RE: Change in Views (Last E-mail unless you make t he move)

[Guest guest]

I'm sorry that someone who cares about animals feels it necessary to remove

themselves from the AR movement, but respect your decision. We all draw the

lines at the point where we start to feel uncomfortable. However. To

protest loudly but without violence at someone's house is indeed

harrassment. But where that person makes a living from the suffering of

animals, I fail to see how that harrassment is unjustified. If I were to

visit an HLS worker's house, open his door, take his baby away from his

wife, ignoring her screams of distress and the baby's screams of fear, push

a pipe down the baby's throat, pour toxic substances down that pipe, take

notes over a couple of days of the baby's symptoms and signs of suffering,

then kill the baby (or maybe *nearly* kill it, so that it wakes up on the

autopsy table as it is being slit from throat to groin), remove and examine

its internal organs - all this for a healthy paypacket, well, my friend, you

would have cause to criticise me. For that is what these pepole do, and

until the day that EXACTLY what they do to others is done back to them, as

far as I am concerned they have no reason to complain.

How can anyone who cares defend an animal abuser's right to a peaceful home

life, knowing what they do? People have been campaigning and petitioning

against vivisection for a hundred years without noticeable success - until

the fight became personal. I guess what I want to say boils down to this:

nothing that any AR person has ever done to an animal abuser even comes

close to what that animal abuser does EVERY DAY at work. What is more

important - thousand's of animals' suffering, or a few people having their

houses shouted at?

 

Cathy.

 

> ----------

> Admin[sMTP:Admin]

> 27 July 2001 05:28

> Ryan

> Change in Views (Last E-mail unless you make

> the move)

>

> Lately I've been reevaluating my passion for animals, and how far it

> extends.

> I have been debating whether or not I'm still an animal " rights " activist.

> I

> have been criticized, ridiculed, and lately I am feeling distracted and

> disheartened by it. I believe that we are all entitled to our own beliefs,

>

> and I believe that we have the right not to be attacked for what we

> believe

> in.

>

> No matter how much you disagree with it.

>

> You bring your statistics, your documentation, but don't you dare bring

> your

> emotion. You cannot threaten people to change, you have to make them

> think,

> and educate them.

>

> Lately I have been doing a lot of thinking and have decided to make a

> change

> of venue as a result.

>

> Although I know I will lose some of you as supporters, and may make some

> people angry, I'm sorry but I feel that it is my duty to make this change.

>

>

> From now on I will not classify myself as an animal " rights " activist. I

> will

> be an animal welfare activist. I'm tired of the infighting, and splitting,

>

> and I'm extremely tired of this violence.

>

> We are supposed to be promoting compassion towards animals, but one needs

> to

> promote compassion toward all living things. You can go around talking to

> employees at HLS or Procter and Gamble, but when you go to their home or

> call

> them at home, that's harassment, and we have no right to do that. That

> does

> not promote compassion and it changes the focus from animals to violence.

>

> I'm very sorry that I have to do this, and I am prepared to suffer the

> consequences. I accept that I may lose your support, although I would

> still

> like to have your support. Because I will not be physophically changing

> due

> to this change in title, I just will not feel out of place calling myself

> something I'm not.

>

> I think that the animal rights movement has gotten out of hand, violence

> to

> humans is not helping anything, it is giving a bad image to the public. I

> will do everything that I can to help the animals, but I will not harm

> another human being. I guess I'm just to compassionate to do that. Civil

> disobedience and violence is not acceptable, and it should not be used as

> a

> tool to attempt to force a change that may never come.

>

> We have the right to our opinions and beliefs, and I am keeping them. I

> hope

> that I do not lose your support in my compassionate fight to help animals,

>

> but I am sorry if I do. This will be the last e-mail you will receive from

> me

> unless you e-mail me and tell me you would still like to read my alerts. I

>

> hope that all of you look at your animal rights views, and I hope you

> truly

> believe them, and I hope you don't have to deal with the negativity I had

> to

> deal with. Please e-mail me and tell me if you would like to continue

> receiving e-mails from me.

>

>

> Thank you!

>

> Ryan Courtade

> President

> Love All Animals

> 2 Rio Vista Dr.

> Ft. Thomas, KY 41075

> (859) 441-3907

> Toll Free: 877-395-5268 (8am-6pm, Sun-Sun)

> Pager: 888-866-3678

> To send an alphanumeric pager: http://www.beepwear.com/html/SEND.html

> (859) 441-2956 (fax)

> Ryan

> http://www.loveallanimals.com

>

> I support In Defense of Animals " They are not our property, we

> are not their owners " Campaign

>

> " Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed

> citizens can change the world...indeed, it is the only thing

> that ever has! " -- Margaret Mead

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Yeesh. I don't care what kind of problem you (and I mean a general,

hypothetical 'you' - not the person who wrote the post I'm replying

to) have with someone, or what they do, or who they work for - you

simply DO NOT go to someone's house and harrass them - in any manner.

 

NO ONE SHOULD BE MADE TO FEEL UNSAFE IN THEIR OWN HOME. More than

likely, that scientist or slaughterhouse owner or whomever has a

spouse and/or children who have utterly nothing to do with whatever

you're protesting. Put yourself in the position of a potential eight

year old child, living in a house with animal rights activists

screeching at your mother or father. How is the terror inflicted on

that child (or that spouse) justified?

 

If you have a problem with someone or some company or what they do,

you go to where this is being done and you protest, you break in and

set animals free, you sabotage their work, you break their windows -

whatever. You do not - as I recently saw in an e-newsletter from an

Animal Liberation Front cell - publish the home addresses and phone

numbers of people and encourage your members to harrass these people

at home! This is a lowly, despicable tactic and is best left to

abominable fringe organizations like Operation Rescue.

 

The whole idea of trying to justify this sort of personal harassment

sickens me. I'm sorry but, I'm taking my morals and going home. Enjoy

the list, kids.