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Animal rights activists using special events and tragedies to further their agenda have drawn the ire of the girls. From campaigning during Pride to hijacking #blacklivesmatter, the vegan community needs to back off from stealing the limelight from other groups.

In This Episode

After reading Nathan Runkle’s article on the Huffington Post about Mercy For Animals participation in LA Pride. While we were moved by Nathan’s personal story and his correlation between the violence he experienced for being gay and the violence that animals experience everyday to go on someone’s plate, the idea that Mercy For Animals walked in Pride with a banner that reads “No one is free while others are oppressed” didn’t sit well with us. Pride is for the LGBTQ community to celebrate, not to be reminded that there are other causes in the world. Taking focus from days of celebration to hijacking tragic events to make a point, animal rights activists and vegans need to be careful that we’re not minimizing people on days that matter specifically to them. These discussions absolutely need to be had at a higher level – there are obvious parallels between oppression and racially charged violence and the system of carnism that savages billions of animals each year – but days that are dedicated to a group or event should be left alone. Vegans should show up in these times to show support, not take the focus off the issue at hand.

Links and Information

News

• Georgia Tbilisi Zoo Floods, Animals Escape and Drown, Tigers Killed (CNN)
• U.S. Crushes a Ton of Ivory in Times Square (CNN)