Category Archives: nonhuman dignity

Park-Kim Sujin: The Concept of Human-Centrism in the Intellectual History of Both the East and West

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The Concept of Human-Centrism in the Intellectual History of Both the East and West

Talking About Animal Rights: Philosophies and Ideas about Animal Rights (Part 1)

By Park-Kim Sujin
Translated by Kang Eun-sil

How come we don’t feel guilty about exploiting animals?

The philosophies or thoughts of prominent philosophers or thinkers have influence on those of ordinarypeople not only in the times of those philosophers and thinkers but also in later times. This becomes clear when we consider the male-centered ideology that has justified suppression of and discrimination against women, or the ideology of capitalism, which have exercised enormous influence for a long time.

The general thoughts members of society have regarding a specific object or matter are the outcome of the philosophies and thoughts that emerged in former generations and have had a great influence. This is also true of the debate over animal rights. The perception of non-human animals shown in Eastern and Western philosophies and thoughts are found in modern people’s thoughts and attitudes.

Behind human beings’ perception that non-human animals are a mere means to human ends, not living beings, are the philosophies and thoughts that regard non-human animals as things or means. It can be hardly denied that in both the East and West, human beings’ perception of non-human animals has been entirely human-centered. Highly influential philosophers in the East and West contributed to ordinary people developing such ideas.

Western philosophers’ perception of non-human animals and humans

On the premise that only humans have reason, Aristotle said human beings were justified in using non-human animals as resources because they were ranked lower than humans.

Descartes saw the ability to use signs, symbols and languages as an important difference between humans and non-human animals. He argued that it was justifiable to discriminate against non-human animals that had neither reason nor the ability to use languages. He said the sounds produced by non-human animals were not a language but automatic responses like innate gestures.

For Descartes, non-human animals were nothing more than machines without souls. So, he felt no guilt in dissecting a living dog placed on a table. For him, the scream the dog made during dissection was little different from the sound produced when the spring or gear wheels of a watch were disassembled.

John Locke said God granted reason only to humans. He argued that as humans were the only beings with reason, they had ownership of nature. For him, nature was something God permitted humans to conquer, and thus it was natural for inferior non-human animals to obey superior humans.

Amid the increasing presence of pessimists who believed human beings did not have reason, Kant tried to restore reason—which was disappearing from the attention of other philosophers—saying, “Only humans have reason.” He said “We humans do not have any direct duty with regard to non-human animals. As non-human animals do not have self-awareness, they are a mere means to accomplish a certain end. The end is humans.”

Even after discovering that non-human animals too feel pain…

In modern society, non-human animals are being exploited and abused in even more ways.<

If the arguments of the philosophers above—Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, and Chevalier—are accepted, the exploitation and abuse of non-human animals will be justified. Acknowledging humans’ ownership and control over non-human animals will allow humans to conquer, use, and kill non-human animals for the purposes of their interest and convenience.

Furthermore, as non-human animals are considered nothing more than machines, humans do not have to feel guilty or disturbed for using them. Reason is the exclusive property of humans, and non-human animals lacking reason cannot possibly have self-awareness.

The thoughts and arguments of the philosophers above have constituted the basis on which humans today understand nature, non-human animals and the world.

There is one thing more horrible about humans today, however. While people in the past did not believe non-human animals could feel pain, philosophers and many others today acknowledge that non-human animals can feel pain. In this respect, people today seem crueler than their predecessors because they are paying little attention to the exploitation of and violence against beings that can feel pain.

Which Is Crueler? Humans or Non-Human Animals?

There are a few things I want to discuss at this point. I found something strange in what the Western philosophers above argued. The world has changed, and humans no longer lead a life completely dependent on God. So, we should rethink the assertion that God granted reason only to humans.

Furthermore, we need to think about what “reason” really is. It is commonly said that only humans have reason. But, looking at things happening across the world, we may come to doubt that humans are really equipped with reason. If reason is a good thing and all humans have it, how can we explain numerous problems happening across the world such as sexual abuse, domestic violence, unfair labor issues, and discrimination and violence against minorities including the disabled, immigrants and homosexuals? If “a certain order” truly exists in human beings, as Chevalier put it, how can we explain the disorderliness of the world today?

Humans ranked non-human animals lower than themselves and dismissed the sound produced by them as not a language. They also differentiated themselves from non-human animals and defined the emotions and languages of beings other than humans from their perspective, saying, “They are not languages.” All this shows how selfish humans are.

I’d like to raise a question: who granted humans the right to rank non-human animals lower than themselves and to make use of them as they want? Some say humans behaving like non-human animals could bring about an catastrophe. But I think it may be the other way around. Non-human animals becoming as cruel as humans would cause a bigger catastrophe.

The understanding of animals’ rights may have to begin with raising questions about what we have taken for granted. A similar approach has been made to the understanding of homosexuality. While people in the past tried to explain the causes  of homosexuality, people today think about the causes of heterosexuality or ask heterosexuals questions like “How do you distinguish love and friendship?”

The lives of all living beings are equal in Buddhist philosophy

Then, how are humans and non-human animals viewed in Eastern philosophies? To begin with, let’s examine Buddhist philosophy, which teaches respect for life. Buddhist philosophy is highly different from Western philosophy in its perspective on non-human animals.

The respect for life that Buddhist philosophy teaches is not confined to the lives of humans. It holds that the lives of all living creatures, humans and non-human animals, should be respected. From the perspective of Buddhism, the phenomenon of appearance is nothing more than an outer cover created by karma. The nature of all living creatures is permanent and completely free, and thus no discrimination exists between humans and non-human animals.

The absolute freedom and equality of Buddhism are applied to all living creatures regardless of their status in the hierarchy. Life should not be used as a means or tool to achieve something because it itself is the goal to be realized. Any living creature must not be killed, discriminated against or repressed.

In Buddhism, the concept of “Buddha” does not refer to Sakyamuni [the historical Buddha] alone; everything in the world is thought to be a Buddha. All of the things that comprise the world, including mountains and fields, sky and wind, humans and non-human animals, are Buddhas, no discrimination is found among them.

Buddhism does not allow dividing animals into humans and non-human animals, calling the division a sort of “delusion.” These fundamental ideas and attitude of Buddhism prove that Buddhism, unlike other philosophies, sees non-human animals as beings, not things.

Mercy belongs to humans, and hatred to non-human animals?

However, the Buddhist ideology that does not allow discrimination among all living creatures does not seem to have any direct effect on modern people’s perception of or attitudes towards non-human animals. That is because many Buddhist followers and teachers still see non-human animals as things.

Many Buddhist leaders who put emphasis on reaching nirvana believe only humans can reach nirvana and see non-human animals as lowly things. We can find many passages in Buddhist books that associate humans with affection and mercy, and non-human beings with hatred, jealousy, and other negative emotions. Furthermore, many Buddhists believe being born as non-human animals is the result of bad karma in a past life.

Park-Kim Sujin, who interviews lesbians for her Ilda column “Over the Rainbow,” is writing another column called “Talks of Animal Rights.” This column will provide an opportunity to learn of animal rights, a still-unfamiliar concept to Korean society, and to lead an ecological life that seeks harmony between humans and non-human animals.

*Original article: http://www.ildaro.com/sub_read.html?uid=6386&section=sc3&section2

Posted 2nd December 2013 by ILDA: http://ildaro.blogspot.de/2013/12/the-concept-of-human-centrism-in.html

Steve from the The Drag Hook about ethical veganism

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Steve, vocalist of the vegan hardcoreband The Drag Hook from Cleveland, about ethical veganism:

Veganism is an important step on the road to acknowledging and ending suffering worldwide. The fact that the human body has evolved to run most efficiently on a completely vegan diet is a side benefit of living as close to a cruelty free life as is humanly possible in the world today.

Once we stop ignoring the fact that creatures with the capacity to love and enjoy their lives are being tortured and murdered every day in the name of gluttony and greed, we can start addressing this problem and every other form of needless destruction we inflict on this planet and all those we share it with.

We as human beings have a long history of doing terrible things to each other and to all of our fellow earthlings. We must right these wrongs or go extinct trying.

-Steve Osborne XVX
The Drag Hook

Ignorance Is Complicity

they live in the space you ignore
they die on the killing room floor
because they’re born for you to waste
they give their lives for the way they taste
this is real monstrosity
ignorance is complicity
Breed them in new mutated forms
so fat they cant lift themselves off the floor
dying in numbers too large to record
sold to your plate before they are born
this is real monstrosity
ignorance is complicity
everyone knows the difference
between chained and free
there will be a war
until every cage is empty

Not In My Name

let them suffer no more for me
let the walls that cage them topple over, let them be free
let the hand that grips the whip be severed clean
let eyes that witness and do nothing, no longer see
carry their cries out to every ear
let no one enjoy their pain without having to hear
Bread to be tortured and killed
raped into existence then fed to the world
this will not be my legacy
i wont go down with the rest of my species.

Both these tracks are from their January 2014 release: Lethal Dose.

The band is not active anymore in this formation. Their album ‘Lethal Dose’ can be downloaded in bandcamo under adrress however: https://suspendedsoultapesandrecords.bandcamp.com/album/lethal-dose

Knives and Forks for Freedom on awareness and the complexity of ethical veganism

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Vegan punks, Knives and Forks for Freedom

Cody, multitasking member of the political hardcore punk band Knives and Forks for Freedom from Canada, tells us his thoughts on the complexity of ethical veganism:

For me, living in the industrial capitalist world, there is almost no reason not to be vegan. I believe that not enough people are truly aware of the consequences of supporting industrial animal agriculture. It is safe to say that the majority of the population is mostly unaware, or chooses not to acknowledge the reality of the practices of factory farming and slaughterhouses. Animals are born into a life of confinement in poor conditions until their brutal slaughter, very often done without anaesthesia. It’s very obvious that this is the reason slaughterhouses are not made of glass walls and are often located in remote areas, safe from public awareness. Otherwise, so much less people would knowingly support this industry.

I generally have a reasonably optimistic view on humanity though. I’m sure most people would be opposed to these practices if they were more aware of them. After all, many people like animals, such as their pets. No one would want their dog or cat to have to experience a life of confinement, neglect and torture. But because of the complete disconnect with where this food comes from, no one really thinks about it. It seems that most people are led to believe in vague myths that this food comes from traditional family farms where animals live happily. But instead, what we have is intensive factory operations whose primary goal is to create profit as efficiently and cheaply as possible.

On top of all of this, industrial animal agriculture generates so much pollution and causes great environmental damage. It also requires so much more grains, soy and water to feed livestock than the food created from plants. It’s just very inefficient and unsustainable. So by simply refusing to support the industry, it creates less demand for the products and then creates less harm. So for me, the refusal to support these industries is also rooted in an anti-consumerist and anti-capitalist way of thinking.

At a larger level, we live in a culture based on hierarchy and power. Animal’s being forced to spend their lives in confinement and poor conditions for people’s benefit is one example of that. I think we’re also vaguely led to believe in a “survival of the fittest” myth, which ultimately just serves to normalize the idea that it’s completely fine for the dominant class to rule and exploit those who they consider “inferior”. In the case of non-human animals, this denies them their sentience and their own right to live. As such, it’s absolutely essential to be critical of power relations in all levels in society. In the case of veganism, it is simply about making small daily choices to simply not support industries built on exploitation. Our comforts and pleasures should not exist at the expense of the lives of others.

Please Don’t Eat Me

Well I know it’s not the best you’ve ever had,
but I sure don’t think it’s all that bad.
Is it enough knowing that nothing living had to die?
I know you’re used to your meat, but soy is worth a try.

The cows never saw it coming,
relaxing in the green pastures of lies,
never knowing the humans’ insatiable hunger.
No time for this cow now, but who is next?!
Please don’t eat me!

“This tofu tastes terrible”, is all you can ever say.
And “who cares about a fucking cow anyway”,
but have you ever thought about the life they live?
We take so much from this planet, that we never give.

To the death you’d argue it’s about health for you.
Well what’s good for that cow to eat, is fucking good for you too.
If we planted that grain in the fields where they eat,
it would end world hunger and no one would have to eat meat.

There’s no reason for us to still do this.
We have the technology to surpass this savageness.
Humans are much smarter than all other animals on earth,
but when we act like animals,
do we doom ourselves to die…like animals?!

Album: I’m Not Fucked Up, The World Is, released 2011

Dic of the Hour

The dictator of choice wasn’t chosen by you,
but chosen for you.
Believes in America and his country,
believes we do not have a voice.

Put in place, by the powers that be.
I’ve learned enough, they’ll never have control of me.
I’ll keep screaming, ‘til I have no voice.
One day, we’ll remove the dictator of choice.

They laugh, while you slave for your daily food.
People are slaughtered in the streets every minute,
people just like you.

A new dictator; how many times will they do it?
How many times will no one notice?
Until the whole world, is fucking third world!?

Album: Who’s in Control?, released 2012

Connect through:

Bandcamp: http://kafff.bandcamp.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/4freedom4all

Holy on their AR veganism, on belief systems and intersectional approaches

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Holy vegan hardcore from Milan

Stefano, singer of Holy told us about animal rights, veganism, belief systems and intersectional approaches:

The four of us approached veganism in very different ways and time, I think that mostly what we share is that we all became vegans because we have a critical view of the world around us.

The biggest strength of the meat industry is the “don’t question” approach, consuming animals or animal product is something that in most cases is done without consciousness, no one ever wonders about how cows turned into steak, it’s not something considered questionable at all. Just part of the everyday normal life.

It happened in a certain moment of our life that we started questioning it, of course punk has had a huge influence in the process of making this choice. It’s because of punk that we perceived veganism for the first time as a political choice, and not only as some kind of fashionable hippy diet. When we started this band, we’ve put our opinion about animal rights in the spotlight, so we knew that there could have been misunderstandings about our band name’s origin and meaning.

During these years, more than once we had to make ourselves clear about the fact that we are not a religious band, but we are 4 rationalists/atheists. The way we practice veganism, as I said, is as a conscious lifestyle, and I can’t imagine anything further from this than religion.
It is a CHOICE, not an act of faith, and we’re committed to this not to save our souls, or empower our karmic whatever. We are vegan because we care both for human and for non-human life; we don’t see humanity as the center of the universe, nor the top of food chain.

I grew up in Italy, which has still a Catholic culture. This made me think how deep the roots of speciesism are. If you try to think about the idea that men are created in the image and likeness of God, you realize that this people is basically telling you “you are not an animal.” You’re something above all life, and below God only, and this is not only because this is written in the Old Testament, this is because the Catholic Church is still against evolution theory, and still supporting and spreading this shitty idea of creationism. This is a hetero-normative patriarchal Church of a god that created man out of clay (but not women of course, who are just a product of an extra rib.)

You have to know that in Italy the relations between church and state are still regulated by a 1929 agreement Between Mussolini and Pope Pio IX. Catholicism is still considered the main religion, is still a class in primary school (although it is optional), and we still have crucifixes in our classrooms. This means that the Christian imprinting is pretty effective on children at first, and also on the whole population.

Some eastern religions are known for being more “animal friendly” or even for preaching explicitly not to eat meat. Through the years these religions fascinated western people because for some reason they’re perceived, as more “human” and peaceful compared to monotheist religions.

What really depress me is not religious people themselves (as an Atheist, I stand for the freedom of questioning), but the fact that most of the people (to be honest 100% of the ones I’ve met) who approached vegetarianism through religion, seem to be incapable of connecting it to other aspects of life and politics. I mean, I don’t care if the Bhagavad Gita tells you to eat cheese and yoghurt, but how can you consider yourself and intelligent person if you stop eating meat to spare animal lives on one side, and on the other you are still contributing to death, consuming dairy products, because your god told you so? An act of faith is weak by definition: an individual makes choices and reinforces those choices, themselves, even thou it’s oblivious that the choice could be wrong.

This is one of the many ways of how veganism is intersectional to me, it’s both the result of many choices that lead me to what I am today and one of the foundations of what I will be tomorrow. As a thinking person, not just as a vegan.

Asleep

Give us today / our poisoned bread / our daily piece of trash / our dose of forgiveness / altars for those who torture / gallows for those who care / how long will the lambs / be so bloodthirsty? / the sleep of consciousness / built cities and gold paved streets / monuments to its own failure / to praise / to bless / to sleep / forever.

Album: Self Titled 12″ released by Hell Yes! (2012 release)

FREE DOWNLOAD: www.mediafire.com?a5bt7rzkz7rhnae

Restless

I’ve been told a better place awaits
I’ve been told we’ll lay and rest in peace
I’ve been told love lasts forever
Over our dead bodies
I’ve been told no more suffering
I’ve been told no more pain
I’ve been told but if I ask now nobody answers
And my knuckles hurt, my nails are worn
There’s no gold at the end of the road
I’ve been told but if I ask now
Nobody answers
Is anybody out there?
It’s only gravity
Pushing us down so fucking down
Until the ground will swallow us

Album: The Age Of Collapse (2013 release)

Live at Aladdin Jr in Pomona CA (USA) June 2013

Connect via:

Bandcamp: http://holyvegan.bandcamp.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/holyvegan

Band of Mercy, Texans, Veganocrats

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Band of Mercy, courtesy toomanyweapons.com

Band of Mercy, Texans, Veganocrats

Singer, guitarist Daniel from theHoustonTXbased vegan hardcore Animal Liberation Band of Mercy told us about vegan effectiveness, possibilities of leading by example and basic intersectional veganism:

My main concern, at this point in my life (after being vegan for 8 years, and being an animal rights activist for more than 5 of those years), is the issue of promoting vegan culture. Of course, the basis of why someone stays vegan throughout their life usually comes from maintaining veganism as a philosophy based on ethics, as opposed to being a  lifestyle that affords them the most personal pleasure (let’s face it, most dietary vegans will make exceptions to what they feel is a restrictive lifestyle). Unfortunately, the ethics of veganism aren’t the most appealing aspect of veganism to most people. So what is our best approach to help the most animals and reduce the greatest amount of cruelty to them?

As activists, we must consciously remind ourselves that most people DO care about animals to some degree, and that most people do not wish harm upon them. Most people accept animal cruelty as an obscured part of our food system, fashion industry, clinical fields, and so on, simply because they think things have always been that way, and that they are powerless to change things. It’s not that they wish cruelty onto animals–rather, they feel their personal sacrifices to help animals would likely not be worth the effort.

What I have found has worked best for me, in my personal life with friends and family, as well as in my activist life, is to be an educated example of personal empowerment. I have taught myself how to thrive as a vegan, and I have made it a point that all those around me see how I am thriving as a vegan. After all, everyone wants to thrive in their lives. We must aim to show people that veganism requires more discipline than sacrifice– and more importantly, that the discipline we teach ourselves to live by will enhance and benefit our lives, not wear us down or limit our potential to have fun and be happy.

I have become stronger and healthier on a vegan diet. It requires some education to learn how to eat optimally as a vegan, and it does require some planning and discipline, but my physical and mental gains from eating optimally make my life more enjoyable, as I am able to do more activities that I enjoy for greater lengths of time, even as I get older. I eat a wider variety of foods, and I enjoy the rituals of eating more now than I did as an omnivore. Food is now a celebration in my life, not just something I must consume as a matter of hunger and convenience. Not only this, but many variations of vegan food and clothing are in fact cheaper than animal-based alternatives. Through veganism we all stand to gain physically, mentally, financially, as well as knowing the peace of mind that comes with thriving while causing the least amount of harm to others.

We must empower ourselves with the knowledge of how to live vegan in an optimal way, and then we must share that knowledge with those who are curious about veganism so that we may build vegan culture. For those who are not yet curious, we must live so boldly that we invoke their interest. We can not tear down the ways of old without offering the population newer, better ways to live. They will join us when they see us laughing, when they see us succeed and lead in the workplace, when they see us staying lean and healthy into old age, when they can see that our intellect is not just one dimensional–that we read books and make creative contributions to the world outside of the concepts of animal rights. We must show that we are well-rounded, well-developed individuals who have educated views.

While the ethical arguments are always abound in the world where people want to question us or be skeptical of us for not eating animals, and in this world of cruelty as the norm where protest is so often necessary, we must be able to shift our focus beyond the ongoing debates when necessary. We must become leaders who shed the light on a better, healthier, more positive way to live. In the end, that is how we will save the most animals.

Band of Mercy – Eat to Win

There is a war, and me must fight
But we won’t win if we don’t eat right
Billions are suffering, so we must prevail
You want Vegan Power?
You better eat KALE!!

Tofu, rice, and beans – BEANS!
And dark leafy greens – GREENS!
Fruits and nuts and seeds – SEEDS!
Partake of these to smash enemies

War is upon us, like it or not
No hippies or weaklings, we need juggernauts
‘Cause change never comes from asking nicely
You want Liberation?
You better eat broccoli!!

Tofu, rice, and beans – BEANS!
And dark leafy greens – GREENS!
Fruits and nuts and seeds – SEEDS!
Partake of these to smash enemies

Born to lose, eat to win!
Toughened by tempeh, strengthened by seitan
Born to lose, eat to win!
We scoff at the phrase “protein deficient” (HA!)

(“Where do I get my protein? What, are you a fuckin’ idiot??”)

Show them a vegan like they’ve never seen
Primed to deliver one million ass beatings!

Tofu, rice, and beans – BEANS!
And dark leafy greens – GREENS!
Fruits and nuts and seeds – SEEDS!
Partake of these to smash enemies

Connect via:

FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Band-of-Mercy-the-band/130053330369316
Bandcamp: http://bandofmercy.bandcamp.com

Davey xSABOTEURx on vegan AR intersectionality!

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xSABOTEURx at the Asylum 2 – Birmingham, 8.04.2013

We asked Davey, the bassist of the former UK vegan band xSABOTEURx, about his view on ethical veganism and animal rights intersectionality:

Basically for me veganism has always been for the animals and that’s how I would imagine it would stay. The band tackled issues of homophobia and sexism too with our vocalist at the time being gay.

We also come from a background where there’s a lot of privilege and consumerism in hardcore and honestly that’s just never been what it’s about for us.

Our politics have always been about liberation, both human and animal, and that’s something that should always continue on for us.

xSABOTEURx – Reaction

“In a world that’s fueled by the suffering of others,
ignorance is no longer an option. I would rather see
the world for what it really is than blind myself with
excuses. No longer will I stand by and watch as the
innocent fall victim to selfish desires. No more.”
Abstinence from a culture guilty of atrocity,
industries that profit off other beings misery,
mind altering substances that keep thought distracted,
pay heed to our crimes,
this is my reaction.
How many more have to suffer?
I can no longer stand by and do nothing,
as life is destroyed by human consumption,
slaves to convenience,
faith in a bottle,
this is my reaction in a world so hollow.
VEGAN STRAIGHT EDGE
Rape,
Vivisection,
Murder,
Exploitation,
Suffering,
Misery,
This is my reaction,
I won’t stand still.
Won’t stand still.
Won’t stand still.

xSABOTEURx – Unjustified

Compassion for those you once called friends,
lost among false notions of survival,
tradition is delusion in a modern age,
where substitute can take deaths place.
Slaughter, unjustified.
Slaughter, unjustified.
Animals aren’t commodity
or ours to control
industry to industry,
all will fall.
The hunters hunted,
the demons exposed,
no compromise for those who oppose.
Mass liberation from the hands of moral corruption,
those who’d brand a currency on sentient life.
Now is the time!
Mass liberation
from the hands of moral corruption.
Righteous vengeance on those who oppress.
It’s time for us to recognize,
retribution of nature’s calling.
Every second that’s spent waiting,
leads to another demise.

Both track are from xSABOTEURx – Demonstration, released in May 2013.

Via FB: https://www.facebook.com/saboteurxvx

Orel Ofoi, singer of Paris-based vegan band FTA, on animal ethics and veganism as global ethics

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Orel Ofoi is the singer of the Paris-based vegan band FTA. We asked Orel about how she sees animal- and vegan ethics and their contexts:

My idea of the ethic regarding the respect of animals and animal protection is really a global ethic: The respect for animals will have an impact on environmental protection and on the respect for human beings themselves.

In the Judeo-Christian religion, for instance, the majority of people read the biblical text with the notion that humans stand at the centre of the world, and that they have to dominate the earth and the animals, thus dismissing the image of the human as a shepherd: who is a friend and protector face to face, on the same ground with the environment and other lives … .

I think that we should see the relationship between humans and animals as a relation of “co-creatures”, based on respect, love and protection of the others.

The Earth is our mother, and the human is the most dangerous animal for her and her environment.

An individual awareness all over the world would be necessary to see a real evolution; one, by fighting those who’ve become cancerous to the planet, who murder us physically and alienate us on a daily basis; I speak about Monsanto for example or also the lobbyists (pharmaceutical or agro food, etc.).

I believe that it is necessary to support ethical producers and to not hesitate with sharing the message, because we need to stick together and to be united to see a real revolution and a real ethical evolution.

Standing Point. Intersectional vegan hardcore from Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil!

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Standing Point. Intersectional vegan hardcore from Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil!

Standing Points voice Alex Peguinelli tells us on the intersectionality of ethical veganism:

Well, we are a third world band, so we see veganism and animal rights in a particular way. We have so many problems here in America Latina, that people don’t even think about the non-human animals, so being a vegan, straight edge and anarchist band here is very necessary.

Beyond the band we are involved with vegan anti-consumerist collectives and the struggle for public transport. We think that talking about veganism is talking about anti-consumerist politics, anti-capitalist issues and a lot of other things that are directly connected with the human and non-human animal liberation.

Our Album ‘Work. Consume. Die.’ talks about the inability to live a free life in a world that offers you only prisons.

Standing Point – Loveless

“People who talk about revolution and class struggle without referring explicitly to everyday life, without understanding what is subversive about love and hate, live and DIE, and what is to refuse their limitations, these people speak with a corpse between their teeth.”

Loveless

I threw myself from the highest cliffs
from the most beautiful mountains
I threw myself from the largest buildings

Always knowing that the ground
would be the (final) destination
That the fall would be the path

And the wind would lead life
like carrying pieces of paper

What can we do with the crumbs of theories?

(Normality can properly
Teach people how to live
And how to die)

What can we do with the crumbs of theories?

I tried to hold the air
I tried to hold in the air
I tried to leave the flight
a rough landing
inevitable and painful

And then life became
a scenographic city
if you pull to strong
the walls fall down

Now I see through
these falling walls
That love is the only reason of life
Love for struggle
Love for resistence
Love for freedom

No Compromise
No Excuses

Freedom
By any means necessary

(We turn again to the streets
But we have changed
And the streets mean something different now
We walked and these moments changed us
We saw buildings burning
We were touched by death
We loved and we felt alive
We saw the moon rising behind the barricades
We heard the echo of our voice in the voices of others

We do not walk today
asking the power for grant
They had never legislated peace or freedom
Now their armies cannot occupy our dreams
And their prisons cannot contain our number

This is our world
And these streets belong to us

We are the other,
We are the unemployed,
We are the hungry,
We are the homeless,
We are the thieves,
We are the saboteurs,
We are taking the streets,
We are destroying corporations,
We are taking control of the factories,
We are walking through the night carrying a heart on fire.

all of us,
we are everyone,
we are one.)

Standing Point – The Real Change

Connect through

Bandcamp: http://standingpoint.bandcamp.com
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Standing-Point/240527789340168

Not merely human attributes! Friendbeast’s Koala Largess on vegan intersectionality

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We asked Friendbeast from Baltimore about vegan intersectionality

Koala the vocalist of Friendbeast told us:

As an anarchist, I look at the relationships of power. This doesn’t preclude the relationship that humans have to the world around them. If we want real anticapitalist structural change, we need to look at the most basic part of our lives, what we eat and how we relate to it – our food. Bodies, hearts, and minds are not merely a human attribute, and forcing deprivation, sexualization, and then death upon other creatures debases our humanity and throws us deeper into a capitalist web.

Friendbeast – Caged

I could sell her to a lab
Euthanize her tomorrow
Society says she’s property
All I want is an end to this.

CHORUS:
Bought
Sold
Kept in a cage

There is no freedom in the exploitation of another

Bought
Sold
Kept in a cage

There is no dignity in the ownership of another

Systems of power
Desire to control
Fuck your disregard
Fuck this domination
No one should have ownership over another
Animals shouldn’t be confined
Alone…
Cold…
Waiting for your curiosity

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Bandcamp: http://friendbeast.bandcamp.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Friendbeast/465040923548720

xNO MOREx – vegan hardcore from Minneapolis on intersectionality

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xNO MOREx – vegan sxe hardcore from Minneapolis.

We asked Anthony, the vocalist of xNO MOREx, about the fundamentals of intersectionality and veganism:

This text as a PDF (link opens in a new window)

Veganism comes down to 2 issues. And those are Capitalism and Patriarchy.

I think that with Veganism, we have to realize that although we are clearing our own conscience by not eating animal products or using animal tested body care or what have you, it will only go so far. Veganism is so complex and intersectional to all other aspects of oppression. Unfortunately, its something a lot of vegans don’t seem to realize. Whether it be ableism, classism, sexism, transphobia, racism etc. these are all issues that really come down to capitalism and/or patriarchy.

You look at something like animal liberation. Sure, 5 million vegans in the United States is better than none, but these animals are still not liberated, they’re not free from oppression and speciesism, they’re still referred to as “its” instead of he’s and she’s. Veganism is a spark for something so much bigger, it’s really just the beginning of an eye opening perspective on the systematic oppressions that exist in our society.

Capitalism for example, a system that has been created where you actually have to pay for (work for) food, which is essential to the body to be able to live. What kind of a society have we created when we say, “I understand you need food to live, and it grows out of the ground all the time, but in order to obtain this food, you have to work according to a value somebody else has put on this job that society has forced you to work. The same goes for housing, as recent as 2011, there were thought to be roughly 3.5 million people homeless in the United States of America, and yet, there were 18 million unoccupied homes. But capitalism says that these people don’t deserve to have a home or a roof over their heads because of these fallacies it has created about money, power and “freedom.”

Things like factory farming will always exist so long as capitalism is still in place. People will eat, sleep, breathe and watch whatever they’re told to by these corporations, and cheese burgers are definitely no different. Animals are nothing more than property to these people and corporations, so to them, they see a cow producing milk, they see dollar signs, so they will force that down your throat until you buy, buy and buy some more.

But again, these are issues that a lot of vegans still don’t understand or care to realize. This is why intersectionality is important and vital. It’s all one singular issue of oppression that all leads back to Patriarchy and Capitalism.

Veganism must be intersectional, otherwise its counter productive. It’s ALWAYS important to question how you see things, how you’ve been raised to look at ideas and society. A Vegan isn’t doing a ton of good to the world if they are preaching animal rights but being a sexist or ableist asshole at the same time. You’re taking one step forward in one movement but 2 steps back in another, completely failing to realize that they are the same movement.

Blood Mouth

Murder is Murder, its all the fucking same.
You can wrap it up and give it a nice sounding name.
But your lies just don’t make it humane
269 its all of our names
Years cut short, they still bleed out, all the
fucking same. Grass fed or knee deep in shit.
It’s still murder, all the same.

Intro / Value

I don’t value life based on mental capacity
not on gender, sex, race, or nationality
Humans aren’t the only species who
deserve basic rights.
Eat. Live. Free.

FB: https://www.facebook.com/xNOxMOREx
Bandcamp: http://xnoxmorex.bandcamp.com/