At this year’s Animal Rights conference in LA, I took some notes. Some got published right away, others had to wait a day. This is one of the day-late posts.

These are my notes from the presentation titled “Commonality of Oppressions” – animals, women, children, people of color*:

Speaker 1 – Karen Davis, UPC

• There is justification for the comparison between human oppressions and animal oppressions. See The Holocaust and the Henmaid’s Tale by Karen Davis for details.
• The objectification is justification enough. Both humans and animals are turned into expendable objects for consumption by others. (My thoughts: This is true.)
• (More of my thoughts: I disliked Davis’ overuse of the term “they.” She didn’t seem to identify as a member of any oppressed class.)
• Instead of justice, it’s “just a”…. just a chicken, just a women, just a cow, just a slave…
• There are times the comparison is not justified: when it diverts attention from the needy

Speaker 2 – Lauren Ornelas, Food Empowerment Project

• There is a common link between oppressions: the vulnerable are the ones exploited.
• The biggest reason for exploitation is profit (My thoughts: Greed is the motivating factor, not profit. Capital is not necessarily the problem; unequal power distribution is.)
• Agricultural workers are exploited. We should be aware of this and work to end it, eg: buy fair trade, boycott products like palm oil.
• She read some statistics about agricultural workers and she acknowledged that “Hispanic” is a troublesome word.
• “Every dollar is a vote” (My thoughts: I have trouble with this idea since democracy = each individual has equal voice via vote. If every dollar is a vote then the people with more money get more votes. Moreover, the people with the most money draw up the ballot. The concept that ‘every dollar is a vote’ is an effective analogy for many people, but I really hate using it. Veganism is not a boycott, it’s a philosophy.)
• We ought to be careful not to exploit other movements
• (My thoughts: She comes across really well.)

Speaker 3 – Pattrice Jones, Eastern Shore Sanctuary

• “We’re not just talking about common tactics or common ideologies, we’re talking about the same process. That process is objectification.” (paraphrased)
• (My thoughts: In these discussions, we need to begin with a definition of objectification. Trouble is, people disagree.)
• Is there a reason more women are interested in animal rights than men? Could be related to the fact that many women experience sexual assault.
• (My thoughts: I think there are many reasons why more women are involved in AR than men. For starters, it’s more socially acceptable for women to care about animals or be vegan.)
• Jones sees a relationship between varied oppressions in the control of reproduction.
• How should we respond? Be mindful and train our minds to see connections, connect the dots
• (My thoughts: we ought to be careful about connecting too many dots. The human mind naturally seeks patterns. The patterns we see are often more a result of our basic assumptions than an explanation of reality. Granted, many privileged people would do well to start seeing how oppressions are linked, however it’s easy to get the specific links wrong.)

I was too tired to note-take the questions. But two stood out in my mind. The first was a man who said he wanted to see more people of color in the movement, that he thinks it’s too white. The other was a man who worried about sounding too conspiratorial. I think he wanted to emphasize the need for evidence when trying to explain overarching theories of oppression.

Note: These are just what I jotted down during the presentation and they may not accurately represent the speakers or the conference. Take everything you read here with a grain of salt.
* “People of color” is the term I chose rather than the one listed in the program: “minorities.”

484 views
Sections: Vegan Resources
Topics: ar 2009, AR conference, Vegan