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Pacifism does nothing to help animals.

Chris Freeactivist | 02.09.2009 11:04 | Animal Liberation | Globalisation | Repression

The following is my opinion and it in no way incites people to take responsibility for their own actions and act concisely and effectively.

This article I feel could be applied to any radical movement and is in no way limited to animal liberation.

Please let me know your thoughts via comments?

The internal debate between animal liberationists as to whether property damage is violence has a long history, with some supposed animal liberation activists denouncing the Animal Liberation Front and its tactics even though the ALF have never actually harmed a human being or would seek to cause harm to any life. [1]

For argument sake I am writing this with the assumption that property damage is considered violence, even though I do not believe this to be the case.

I hope to try and counter two of the main arguments for pacifism that I have heard from people within the movement.

“Property damage does nothing for our public image and might alienate members of the public”

Actually a vast majority of the public eats the flesh of animals on a daily basis. They are actively involved in the systematic violence towards the sentient beings which we are trying to liberate. These statistics are understandable when you look at the society in which we live where we convince ourselves that issues such as patriarchy, racism and even slavery are all but echoes from a regrettable history. The truth of course is something quite different.

Pacifism allows one course of action against the multi trillion dollar worldwide animal agriculture industry: non violence. As much as we like to fool ourselves into thinking this is a game of hearts and minds and we can turn the world vegan one person at a time, this is of course absurdity when you think of the billions spend on advertising and lobbying that the meat industry spends and the endless resources they have available to pump advertising into the minds of humans from birth, for every piece of information we distribute via leaflet or stall the industry will counter this with false claims of health benefits and continuous endless propaganda.

That is not to say that leafleting is useless obviously people need alternative information to the industry spew, and I am not saying that direct action is the only course of action which works. But the reality is that the out of the UK population 0.2% are vegans of that statistic a tiny amount are activists, even if every vegan spent time on outreach they would need to make over 500 people vegan each to convert the UK population (not counting the exponential increase in population).

We are so easily marginalised as a movement that peaceful protest has almost no long-term affect whatsoever on the overall picture. A good example of nonviolence and its failures would be a million people marching against the Iraq war through London. Imagine the power of a million people in the centre of London, if they wished to stop the slaughter of thousands of people on foreign soil they could have overthrown the government in a matter of hours. But they used only non-violence and as a result the death toll continues to rise because of our willingness to not rock the boat.

Even in the event that even if a member of the public is scared or shocked by our actions for a brief moment the veil is lifted and the veneer of our happy democracy is dissolved, they may not agree with our actions, they may not agree with our motivations but they will be forced to take us seriously and listen to what we have to say. The reason people who engage in direct action are targeted so heavily by the state is simple, they are the only people who are a potential risk to industry. By using the right tactic in the right situation we become an unpredictable force which actually stands a chance of stopping the violence of state and industry.

It is important that we constantly adapt as a movement to counter attempts from state and industry to marginalise and in some cases imprison us. The key should always be to keep our goals simple and have both long and short term goals. This should include using whatever means we are comfortable using to campaign and creating a base of solidarity with other activists rather than denouncing other activists tactics.

In the past I have heard interviews with activists where the media have said something along the lines of “Do you support intimidation of people involved in research against cancer?” and the activist would reply with something like “No we would never support that sort of action!” they media would invariably cut the following information about the animal abuse and we would be left looking like a movement that is rife with internal conflict rather than a collective of compassionate people.

Be on the attack! A much better more concise answer might have been “Intimidation is nothing compared to the horrific acts which are inflicted daily on animals inside these labs.” Then follow up with powerful facts which will stick with the viewer / listener. Refuse to play their games, remember the media are a tool of the state and industry. If you use your only opportunity to speak directly to the public via the media and you use it to denounce other activists you are ineffective and potentially detrimental to any liberation movement.

“If you protest peacefully you won’t end up being a target for the police and state”

Tell this to the trial defendants who were charged for conspiring against UK vivisection lab Sequani, Sean Kirtley was sentenced to 4.5 years because of supposed interference with the labs. He was not involved with any direct action or had ever been arrested for so much as swearing at any member of staff. Yet the police said he conspired with “persons unknown” and locked him up. [2]

It is true that the more effective you become as an activist the more you become a target for law enforcement. Protestors are often encouraged to work with the police to make sure the protest remains within the law I am still shocked that people feel the need to inform the police of protests, after doing this myself once I realised that you only make yourself a potential target as a co-ordinator or organiser.

In my experience well planned covert direct action is much less likely to result in arrest and prosecution but should not be considered the only method of resistance anymore than only creating alternative vegan infrastructure and information networks. Be creative, be spontaneous.

Chris Freeactivist (A)

[1]  http://www.animalliberationfront.com/ALFront/alf_credo.htm
[2]  http://www.corporatewatch.org/?lid=3405

Chris Freeactivist

Comments

Hide the following 12 comments

and...

02.09.2009 11:20

theres a difference between property damage and the digging up of peoples dead relatives, as demonstrated so eloquently by the nutters who dug up some guys grandmother and more recently by Swiss AR activists who stole the urn and ashes of someones sister (who died in a car crash). whats your opinion on these actions?

boof


More to the point?

02.09.2009 11:42

You can't SIMPLY jump from "pacifism is ineffective" (at stoping whatever you want stopped) to the conclusion "violence would do better". You have to present your case for that and this case has to take into account normal human behavior. Namely that once there is violence whatever the original issue might have been tends to become irrelevant. Perhaps not in your mind but certainly in the minds of whomever you attack and the society at large

PLEASE -- do not misread what I have just said as taking a position on the non-violence vs "other means" question. By all means make your case if you can. But that case has to be MORE than just "non-violence won't accomplish what we want to accomplish". You really do have to argue that you will do better with these "other means" (in spite of the fact that the society as a whole will feel perfectly comfortabe putting you down as they would "mad dogs").

Also remember in this that your INTENT (to be violent just to "things" and not persons) does not in all situations govern the encounter. I have seen reports of at least a few actions where in the jurisdictions taking place the attacked party could have chosen to respond with "deadly force" and if so would have been considered fully justifed by the local laws and mores.

MDN


Maybe you didn't read the above?

02.09.2009 11:47

I am glad you proved one of the points to be true, I thought I had answered your questions with this article but apparently not?

No stealing of ashes compares to the suffering inflicted upon animals by the abusers.

Chris

Chris Freeactivist


Is anyone actually reading the article before making comment?

02.09.2009 11:52

The only point I aimed to make is that a purely pacifist approach is ineffective where as a variety of tactics could be employed to better fit the situation? I am not saying violence or non-violence one or the other, exactly the opposite actually. I am saying use what tactics fit the situation and don't criticise each other for doing what they feel comfortable doing!

Chris Freeactivist


you don't have enough support...

02.09.2009 12:23

As you state "reality is that the out of the UK population 0.2% are vegans of that statistic a tiny amount are activists,"

It's not your tactics that are letting you down but your lack of popular support.

For instance the PIRA had the support of most of the Catholic Community in NI from 1970 onwards - about 30% of the population, not to mention financial support from the USA. By the mid 1970s they were isolated and contained, the rest of the UK was prepared to live with the level of violence they could muster. While you could argue this lead to the peace agreement, progress was only made after violence was renounced.

With the tiny support you have, you will be marginalised as the public turn away from you, infiltrated and them crushed by the security forces.

Mark


Good Article...

02.09.2009 12:33

We may be only a few but we got them on the run.

Organising or participating in demonstrations is a risk nowadays for AR folk, but it is still legal and we are still entitled to protest.

Gemma


A quick look at history Mark

02.09.2009 17:49

"It's not your tactics that are letting you down but your lack of popular support."

What a load of crap. Yes there is not popular support among average members of the public for tactics used against fighting animal abuse, but there is popular support against the abuse.

"With the tiny support you have, you will be marginalised as the public turn away from you, infiltrated and them crushed by the security forces."

So why is it that the Suffragettes and Black Panthers had tiny support, were marginalised (because of the tactics they used and no compromise stance), infiltrated and crushed by security forces...but still succeeded in what they tried to achieve? As Chris said, if you want to be successful you have to deal with tiny support for the tactics you use, marginalisation, alienation, infiltration and heavy repression. It's the philosophical basis of social change.

@boof

"theres a difference between property damage and the digging up of peoples dead relatives"

Indeed. Most property damage causes no emotional damage, only financial, but torching abusers cars, holiday homes and digging graves leaves emotional scares. This is why it is so effective today for animal liberationists (which led to the closure of various animal breeders) and why it was so effective in the past. The difference is a rise in effectivity.

@MDN

I understand what you are saying - that examples weren't given to show how/where violence has been effective - but this wasn't the point of the article. It was to highlight the ineffectivity of non-violence, which was done, not the effectivity of violent resistance. Yes you could write an article encompassing both (which has been done*), but as this article was mainly aimed towards animal liberationists, there are unfortunately few examples of this kind of activity.

* http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Philosophy/Pacifism.htm and the sequel...  http://www.animalliberationfront.com/Philosophy/AvertingChinaSyndrome.htm

@Chris Freeactivist

Well done for writing this article, it's definitely the best thing you've written yet. There is a major problem in the problem within the AL movement that veganism is an extention of pacifism or visa versa, whereas it is pacifism that is leading to apathy and visa versa. I'm starting to think that along with speciesism this is the other major issue. We need more anti-pacifists to join our movement, not the usual Gandhians who seek more self-satisfaction.

veg@n


But that IS the point.

02.09.2009 20:13

"I understand what you are saying - that examples weren't given to show how/where violence has been effective - but this wasn't the point of the article. It was to highlight the ineffectivity of non-violence, which was done, not the effectivity of violent resistance. Yes you could write an article encompassing both (which has been done*), but as this article was mainly aimed towards animal liberationists, there are unfortunately few examples of this kind of activity."

Are you saying the point WASN'T along the lines "because non-violence isn't effective should try something else"? The it is very necessary to present the case that the proposed alternatives would be any more effective. And we need to be very careful in that case to be secific about WHERE (not just what sorts) as we report actions. Yes things might be very different in the UK than say here in the States or in Mexico to give examples but actions are reported together.

There needs to be great care with "violence" as tends to invite a violent repsonse.

MDN


the public are surprisingly militant against animal abuse

02.09.2009 21:23

Anyone who has recently done a animal rights stall or event where they talk to the public will know how many unlikely-looking people come up and say how they think hunters or vivisectors deserve a good kicking, or incite you to other violent action. A lot of them may be meat-eaters so not quite getting it, but at least they are starting to think along the right lines!

It's true there is currently a media backlash, mainly instigated by the government and pharmaceutical industry because of high-profile campaigns like Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty and others. There is also the fact of an increasingly authoritarian society with draconian laws and mass surveillance to criminalise those who seek to stop animal abuse.

But the undercurrent of animal rights is still as strong as ever. Younger people are much more likely to be vegan or vegetarian or interested in animal issues than they were ten years ago. So I'm very optimistic for the future.

animalista


MDN

02.09.2009 23:24

"Are you saying the point WASN'T along the lines "because non-violence isn't effective should try something else"?"

Exactly so. It was saying that non-violence as a doctrine (pacifism) and limiting actions to preclude any violence is ineffective. There is a difference between saying limiting actions to non-violence is ineffective (which the article pointed out) and non-violence is ineffective. Sorry if I didn't explain myself very well initially, but that is esentially what I said.

Yes violent actions usually receive violent repression, but so do many non-violent tactics. It's not a question of violence which warrants a clampdown, but a question of being effective. If your non-violent campaign is effective then you won't be excused from violent repression!

For anyone wanting a good read or two (highly recommended):
 http://www.akpress.org/2007/items/pacifismaspathologyakpress
 http://www.akpress.org/2005/items/hownonviolenceprotectsthestate

veg@n


you are just afraid

03.09.2009 01:37

you must claim for yourself the razor sword of unending violence. total and incomprehensible revenge is the answer to this problem. before and after any act of vengeance you must be and will be as peaceful as a kamchatka mountain lake. this must be learnt well. "today is a good day to die" crazy horse.

Zagovor


It's Spring Again !

03.09.2009 05:28

Just like in Spring when a fresh flush of Spring blooms thrust their new growth into the glowing sunlight of a new day, we are yet againg treated to the 'fresh insights' of the newly aware who present for our edification and delight 'their' insights into were everybody has been going wrong since the dawn of time.

One