I am a not-very-sustainable, somewhat organic, almost vegan, used-to-be-active animal rights believer, and hopeless human being. As I drove by the OHSU Primate Center today and gave a silent "I'm sorry" to all the animals being tortured behind those walls, I realized that the beings we fought for in the "old days" of animal rights have been pushed into the background. Becoming vegetarian/vegan (at least from what I have observed in PDX) is just another personal choice that has little to do with animal rights or protection. Do an internet search on "animal rights" in Oregon and you mostly find social meetups and vegan bakeries. It appears that the AETA has done what it set out to do--
I realize the few people who read this (because Indymedia isn't exactly a hotbed of animal rights news these days) will possibly be offended. Good. Let's all get offended. Let's all get angry and righteous. The animals need us to get back out on the streets to remember and remind. The mouse with the broken back doesn't care if you are vegan. The old horse being shipped off to slaughter in Mexico/Canada (and possibly again in the US) doesn't care if you use gluten-free flour. The chickens in the factory farm will continue to suffer in darkness if the AgGag bills are passed--and your faux meat will not matter one bit to the chick in the grinder.
I am going to start something.
Stay tuned.
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When YOU personally decide not to harm animals, eat other animals, etc. you are doing something entirely under your control. You can do this no matter how many other people object to your choice.
Getting SOMEBODY ELSE not to eat other animals means you have to convince them OR somehow manage to come up with sufficient means to stop them. I suspect that your fellow vegans think that at the present time concentrating on trying to convince others is the best (only?) approach. That you lack the means to use force.