Few have had as much impact as the legendary author of Animal Liberation. As he tours the country and nears retirement, his life has lessons for us all.
I could barely get through those chapters in Animal Liberation that discussed what animals endured at the hands of experimenters, the fur and food industries, etc, even though by the time I read it I was already aware of these atrocities. I am confused though, probably highlighting my own ignorance here, but I thought changing the individuals hopefully en masse is what can effect changes in the industries. The industries don't change without public pressure, but I do agree systemic change is absolutely crucial.
Wayne I have to say that I think you yourself have motivated people to be brave and become activists, Your dedication to the cause of animal rights inspires me.
My mom started me on the path of personal liberation. She had a friend that belonged to an anti-vivisection org. So from early on I was painfully aware of the atrocities of the medical research industry. The food industry horrors were made known to me later. I’m committed to non-violence as a result. Vegan up people, we still have a choice !
Wayne Hsiung, you write brilliantly, clearly and with exceptional clarity and humility in spite of all you have obtained for animal welfare which is not indifferent. I have never read any of Peter Singer’s books and at nearly eighty I’m not sure I could stomach the details…. (I have seen enough videos to last a lifetime and do not watch anymore). However if he is recorded on these tours I will certainly listen to him, perhaps on YouTube since I live across the Pond.
Before I read the whole thing, I just have to say wow. What an admission of corruption. Since when is law enforcement's job to protect ANY industry? They are drunk on power. "If we keep losing these cases, we’re not going to have that law enforcement protection for our industry, which is unfortunate." Ya think???
Oh my goddess. I sent out my essay, "Peter Singer is not Animal Liberation Now" which discusses his tepid views on animal rights and refers to my sexual harassment claim against him, before I saw this. My essay raves about your work Wayne. I can't help but think you must have written this piece before you saw his heartbreaking interview in the Guardian. Animal Liberation was an extraordinary book in 1975 and even in my essay I call it a "great book." But Peter Singer is far behind the times now - so far behind DxE for example. I hope you will appreciate the piece I have written. The essay is at https://conta.cc/42dYgGx
My final "Good goddess" is your reference to Peter Singer living a "good life ." I hear you have reached out to one of our movements true sheros and learned that she cut all ties with Singer in the '80s. Imagine what her standing might be today if she hadn't felt the need to. She has made a great contribution but she could have made more. He has had the most profoundly negative effect on the lives of some of the most brilliant women in our movement. That matters - and I sure hope her response to you let you know that there's some there there in my claim.
Sharing thoughts from a "lesser known philosopher"--but famous, Jackson Galaxy, the Cat Daddy:
He believes in progress not perfection.
Galaxy firmly believes that when it comes to promoting veganism, rigidity is counterproductive. “One of the main points we always go back to is progress not perfection,” he says. “I think one of the foes to not just being vegan but working for the animals in general is a sense of rigidity. I think there’s this old school that was so focused on finger-pointing and yelling and threatening that it harmed the movement a little bit. So, I think it’s important to not be rigid.” Flexibility, he says, is a key factor when encouraging others to consider becoming vegan. No one, he maintains, responds well to being screamed at—nor can they look inward and examine themselves unflinchingly. His philosophy is reflective of both his own vegan journey and the gentle approach to learning he’s been applying to his work with both animals and people for more than 20 years—and he believes it’s the right approach to promoting veganism.
What's missing from Wayne Hsiung's insightful discussion of Peter Singer is any recognition that everything Hsiung attributes to Singer, Singer took from his student-turned-mentor Henry Spira (1927-1998), as Singer himself extensively acknowledged in his 1998 book Ethics Into Action: Henry Spira and the Animal Rights Movement. The Spira prescription for success, in his labor and human rights activist as well as in animal rights word, began with nine rules of conduct, amounting to an admonition to play hard but play fair: 1) Try to understand public opinion. Stay in touch with reality. 2) Select vulnerable campaign targets. 3) Set achievable, meaningful goals. 4) Verify claims. 5) Don t divide the world into saints and sinners. 6) Seek dialog. Position issues as problems with realistic solutions. 7) Maintain credibility. Don't exaggerate or hype the issue. 8)
Develop a realistic, practical, doable campaign strategy. 9) Be ready for confrontation via escalating public awareness if your target proves unresponsive.
I knew who Henry was from his civil rights movement news coverage written as "Henry Gitano" from adolescence, became acquainted with him as a valued news source early in my own career as a journalist on the education and occupational safety news beats, & consulted with him about once or twice a week during the last eight years of his life. I don't think Peter Singer ever respected anyone more. It was easy, for those who knew Henry, to know why.
Last year I sat in an Animal Justice Party forum in Sydney. A couple of people were protesting outside against Peter Singers views on children born with severe mental /physical disabilities. The organisers of the forum arranged for him to exist via the back but no, Peter Singer went out through the front to talk to them. Singer was strong, logical and 100% confident. I was so impressed. Proud to have read his books and listened to him talk live, proud to be his contemporary in the animal rights movement.
I could barely get through those chapters in Animal Liberation that discussed what animals endured at the hands of experimenters, the fur and food industries, etc, even though by the time I read it I was already aware of these atrocities. I am confused though, probably highlighting my own ignorance here, but I thought changing the individuals hopefully en masse is what can effect changes in the industries. The industries don't change without public pressure, but I do agree systemic change is absolutely crucial.
Wayne I have to say that I think you yourself have motivated people to be brave and become activists, Your dedication to the cause of animal rights inspires me.
"All Animals Are Equal" and "Famine, Affluence, and Morality" are the two most important papers for anyone working on behalf of the animals to read.
My mom started me on the path of personal liberation. She had a friend that belonged to an anti-vivisection org. So from early on I was painfully aware of the atrocities of the medical research industry. The food industry horrors were made known to me later. I’m committed to non-violence as a result. Vegan up people, we still have a choice !
Wayne Hsiung, you write brilliantly, clearly and with exceptional clarity and humility in spite of all you have obtained for animal welfare which is not indifferent. I have never read any of Peter Singer’s books and at nearly eighty I’m not sure I could stomach the details…. (I have seen enough videos to last a lifetime and do not watch anymore). However if he is recorded on these tours I will certainly listen to him, perhaps on YouTube since I live across the Pond.
Keep up the good work. You will go a long way.
Before I read the whole thing, I just have to say wow. What an admission of corruption. Since when is law enforcement's job to protect ANY industry? They are drunk on power. "If we keep losing these cases, we’re not going to have that law enforcement protection for our industry, which is unfortunate." Ya think???
I read Animal Liberation in college. It made a big impact on me.
Great post! And thanks for the discount code. Bought my ticket to see him in NYC -- there were just 3 seats left...
From “one of his fiercest critics into one of his most devoted fans”. As you stated “listen to your critics.” Another amazing read!
Oh my goddess. I sent out my essay, "Peter Singer is not Animal Liberation Now" which discusses his tepid views on animal rights and refers to my sexual harassment claim against him, before I saw this. My essay raves about your work Wayne. I can't help but think you must have written this piece before you saw his heartbreaking interview in the Guardian. Animal Liberation was an extraordinary book in 1975 and even in my essay I call it a "great book." But Peter Singer is far behind the times now - so far behind DxE for example. I hope you will appreciate the piece I have written. The essay is at https://conta.cc/42dYgGx
My final "Good goddess" is your reference to Peter Singer living a "good life ." I hear you have reached out to one of our movements true sheros and learned that she cut all ties with Singer in the '80s. Imagine what her standing might be today if she hadn't felt the need to. She has made a great contribution but she could have made more. He has had the most profoundly negative effect on the lives of some of the most brilliant women in our movement. That matters - and I sure hope her response to you let you know that there's some there there in my claim.
Sharing thoughts from a "lesser known philosopher"--but famous, Jackson Galaxy, the Cat Daddy:
He believes in progress not perfection.
Galaxy firmly believes that when it comes to promoting veganism, rigidity is counterproductive. “One of the main points we always go back to is progress not perfection,” he says. “I think one of the foes to not just being vegan but working for the animals in general is a sense of rigidity. I think there’s this old school that was so focused on finger-pointing and yelling and threatening that it harmed the movement a little bit. So, I think it’s important to not be rigid.” Flexibility, he says, is a key factor when encouraging others to consider becoming vegan. No one, he maintains, responds well to being screamed at—nor can they look inward and examine themselves unflinchingly. His philosophy is reflective of both his own vegan journey and the gentle approach to learning he’s been applying to his work with both animals and people for more than 20 years—and he believes it’s the right approach to promoting veganism.
See link: https://vegnews.com/interviews/why-cats-ultimately-led-cat-whisperer-jackson-galaxy-to-veganism
Sharing:
Wesley J. Smith
WESLEY J. SMITH is an author and a senior fellow at the Discovery Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism. @thewesleyjsmith
"Scientists Urged to Aid ‘Rights of Nature’ in Science" https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/scientists-urged-to-aid-rights-of-nature-in-science/
What's missing from Wayne Hsiung's insightful discussion of Peter Singer is any recognition that everything Hsiung attributes to Singer, Singer took from his student-turned-mentor Henry Spira (1927-1998), as Singer himself extensively acknowledged in his 1998 book Ethics Into Action: Henry Spira and the Animal Rights Movement. The Spira prescription for success, in his labor and human rights activist as well as in animal rights word, began with nine rules of conduct, amounting to an admonition to play hard but play fair: 1) Try to understand public opinion. Stay in touch with reality. 2) Select vulnerable campaign targets. 3) Set achievable, meaningful goals. 4) Verify claims. 5) Don t divide the world into saints and sinners. 6) Seek dialog. Position issues as problems with realistic solutions. 7) Maintain credibility. Don't exaggerate or hype the issue. 8)
Develop a realistic, practical, doable campaign strategy. 9) Be ready for confrontation via escalating public awareness if your target proves unresponsive.
I knew who Henry was from his civil rights movement news coverage written as "Henry Gitano" from adolescence, became acquainted with him as a valued news source early in my own career as a journalist on the education and occupational safety news beats, & consulted with him about once or twice a week during the last eight years of his life. I don't think Peter Singer ever respected anyone more. It was easy, for those who knew Henry, to know why.
But what to make of this? Animal Rights & Vegan 'Ethicist' Peter Singer Thinks Sex With Animals is No Big Deal https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVJEwrUCif0
Last year I sat in an Animal Justice Party forum in Sydney. A couple of people were protesting outside against Peter Singers views on children born with severe mental /physical disabilities. The organisers of the forum arranged for him to exist via the back but no, Peter Singer went out through the front to talk to them. Singer was strong, logical and 100% confident. I was so impressed. Proud to have read his books and listened to him talk live, proud to be his contemporary in the animal rights movement.
About Peter Singer - has anyone read DawnWatch and what Karen Dawn has to say about Peter Singer? I was disgusted about the way he treated women.