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A little sincerity is a dangerous thing, and a great deal of it is absolutely fatal.
- Oscar Wilde
Here is a segment for the Doris anthology, on why Veganism as a form of revolution doesn't always work out
I've been frustrated by Veganism lately. So often it turns into this easy set of rules - this way to become more revolutionary than everyone else, without having to really be challenged, without having to confront and break down power dynamics. ugh. And the logic gets so faulty when you look at other industries that destroy & torture humans & animals in ways that may not be clear cut, or maybe are. Like fruit pickers getting sprayed all the time with pesticides, and corporate farms diverting water sources from native lands. Communities being completely destroyed by being forced into producing export crops. And where do you draw the line? How do you decide what plastic Vegan boots are more humane than leather when plastic factories are entirely toxic, and the people (poor people) who have to live near the factories are getting all kinds of diseases. And cotton - the crap with the most deadly pesticides in the world. If you look at it this way, you end up confronting so much more - looking at imperialism, the need for decentralization & community reliance. You look at genetic engineering & how terrible biotechnology is. And maybe you get overwhelmed by it all, maybe it seems like too much to deal with, or maybe it makes you grab some friends to discuss it with, maybe it gets you angry enough & thinking enough that you can plan strategy & action & and go blow stuff up, make friends with your neighbors, call your pals on their shit, talk & read & write & make theater, take over the streets and learn from each other. And you end up creating crazy, far reaching strategy, intense coalitions, that bring people together and make real, for real changes. Because when you think about it, lifestyle change is the minimum you can do and isn't necessarily revolutionary at all.
[I am in no way suggesting 'blowing shit up', but everything else, for sure.]
