Liberate

ANARCHISM RECOGNISES THE power imbalance and hierarchy within society and strives to break these down within our own community as well as within greater society.

The struggle for animal liberation is similar in that it recognizes the unequal relationship that humans have with animals whereby they are discriminated against because of their species.

‘The System’, ‘The State’ or whatever else you call it is dependant upon the oppression of others for their power. They oppress based on age, gender, sexuality, class, species, race and intelligence and they also oppress mother earth.

All of these forms of oppression are interrelated and are based upon one group having more power than another. If we want liberation for the earth, our communities and the animals we must start to recognize this. We can not liberate one group of people (or animals or the earth) through the oppression of another. Because we are simply perpetuating an imbalance of power and exploitation.

To not recognize the oppression of animals is to not recognize your privilege as a human being. This is much the same as males not accepting that patriarchy exists and fighting it is males not accepting their privilege over womyn.

It is not uncommon for anarchist to consider the fight for the earth and animal rights as a ‘fringe’ issue. Much the same way they seem to feel about the oppression of womyn and non-heterosexual members of our society. The opinion that we can deal with these ‘minor’ issues after the revolution assumes that there will be a physical stand off between ourselves and the government after which time there will be a utopian society.

More realistically the revolution is happening everyday, it is us deconstructing all the bullshit we have been taught about ‘our place’ in society, challenging the government, capitalism and repressive institutions and it is challenging ourselves, our power and our privilege. If we are only fighting the system and not looking at and challenging ourselves we can not build any alternative society and rather will continue to mirror the very thing we are fighting against.

Similarly animal rights activists using state reforms to benefit animals or objectifying womyn to raise awareness about animal abuse is to not understand why animals are abused in the first place. To fail to do so will only reinforce the system that oppresses animals and thus allow animal abuse to continue.

Animal rights/welfare activists often turn to the Government to ban certain animal abuse industries or practices. This is a very short sighted approach and while it could be good for some animals in the short term it will be worse in the long run. For example to ban battery hen farming would be better for hens welfare in that they would have greater freedom of movement on a free range farm. However it does nothing to challenge animal exploitation and the fact that most humans think that animals are here for human use (and abuse). Rather it continues the mentality that we can use animals how we like and it reinforces the control of the state.

If animal rights activist are serious about wanting all animals to be free from exploitation they had better start to understand the reasons why animals are oppressed and act accordingly. Similarly anarchists with little understanding and recognition of oppression outside of the race and class issues and who are waiting for some kind of insurrection will be waiting for a very long time unless they start to realise that they need to recognise and challenge all forms of hierarchy and that they cannot continue to pick and choose.