2 minute read
HOW FRUSTRATED ACTIVISTS EVOLVED OVER LOCKDOWN
As we ease out of a prolonged, and in many cases, strict lockdown it is interesting to look back at this past year, a year of great frustration for AR activists.
Having very few opportunities for activism and deprived of our most important supportive network, other activists, we started spending more and more time in front of our computer screens. Craving the interaction with other likeminded people we started gathering in virtual spaces. Granted, not all spaces were safe and not all discussions conducted in a respectful manner, but after a while I learned how to navigate these turbulent waters and locate those spaces where animal rights advocates from different cultures and backgrounds exchanged views and experiences and engaged in constructive and fruitful dialogue. Some of them were great. Never before was I able to choose between so many discussions, talks and presentations on Veganism and Animal Rights related topics.
At the beginning of the first lockdown I thought that this would be a lost year for activism but I was proven wrong. Fifteen months later, I feel that my advocacy has evolved and improved. Talking to other activists and listening to their views allowed me to rethink my own, to re-evaluate tactics and approaches, to get inspired and in many cases build bridges. This period proved to be a great learning opportunity. I learned so much and not only from fellow activists and books; I learned from the authors themselves. Theorists, researchers and academics from a wide variety of disciplines - psychology, sociology, ethology, philosophy, political science, anthrozoology and media theory to name some - participated regularly in virtual events organized by activist and vegan groups offering their time, expertise and insights to help us explore a multitude of topics. Furthermore, with everything going virtual we gained access to conventions and conferences and academic spaces usually reserved for academics or graduate students. A closer relationship seemed to form between the grassroots and the academia, a relationship that we should maintain and nurture. After all, communication and interaction between those who serve the same cause from different positions can only be beneficial for the movement.
As the cliché goes, knowledge is power and the more we know about speciesism, its causes and manifestations, the better our chances to defeat it. Perhaps this is something to keep in mind as we go back to our preferred kinds of activism. We never know enough and we should always grasp the opportunity to learn more.
The virtual Animal Advocacy Conference (June 30 – July 2, 2021) organized by the University of Kent represents such an opportunity. Three days full of talks, discussion panels and presentations. As it reads on their website (https://blogs.kent.ac.uk/ animaladvocacy/), “The Animal Advocacy Conference brings together, for the first time, researchers from different fields in the social and behavioral sciences, and animal activists and advocates from around the world…We will create a stimulating environment where academics and activists/advocates exchange relevant knowledge, engage in lively debates, share their ideas, and can start collaborations.”
