(A monthly series for those who want to become involved in their
communities)
By Michelle Rivera -
MichelleRivera1@aol.com
So you are a vegan who attends, (maybe even organizes)
all the animal-rights demonstrations in your area, good for you! You
have enlightened your friends and educated them by showing The Witness,
The Dignity of Chickens, Meet your Meat and other videos with all kinds
of graphic descriptions of slaughter houses and battery farms, puppy
mills and steel-jaw leghold traps, excellent!
You are using your computer to find information and send
the news to friends all over the country, and you are a card-carrying
member of PeTA, HSUS and the Farm Animal Reform Movement. You are on
your way to being a very effective activist! But there is one tool that,
if you aren't using it, you may as well go back to your "old ways."
Your right to vote. Now wait! Before you decide that
this is one of those "do the responsible thing" articles, like the
articles we see on wearing our seat belts, replacing our fire-alarm
batteries and performing routine self-breast exams, hold on. While seat
belts, fire alarms and breast exams may save OUR life, exercising your
right to vote may save the life of an animal.
Now we're talking!
When you read your action alerts and follow the
instructions to "write your senator" about pending legislation, you are
doing the animals a great service. However, if you cannot honestly start
out your letter with the words "Dear Senator, I am a registered voter in
your district," (believe me, they check) your letter may be falling on
deaf ears. Unless you have the power to put a person in office, or get 'em
out, you are powerless. Exercising your right to vote won't just get
your legislators attention, it will help us put people in power that can
help the animals. Senator Barbara Boxer, Senator Joseph Biden and
Congressman Peter Deutsch are all people who have sponsored very
important legislation on behalf of the animals. Who gave them that
power? We did. Voters. And if you aren't a registered voter, you are not
using your voice in the manner most effective for the animals.
So do it. Become a registered voter. The NRA's enormous
power comes from the fact that they are a huge voting block.
But when you write that letter to your representative,
make sure you have all your facts straight. Recently, a friend of mine
who works for a television station received an "alert" from a very
large, well-known Animal Rights Organization (no, not Peta). This
organization was alleging that our Senator was working behind the scenes
to get Keiko (remember him? Free Willy fame?) back in a marine park!
This producer friend of mine thought this was a little fishy (no pun
intended!) and checked with a colleague of hers who happens to work for
this senator. There was absolutely no truth to the rumor, and when this
national organization was asked where they got their information, the
e-mails and letters suddenly stopped. Another example: I recently got an
e mail that had been forwarded and forwarded and forwarded (you get the
picture) all around the net about a kitten allegedly dying due to a
malfunction in the Litter Maid litter box. This is the self-cleaning
litter box that people like me rely on to keep my dog from engaging in
snacking on cat poo and my cats happy while I am away. When I received
the e-mail I immediately called Litter Maid and found that the story is
quite unsubstantiated. Litter Maid had heard of the complaint, but the
person claiming the dead kitten had not offered any proof, no vet
statements, no return of merchandise, nothing. And, in fact, there is a
back story to that story that makes it all sound very suspect. But
that's a different story!
So, in summary, to be a good activist in your community,
first be a registered voter. I cannot stress this enough. Start with a
visit to www.humaneusa.org Humane USA PAC and follow their links for
voter information and sign up for their e-mail alerts for legislative
action. Check your facts and be sure you have them straight. It's always
a good idea to research issues on your own rather than leave it to the
interpretation and decisions of others who may have agendas that are
different from your own. This way, you can say "I saw it for myself! I
looked into this myself and this is what I found!" Who can argue with
that? And know who your elected officials are. Make an appointment and
go visit them as the local animal activist in their district. Do this
with everyone from the chief of police to the mayor to the local
television producers to the director of animal regulation. Attend
counsel meetings to be sure decisions are not being made that impact the
lives of wild animals or feral cats. Stay involved. Be the noise that
your representatives cannot ignore, the person people call on for local
animal issues and the voice for animals in your own backyard. Keep
informed, keep interested, and keep writing and voting.
Go on to Why Hunting
Is Not A Sport By David Cantor
Return to 23 February 2003 Issue
Return to Newsletters
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