FW: organizing in Oakland

January 14, 2002

Dear Friends,

I'm sending out this alert on behalf of my friend and colleague, Cathleen

Young. Cathleen's work to build a strong coalition of activists who are

concerned about brutal acts of violence against animals (of the sort that

make the papers) will be useful in springboarding into the larger plate of

concerns around institutionalized violence (on factory farms, fur farms,

etc.). In fact, Billy Ray Boyd had an excellent letter in today's Chronicle

making exactly this link (**appended at bottom of this message).

Please, if you are so inclined, do send your contact information to Cathleen

so that she can work with her group to getting local politicians to take

action on individual acts of cruelty against nonhumans.

Thanks so much,

Alka

------------------

Dearest Friends,

About Theodore, the 3-month-old pit bull puppy set on fire this week in

Oakland:

We, a coalition of Oakland citizens who want these tragedies to stop, are

gathering the names of people who care and entering them into a database.

Later, with numbers behind us, we'll formulate a proposal to take to our

political candidates. Please get behind this effort. Tell everyone you know.

The names will not be used for any other purpose.

Please ask people to send their contact information to catyoung and

to forward this message to concerned friends. Check

Thank you.

Cathleen Young

--------------------------------

OTHER ANIMAL PAIN

Editor -- It's heartening to see the outpouring of sympathy for the puppy

set on fire by two boys in Oakland. But I wonder how many people whose

hearts have gone out to the poor dog have given more than a passing thought

to the agonies that other animals go through in factory farms and

slaughterhouses to put meat, milk and eggs on the table.

It's easier to recognize somebody else's out-of-the-ordinary cruelty than

the greater institutionalized cruelties we're complicit in.

BILLY RAY BOYD

San Francisco

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