal products. Both types use the term to shift the focus from them to the person who made the comment or asked the question.

I should also add that calling someone the vegan police is used to bully, ostracise, otherise or offend that person into silence or others into submission in the same way that those who follow Gary Francione label everyone else as a new welfarist.

There is no other reason for someone who claims to be vegan to use it to describe someone else who also claims to be vegan.

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There Are More Than Two Sides To Every Story

It seems that in the days since the publication of the article titled Vegan Animal Rights Group Refuses To Promote Veganism there has been all sorts of discussion regarding the circumstances behind the event that lead to the article being written.

As can be expected there are some who have taken sides, saying party A or party B is at fault, then there are those who have taken the ‘neutral’ position of sitting on the fence because they don’t know all the facts.

Whilst on one hand, it could be hard to blame them for not wanting to get involved in something like this, especially when based on the words of an alleged trouble maker such as myself.

That being said, what you can blame them for is not asking questions.

In people’s rush to demonise me as the cause of these events, and say that I am part of the problem not part of the solution, a few important things have been overlooked.

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Vegan Animal Rights Group Refuses To Promote Veganism

The night of Tuesday 23 April 2013 will forever be remembered as one of the most disgraceful nights in the history of the animal advocacy movement in Queensland, if not Australia.

It was the night that an alleged vegan animal rights group, aggressively ejected two individuals for wanting to promote veganism and to help other animals.

The shameful series of events took place at the screening of the movie Maximum Tolerated Dose on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

The public screening was a collaboration between Animal Liberation Queensland and the Facebook group Coast To Coast Animal Friends, two organisations that a reasonable person would think would be interested in promoting veganism and educating others on where to buy products that haven’t been tested on or contain animal products.Yet this wasn’t what happened.

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