REAL probably isn't a good word. But "abolitionist" these days is so loaded that I'm happy to sound a little Valley Girlish (or would that be if I used "Totally"?).
Regardless (or, irregardless, which oddly means the same thing), two items: one past, one future.
Santos alerted me that the New York City Animal Rights Meetup Group met up on Thursday to leaflet at the milk mustache mobile which was in front of a grocery store. They held posters that said things like: "When you drink cow milk, you tear mother from child and sentence them both to death." Nothing like getting right to the point that hasn't crossed the minds of most people.
On the meetup page Santos says:
How do you define a successful protest? When the target packs and leaves. That's right, the "Milk Mustache Campaign" couldn't handle the truth and left after only an hour and half after they set up their three tents. Not a single person posed for their ads, they never got to spin the prize wheel or make a single milk shake. Yes we were that good. They played loud music to drown out our words, but we called the police and they were forced to shut it down. We gave out way more literature than they did free cow milk. They were totally not prepared for our type of protest.
Congratulations New York City activists! As I've written previously, I find that if you start your conversations with dairy and eggs, the person you're speaking with has nowhere to go, as they likely already know about many other uses/abuses and find solace in their notion that nobody suffers for pizza and omelettes. And you've just quashed that notion.
As for the future, the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages has a new and better venue for its fundraiser (the original venue backed out due to pressure from the carriage industry). The event will be held at Mantra 986 (Second Avenue between 52nd and 53rd), which I didn't know existed. I'll be sure to check it out this week when I'm up there! (It's not vegan, but there are vegan options. And by the way I recently went to both Candle 79 and Candle Cafe and they were both fantastic. Candle 79's wine list needs some help, though).
Date: October 14, 2008, from 6-10pm
The party will feature an enticing array of vegan hors d'oeuvres from Blossom, Candle 79, Caravan of Dreams, Franchia, Kates Joint, Mantra 986, Pongol, Streit's Bakery, VP2, VSpot, Whole Earth Bakery and Zen Palate -- a cash bar, and a silent auction of appealing and interesting items to be sold to the highest bidder. All proceeds will support the Coalition's various campaigns aimed at ending the suffering of the carriage horse.
Purchase tickets (for $30) here. Councilmember Tony Avella, who is sponsoring the legislation to ban the carriages from NYC, will be in attendance, as will filmmaker Donny Moss of "Blinders: The Truth Behind the Tradition," and various singer/songwriters, comedians and other artists.
This is the year that the horses could finally be retired from NYC. It may be a single issue, but it's the most important issue to the individual horses.
This is such encouraging news!
But what do you mean when you say that "abolitionist" is a loaded term?
Posted by: Nick | September 28, 2008 at 01:21 PM
Nick,
Labels seem to cause a lot of problems these days. I'd rather not invite criticism and a long back-and-forth about single issues and labels and how I'm not an abolitionist (Santos isn't or the Coalition isn't) when I'm simply trying to point out two actions that I think are great that are about not using animals.
Posted by: Mary Martin | September 28, 2008 at 02:49 PM