Notes From a Diary of Struggle: From Epiphanies to Aftermath

Filed under: Academic Repression, Africa, Animal Liberation, Anti-Pacifism, Direct Action, Philosophy, Socialism, Speciesism, Total Liberation, Ve anism ! "# $omments %une &', ()&"

Authors Preface: What follows are notes I prepared to address the media in a press conference in South Africa, as I began the first of 3 three week-long speaking tours, talking about eganism, animal rights, and total liberation across that beautiful but deepl! troubled nation in "##$% &his essa! was originall! commissioned b!, and published for, m! friend Adam Powell, in his blog 'ccup!(ass!s% &his is the first of two unusuall! personal posts I will make to m! blog, the second one being a postscript to follow soon% &his post is dedicated to all those who think the! know me% ***************************************************** Prologue Ladies and Gentlemen, you are looking at one of the ery last people !ho should "e standing on this stage in front of you, in the #apa#ity of "eing a s#holar, !riter, a#ti ist, and !orld #iti$en% &n my youth, & !as seemingly headed to!ard "lue'#ollar !ork at a fa#tory, to prison, or to an early gra e, "ut profound #hanges in my life set me in different dire#tions% A ma(or theme of my talk tonight is #hange, gro!th, de elopment, and e olution% &ndeed, as a spe#ies, if !e are to a ert total disaster, !e need to take a )uantum leap in our moral and so#ial e olution, as the glo"al #rises in #apitalism and e#ology portend #atastrophi# #hange and a dystopian future% *he Lost +ears ,y life got off to a ro#ky start% As a young #hild, asthma almost killed me% ,y father died !hen & !as fi e years old% ,y oldest "rother, a father figure to me, died at age -. in a plane #rash that & also !as in ol ed in% /nly 00 years old, & !as not e1pe#ted to sur i e, "ut & did, "roken into pie#es, "ut ali e% Despite t!o remaining older "rothers and one sister, & had no positi e inspirations or mentorship !hatsoe er in my life% & !as a lat#hkey kid2 & gre! up solely on my o!n de i#es, making mistake after mistake, "arreling do!n the !rong road at the speed of light%

*o )uote ,al#olm 3, 4& !as "orn in trou"le%5 6eginning in kindergarten, & !as ki#ked out of s#hool more than & !as allo!ed in% &n high s#hool, after playing on the "asket"all team my freshman year, & had gra itated to the ha"it of #onsuming #opious amounts of mind'altering su"stan#es and the ne1t three years of high s#hool !ere passed in a perpetual fog% &n my senior year, )uite deser edly, & !as e1pelled from s#hool, and from there & graduated to stints in and out of lo#al #ounty (ails% ,y "iggest fu#k up o##urred at age 07, and almost earned me -'. years in the notorious 8ook 8ounty 9ail in 8hi#ago, "ut !ith a good la!yer and a handsome fee, & got off on : years pro"ation% Looking "a#k on it, that !as the "est thing that happened to me and it pro ided the !ake'up #all & needed to turn my life around% & !as a train !re#k !aiting to happen% & !ill say & had some life e1perien#es in these trou"led times that added piss, fire, and depth to my #hara#ter% & dro e tru#ks, deli ered ne!spapers, !orked in fa#tories, shot pool, drank "eer and !hiskey, fought in "ars, and #hased !omen% & !as one step a!ay from . di or#es, : kids, 7 "ad tattoos, and li ing in a t!o'"it trailer% & found my first lo e ; (a$$ and #lassi#al guitar ; and pra#ti#ed relentlessly and played open mike nights throughout the 8hi#ago area% *his lasted until & "le! out the tendons in my right hand at age -0% &n deep despair and #onfusion, the only identity and purpose & e er had stripped a!ay from me !ith a fro$en !rist, & de#ided to get my high s#hool e)ui alen#y degree and "egin ane! "y enrolling in a 8hi#ago area #ommunity #ollege% Almost --, & told the student #ounselor & had no idea !hat to do and !as not interested in anything "ut !hat & (ust lost% *he man suggested & "egin !ith humanities and li"eral arts #ourses, and so & signed up for a plate full% After the first #lass, a s!it#h turned on2 & !ent to the li"rary and #he#ked out a . foot'high sta#k of "ooks and "egan to read seriously for the first time in my life% <uite une1pe#tedly, & fell in lo e !ith reading and learning% =orking full'time as a "artender at night, during the day & took #ourses in film, tele ision produ#tion, radio, theater, literature, history, art, and philosophy% & graduated !ith a degree in tele ision produ#tion and film dire#ting, and at age -. & tra elled south to the >ni ersity of &llinois ?8hampaign'>r"ana@ to pursue a ,asters of Arts degree in theater dire#tion% *he indifferent or hostile fa#ulty & en#ountered there, ho!e er, led me to s!it#h ma(ors to philosophy, in !hi#h & su"se)uently earned my 6a#helors of Arts ?>&8>, 0AB.@, ,asterCs ?>ni ersity of 8hi#ago, 0AB7@ and Do#torate ?>ni ersity of *e1as'Austin, 0AAD@ degrees% Despite a standard paternalisti# !arning "y fa#ulty to re#onsider pursuing ad an#ed study in philosophy due to dismal (o" prospe#ts, & lunged for!ard "e#ause "y then & kne!

nothing "ut to pursue !hat & lo ed and the path of #reati e thinking% >ltimately, this also led me to study message therapy, meditation, and her"al medi#ine2 to pursue a tea#hing #ertifi#ate in yoga2 and to earn a "la#k "elt in *ae'E!on'Do !hile studying numerous other martial arts ?in#luding 9udo, *ai'8hi, Aikido, and Filipino sti#k'fighting@% Epiphany F0 Little did & reali$e that only the first fe! layers of #hange !ere peeling off my en#rusted psy#he and soul% At the >ni ersity of &llinois, & studied radi#al thinkers like Niet$s#he, as !ell as the re olutionary politi#al traditions of ,ar1ism, anar#hism, and #riti#al theory% & "e#ame intensely interested in politi#s, and & (oined some left'!ing #ampus groups% & !as learning a"out #apitalism and the in(usti#es of imperialism and ra#ism, a"out the lies & !as spoon'fed regarding my 4great5 #ountry and its mission of spreading 4demo#ra#y and freedom5 throughout the !orld% & !anted to smash the #apitalist system and & "e#ame intimate !ith my hidden affinities for the oppressed and those !ho suffer in(usti#e or pain in any !ay% & immersed myself in organi$ing support for 8entral Ameri#an nations then under relentless atta#k "y Gonald Geagan and >S'sponsored and trained (untas and death s)uads% & led a#tion groups, helped pro ide shelter for illegal refugees from El Sal ador, and organi$ed film festi als to send medi#al funds to Ni#aragua% & !as also in ol ed in the anti'apartheid struggle and !ith lo#al en ironmental groups% =ith an appetite for #reati e !riting and theatre still "urning inside me, & !as regularly !riting and performing politi#al'#on#eptual art, street theatre, e1perimenting !ith the politi#al;artisti# possi"ilities of Surrealism and Dadaism, and generally trying to foment su" ersi e thinking and pra#ti#es of multiple kinds% Epiphany F,y se#ond epiphany happened at age -:, no! more than DH years ago, and it led me do!n the path of eganism and animal rights% & e1perien#ed something sa#red !ithin the "o!els of the profane% & !as in 8hi#ago, dri ing a"out - am, half'drunk and goddamn hungry% & pulled into a =hite 8astle fast food restaurant and ordered a dou"le #heese"urger% As & al!ays !as #ontent !ith a mere single #heese"urger, & found the dou"le #heese and meat patties to "e so e1#essi e, so o er the top, so gross, so saturated !ith "lood and gore, that & !as #ompletely nauseated% For the first time in my #arni orous life, in a total a#uum of information, & made a #on#rete #onne#tion "et!een the pro#essed slop in my

hands and the "ones, tissues, mus#les, tendons, "lood, and life of an animal% & suddenly sa! something that #ame from a slaughterhouse, not a supermarket% =ith no prior kno!ledge of egetarian issues ; no #onta#t !ith any "ook, ideo, speaker, or person of this persuasion ; & spit the ile flesh out of my mouth in utter re ulsion% & stum"led around in a dietary no'manCs'land for t!o months, not kno!ing !hat to eat, not !anting this #ons#iousness "ut una"le to shake it% & felt perhaps & had "een a"du#ted "y aliens !ho re!ired my thinking in mis#hie ous !ays% Fortuitously, & met some egetarians !ho assured me of the alue of my ne! #ons#iousness, mentored me, and pointed me in the right dire#tion% From a ,ar1ist'humanist'#arni ore to a health'oriented egetarian, & e ol ed to eganism, and dou"led "a#k to mediate these #on#erns !ith radi#al politi#s and so#ial re olution 4"y any means ne#essary5 as ,al#olm so perfe#tly put it% Although alert to the health impa#t of meat and dairy produ#ts, & had no #lue a"out the innumera"le "ar"ari# !ays human "eings e1ploit animals% E en !hile resear#hing the e ils of (untas, death s)uads, geno#ide, fas#ism, and imperialism, m! picture of humanit! and the world was still too ros! % Epiphany FD *hat #hanged in the midst of a third stunning epiphany in 0AB7 !hen & read Peter SingerCs "ook, Animal )iberation% Like so many people, that "ook #hanged my life in an instant% & "e#ame ill from the emotional stress of !hat & !as learning a"out the un#ons#iona"le e1ploitation of animals in fa#tory farms, slaughterhouses, i ise#tion la"s, and other human'manufa#tured hellholes% /n#e & re#o ered from the sho#k, & morphed into a ery different person% Geali$ing that animals suffered far more than human "eings in the )uantity and )uality of their pain, suffering, and death, & shifted from human rights to animal rights a#ti ism% =hereas most human "eings ha e at least some rights, no animals ha e the most "asi# right to life and "odily integrity and they needed representation and allian#e more than any oppressed human group% =hen & studied the impa#t of meat produ#tion on !orld hunger and the en ironment, & reali$ed that "y promoting eganism and animal rights & !ould also "e helping humans in the most produ#ti e !ay possi"le% & sa! eganism and animal rights as the most radi#al, #omplete, and holisti# forms of a#ti ism, ha ing a po!erful and positi e impa#t on the #rises in human health, !orld hunger, food shortages, en ironmental de astation, u"i)uitous iolen#e, and the deep and trou"ling alienation of humanity from the natural !orld and other life forms%

,any think, for instan#e, that people should help humans as our first priority and relegate animals to an afterthought at "est% *hey think humans suffer more than animals, !hi#h is not true% *hey think that a#ti ism is a $ero'sum game, su#h that one group ?humans@ gains only if another ?all other animal spe#ies@ loses, !hi#h is a #apitalist ideology "elied "y the deep inter#onne#tedness of all life and the natural !orld% /ne of the most profound truths & ha e learned in my life is that the fate of all spe#ies stands or falls together, that !hat !e do to the animals !e do to oursel es and to the earth, and that promoting animal rights and respe#t for all life has dire#t "enefits to human so#iety and the en ironment +et & also found my politi#al #ommitments ridi#uled far more than e er "efore, as animal rights pro okes hostility from the arrogant people !ho en(oy po!er o er animals, from the inse#ure !ho "oost themsel es "y demeaning and e1ploiting animals, and from the guilty !ho do not !ant to #onfront their ignoran#e and impli#ation in iolen#e against animals% & took heart in the !ords of Emile Iola: 4*he fate of animals is of greater importan#e to me than the fear of appearing ridi#ulous2 it is indissolu"ly #onne#ted !ith the fate of men%5 *he ridi#ule & re#ei ed for defending eganism and animal rights !as parti#ularly harsh from the radi#al and Left #ommunities% For leftists ha e #ompletely assimilated the anthropo#entri# and spe#iesist ideologies of agri#ultural so#iety, Gre#o'Goman #ulture, 8hristianity, modern s#ien#e, the Enlightenment, and ,ar1ist and anar#hist humanism% & gre! tired of the in#onsisten#ies and hypo#risies% / er and o er again, & listened to humanists, 4progressi es,5 4radi#als,5 and 4pea#e and (usti#e5 a#ti ists rail against #apitalism, e1ploitation, and in(usti#e, !hile de ouring the tortured and dismem"ered "odies of #o!s, #hi#kens, pigs, and other sentient "eings and fello! animals !ho !ere "rutally e1ploited and killed in the industrial #apitalist institutions of fa#tory farms and slaughterhouses% 8hampions of holisti# theori$ing and systemi# analysis, one'dimensional leftists #ompletely miss the origins of hierar#hy, sla ery, !ar, ra#ism, en ironmental ruination, and other profound #rises re)uiring urgent attention, all related to spe#iesism and inter#onne#ted "y the hideous #hains linking animal e1ploitation to human e1ploitation and en ironmental de astation% Epiphany F. & reali$ed that the 4radi#al5 traditions in no !ay are a li"erating philosophy or politi#s from the standpoint of animals and the en ironment% & sa! Leftism as merely another form of Stalinism to!ard animals% *he Left doesnCt grasp the deep roots of human po!er pathologies and !ould only repla#e #apitalist anthropo#entrism !ith so#ialist anthropo#entrism, and #ould ne er resol e key

so#ial and e#ologi#al pro"lems% *hey operate !ith pre's#ientifi#, me#hanisti# models of understanding animal "eha ior, still #ling to dualist oppositions separating humans and animals !ith an ontologi#al #hasm rather than e olutionary #ontinuity, and to this day they are mired in the Dark Ages, the philosophi#al ?animal rights@ and s#ientifi# ?#ogniti e ethology@ re olutions ha ing #ompletely passed them "y as ne! paradigms emerge ital for sal aging the !re#kage of psy#hologi#ally stunted humanity and the metastasi$ing #an#er of 4#i ili$ation%5 & #ame to the #on#lusion that a truly re olutionary so#ial theory and mo ement !ill not (ust eman#ipate mem"ers of one spe#ies, "ut rather all spe#ies and the Earth itself% & re(e#ted the humanist #li#hJ K 4=e Are All /ne Ga#e, the Luman Ga#e5 ; for a "roader ision: 4=e Are /ne 8ommunity, the 6io#ommunity%5 & sa! that all forms of oppression !ere interrelated, that they !ere all fa#ets of one odious system of hierar#hy !ith deep roots in spe#iesism and the domesti#ation of animals that #ommen#ed !ith agri#ultural so#iety ten thousand years ago% From animal li"eration, & e ol ed to a politi#s of total liberation, a"andoning single'issue approa#hes in fa or of linking human, animal, and earth li"eration struggles% *otal li"eration in ol es a dialectical theor! of interrelated oppression and an alliance politics deeper and more in#lusi e than anything yet imagines% &ts ultimate goal is to re olutioni$e glo"al #apitalism, re#onstru#t so#iety along anar#hist lines, and harmoni$e the so#ial !orld !ith the natural !orld and respe#t the autonomy and e)ual interests nonhuman animals share !ith us in freedom from e1ploitation and suffering and freedom to self'determination in their natural ha"itat and !ith their o!n families and #ommunities% *hus, & e ol ed from egetarianism to eganism, and from animal !elfarism to animal rights then to animal li"eration to total li"eration and to defense of militant dire#t a#tion as a legitimate and ne#essary ta#ti# in the larger struggle for re olutionary #hange% At this stop in my (ourney, & a"andoned the "aggage of pa#ifism and lent philosophi#al and politi#al support to the most dynami# and threatening resistan#e mo ements of the last fe! de#ades, the Animal Li"eration Front and the Earth Li"eration Front% Parallel groups that emerged in the 0A7Hs and 0AAHs respe#ti ely, "oth are organi$ed in de#entrali$ed #ells, operate underground and anonymous to the pu"li# and to one another, and #arry out the mission of infli#ting ma1imal harm on e1ploitati e industries through destroying property and li"erating animal sla es% *heir a#tions !ere "old, #onstant, and effe#ti e enough to #ost industries hundreds of millions of dollars, to li"erate hundreds of animals at a time, and to shut do!n many operations altogether% After AM00, the F6& ele ated them to the nationCs top t!o 4domesti# terrorist5 groups in the >S%

*he >*EP +ears & landed a tenure'tra#k position in the philosophy department at the >ni ersity of *e1as, El Paso in 0AAD, and found myself stranded in a geographi#al and #ultural desert% 6ut & immediately set to !ork !aking up the huge "ut sleepy and "enighted to!n% & taught radi#al topi#s in my #lasses, in ol ed my students in protests, and engaged in #i il diso"edien#e% For 0: intense years, & !as Ni#e President of the Negetarian So#iety of El Paso2 & led a dynami# animal rights group that !as the politi#al epi#enter of the area2 and & !as de"ating, speaking, and inter ening on lo#al radio, *N, and print media on a daily "asis% & started my o!n animal rights radio sho!, managed it for . years, and it #ontinues to this day% & spearheaded a su##essful dri e to free a "adly "eaten elephant from the El Paso Ioo to a san#tuary in *ennessee% & fought for a ne! animal shelter, free spay and neutering for lo!'in#ome families, and aggressi e adoption pra#ti#es% & lo""ied the #ity #oun#il and su##essfully !on a ote !hi#h made EL Paso the DHHth #ity in the >S to de#lare the >SA PA*G&/* A#t un#onstitutional K all the !hile fending off atta#ks from #olleagues, #ops, right'!ing media, and politi#ians% >nlike the ast ma(ority of a#ademi#s, & "elie e that tea#hing and resear#h should "e linked to a#ti ism and the urgent issues of the day% &t is appalling to me that in the midst of glo"al so#ial and en ironmental #risis, most a#ademi#s pursue a"stra#t, ar#ane, and opportunist lines of resear#h, typi#ally "ehind the fa#ade of 4neutrality5 and !ith su"lime deta#hment from a !orld spiraling out of #ontrol% 9ust as & "elie e s#ientists should #ommit positi ely to the politi#s of #limate #hange ?su#h as 9ames Lansen admira"ly has@, & think that a#ademi#s and theorists ought to !ork as organi# intelle#tuals in so#ial mo ements and #ommunities, using their skills to help understand and transform the dynami#s and #auses of domination, hierar#hy, in#reasing #on#entrations of !ealth and po!er among po!er elites, the ongoing animal holo#aust, and planetary e#ologi#al meltdo!n% As an edu#ator and a#ti ist in numerous mo ements for o er thirty years, & #an say !ith #onfiden#e that there are fe!, if any, topi#s as heated and #ontro ersial as animal li"eration and eganism, "oth of !hi#h push primordial "uttons% Although & ha e taught radi#al su"(e#ts su#h as ,ar1ism, anar#hism, feminism, postmodernism, )ueer theory, anti'glo"ali$ation, post'#olonialism, #riti#al ra#e theory, and deep e#ology, it !as only my dis#ussions of animal li"eration and eganism that aroused the ire of #olleagues and administrators and pro oked intense student interest and de"ate% *he poli#e #hief !rote letters to the uni ersity president against my protest and demonstration a#tions% & !as mo#ked on lo#al right'!ing radio% Gesentful

professors phoned in anonymous #omplaints "ased on lies and third'hand rumors% Senior #olleagues and administrators admonished me that tea#hing animal rights !as not appropriate ?O@ for humanities or philosophy% & shot them all do!n and pumped up the olume% &n -HH:, things heated up #onsidera"ly% &n 9une, a notorious right'!ing >S Senator, 9ames &nhofe ?G'/kl%@ sent letters to me, my department, the uni ersity president, and the entire *e1as 6oard of Gegents, pressuring me to testify "efore Senate e#o'terrorism hearings due to my open support for and !ritings on the Animal Li"eration Front% Almost su"poenaed, & refused to legitimate this ,#8arthyes)ue !it#h'hunt% *he hearings !ent on !ithout me and !ere "road#ast on 8'Span Li e "efore an international audien#e and an audien#e pa#ked !ith top la!makers and F6& 6rass% Da id ,artosko of the 8enter for 8onsumer Freedom, a #orporate and agri"usiness front group, deli ered a t!enty'minute harangue that denoun#ed me as 4the leader of the Animal Li"eration Front5 and a 4truly dangerous indi idual%5 Le !ent on to a##use me of re#ruiting students into the ALF% *hese !ere most amusing #harges% For there is no leader in a de#entrali$ed mo ement and it #ertainly !as not me% ,oreo er, & found it #hallenging to persuade students to attend egan potlu#k dinners, let alone to risk a ten'year prison term to (oin me in alleged #riminal underground ad enturesO &n 9uly, after a series of spee#hes in England on animal li"eration, the 6ritish Lome /ffi#e "anned me from the entire >E for life, deeming me a 4threat to the pu"li# order%5 ,y status !as ele ated from domesti# terrorist to international terrorist, and & #an ne er thank them enough for raising my profile% & su"se)uently suffered politi#al repression from my o!n uni ersity, ho!e er, !hi#h inspired me to introdu#e and edit a PHH page olume history and analysis of a#ademi# repression and the #orporati$ation of the uni ersity in the post'AM00 era% &n Academic *epression: *eflections +rom the Academic-Industrial ,omple?AE Press, -H0H@, & e1posed the myth of free spee#h in 4higher edu#ation5 and featured numerous #ases studies of repression, perse#ution, and firing professors for their politi#al "eliefs and a#ti ism% Despite ha ing !ritten o er a do$en "ooks and some t!o hundred arti#les and essays, despite e1#ellent tea#hing e aluations, and despite intensi e !ork in the #ommunity, & !as denied promotion to full professor for #learly politi#al reasons% *he Spe#ter of Animal Li"eration 6ut long "efore this tur"ulent time, & "egan to !onder: Wh! are people who show compassion to animals mocked and derided. Wh! are we considered ps!chologicall! abnormal or morall! flawed. Wh! are we called e er!thing from

bunn! huggers to misanthropes to terrorists. Wh! are the topics of eganism and animal rights so contro ersial. Wh! does animal liberation touch a primal and raw ner e in the human ps!che and pro oke resistance from others and fierce repression from the state. Wh! is it so threatening. & #on#luded that animal rights is su" ersi e and re olutionary on many le els, "ut to understand this point, one has to appre#iate the differen#e "et!een animal !elfare ; !hi#h e ery e1ploiter and spe#iesist #laims to respe#t ; and animal rights, !hi#h prohi"its any e1ploitati e use of animals and !hi#h all parties re(e#t as e1tremist% =hereas !elfarism ne er #hallenges the assumption that animals are resour#es and property for human use, animal rights e1plodes the pre(udi#es underpinning the hierar#hi#al system of spe#iesism to insist on e)ual #onsideration for the interests of all sentient life% Animal !elfare doesnCt #hange the ast system of animal e1ploitation that slaughters o er one hundred "illion inno#ents e ery year, it only regulates minor te#hni#al and administrati e details to 4redu#e suffering5 and kill the endless pro#ession of animals 4humanely%5 Enlightened people did not ask for a more 4humane5 Aus#h!it$, nor did the 0Ath #entury a"olitionist mo ement ask for "etter treatment of the sla es% /ne does not regulate e il, one a"olishes it #ompletely, and the only 4humane5 !ay to treat a sla e is to free itO 6e#ause animal rights is a"olitionist rather than !elfarist in logi#, it poses t!o different threats to humans and their so#ieties: first a material or e#onomi# threat, and se#ond a psy#hologi#al threat% Animal rights is a potentially serious e#onomi# threat in its goal to eliminate e ery form of animal e1ploitation it #an "ring do!n, and there"y to end the ast system of animal sla ery !hi#h is #ru#ial to the gro!th of the glo"al #apitalist ma#hine% &n the >E, for instan#e, !here pharma#euti#al #orporations are the third most important #ontri"utor to the e#onomy, a#ti ists ha e shut do!n numerous "reeders, li"erated thousands of resear#h animals, atta#ked multiple la"oratories, stopped produ#tion of a "iomedi#al fa#ility at 8am"ridge >ni ersity, and seriously th!arted plans to "uild a resear#h #omple1 at /1ford >ni ersity% *his is ery serious indeed, "ut the psy#hologi#al threat is deeper% People throughout so#iety are threatened "y animal li"eration, !hether or not they ha e a dire#t e#onomi# interest in e1ploiting animals, "e#ause it means profound #hanges in their identities, alues, interpersonal relations, and e eryday li es% Animal li"eration transgresses an in iola"le "oundary, as deeply rooted and uni ersal as the prohi"ition against in#est% &t is #onsidered ta"oo to #hallenge the distin#tion "et!een human and non'human nature% *hroughout the entire history of =estern #i ili$ation, thinkers ha e "uilt an ela"orate lie that redu#es

animals to ma#hines or things, falsely separates us from the animal kingdom, and arrogantly esta"lishes us as the end to !hi#h all other "eings are mere means% Animal rights for#es us to #onfront the lies !e ha e told a"out animals and oursel es% =hereas prior li"eration mo ements addressed se#tors of humanity !ho !ere spe#ifi# oppressors dominating distin#t oppressed groups, animal li"eration sees all humanity as oppressors2 it atta#ks not (ust !hite suprema#y or male suprema#y, "ut the larger phenomenon of human suprema#y, a uni ersal ideology and e eryday pra#ti#e that #uts a#ross #lass, ra#e, ethni#ity, religion, gender, nation, and other "oundaries% No"el Pri$e !inning author, &saa# 6ashe is Singer, stated that, in relation to animals, 4all people are Na$is2 for the animals it is an eternal *re"linka%5 Animal li"eration is re olutionary in that it demands a #omplete reorgani$ation of our so#ial and psy#hologi#al realities% &t demands a fundamentally different e#onomy, mode of s#ien#e, !orld ie!, #ulture, rituals, so#ial pra#ti#es, and identities% &t re(e#ts the #on#eptual map humanity ?=estern so#iety in parti#ular@ has de eloped o er the last ten thousand years throughout the reign of 4#i ili$ation%5 &ndeed, the identities and traditions animal li"eration #hallenges go "a#k o er t!o million years, !ith the emergen#e of the /omo genus and the #oe al rise in meat #onsumption and de elopment of the tools and fire used to hunt, kill, and #onsume animals% Animal li"eration is the ne1t ne#essary and logi#al de elopment in moral e olution and politi#al struggle, !here"y humans learn that animals deser e fundamental rights, grant them these rights, and #hange their so#ial institutions, pra#ti#es, and mentalities a##ordingly% Animal li"eration "uilds on the most progressi e ethi#al and politi#al ad an#es human "eings ha e made in the last -HH years and #arries them to their logi#al #on#lusions% &t takes the struggle for rights, e)uality, and non iolen#e to the ne1t le el, "eyond the artifi#ial moral and legal "oundaries of humanism, in order to #hallenge all pre(udi#es and hierar#hies in#luding spe#iesism% ,artin Luther EingCs paradigmati# humanist ision of a 4!orldhouse5 de oid of iolen#e and di isions, ho!e er lauda"le, remains a "lood'soaked slaughterhouse until the alues of pea#e and e)uality are e1tended to all animal spe#ies% *hus, the re olutionar! implications of animal liberation e-plain the intense resistance to it on all fronts% Animal li"eration is not a suffi#ient #ondition for a oiding the impending nightmare of e#ologi#al #atastrophe, for it needs to "e arti#ulated !ith so#ial

(usti#e, pea#e, rights, autonomy, and e#ologi#al mo ements% 6ut it is a ne#essary #ondition of re olutionary #hange, and our attitudes to!ard animals stand as a litmus test to !hether or not !e oursel es !ill sur i e in ia"le and desira"le form% LetCs "e #lear: !e are fighting for a re olution, not for reforms, for the end of sla ery, not for humane sla emasters% Animal li"eration ad an#es the most radi#al idea to e er land on human ears: animals are not our food, #lothing, resour#es, or o"(e#ts of entertainment2 they e1ist for their o!n purposes, not ours% Although humanists s#orn and re(e#t the #on#ept of animal rights on grounds su#h as that they allegedly la#k reason, language, and #ulture2 that only "eings !ho #an enter into so#ial #ontra#ts #an ha e rights and the responsi"ilities that go alone !ith them K all these o"(e#tions are #ompletely "eside the main point% Animals ha e rights not in relation to one another, "ut against human "eings and their iolent and predatory a#tions% E ery (usti#e struggle up to no! !as has "een relati ely easy% No! it gets hard% Spe#iesism is primordial and uni ersal2 it is argua"ly the first of any form of domination or hierar#hy and it has spread like a deadly irus throughout the entire planet and all of human history% *he pro"lem is not limited to =estern #ulture or to the modern !orld, su#h that there is some signifi#ant utopian past or radi#al alternati e to re#o er% *he pro"lem is the human spe#ies itself, !hi#h "ut for rare e1#eptions is iolent, destru#ti e, and imperialisti#% >ni ersally, humans ha e ested interests in e1ploiting animals and think they ha e a God' gi en right to do so% *o #hange these attitudes is to #hange the ery ner e #enter of human #ons#iousness% &hat is the task of the worldwide animal liberation mo ement 0 no more and no less% *he Aftermath *he net result of my unrestrained passions, relentless #riti)ues, and highly #ontro ersial a#ti ism is that my a#ademi# #areer is o er, fro$en at the le el of Asso#iate Professor and "la#klisted on the national hiring market% 6ut there are no apologies and no regrets% & am one of those rare a#ademi#s !hose primary am"ition !as ne er to o"ey, #onform, and promote #areerist goals, "ut rather to make philosoph! dangerous again, to "e a #ontro ersial pu"li# intelle#tual, and to use #riti#al theory and politi#al engagement to!ard a re olutionary transformation of all psy#hologi#al, so#ial, and e#onomi# stru#tures !hi#h ha e "rought us to this #riti#al #rossroads in human e olution and the history of the earth itself%

&n a !orld of en ironmental ruination, spe#ies e1tin#tion, human o erpopulation, predatory glo"al #apitalism, resour#e s#ar#ity, runa!ay #limate #hange, and an e er'gro!ing animal Lolo#aust, a#ademi#s should not ha e the lu1ury to pursue a"stra#t issues unrelated to the urgent need for systemi# #hange at all le els% *hey ought, rather, to a"andon petty ego o"sessions and nar#issisti# #areerism in order to help #larify and #hange the #auses of so#ial and e#ologi#al "reakdo!n, !hi#h demands a "reak from the ten thousand'year reign of dominator #ultures and the mu#h longer tyranny of /omo rapiens% ,y life is the story of prin#ipled #ommitment, endless self'o er#oming, and #easeless struggle: the struggle for truth, enlightenment, (usti#e, and pea#e2 a struggle to "ring #hange to myself, to others, and to this !orld% *he struggle goes on, it !ill ne er stop% &t pro ides the #ontinuity and #oheren#e for my e er' #hanging life% &ndeed after .H years of non'stop intensi e !ork, a ne! #rossroads and no el #hallenges lay "efore me, on#e again, right no!%