a recent experience in challenging an act of racism

musings on 20 March 2012

I had an “interesting” experience on a bus recently. It was very much a wake up call about the ways in which racism is (more) prevalent in Australia, to which I have recently returned, compared to Canada. I was one of close to two dozen people who hopped on the bus at a university campus, adding to the one or two people who were on it. It was an mid-evening service, after most classes had ceased. Before the bus had left the stop, a person who was already on the bus exclaimed very loudly something along the lines of “why don’t you shut up you stupid Asians?” (there may have been expletives or other derogatory terms).

The question of effectiveness

musings on 7 October 2011

I think many (most, all?) of us are troubled by the question of how effective what we do is. And that this question exists outside of specifics about what it is exactly that we do. I was challenged on this recently, resulting in this reflection. Reflection is something we should all do, regularly and repeatedly, as long as such reflection is not crippling.

More than the last 15+ years of my life have had working for a more just world as their precursor. What actions I have taken, being many and varied, have all emanated from this maxim. The first question which arises is how do we define, label and seek to categorise effectiveness. Can we even answer such a pejorative? Who and what is the arbiter?

choice, intent, and feeding companion animals

musings on 3 September 2011

A recent post on 'One Green Plant' by Leslie Irvine, a scoiologist at the University of Colorado, outlines three options for companion (nonhuman) animals, specifically related to what we feed them. Irvine provides her rationalisations to the ‘difficult position’ in the context of ‘ethical veganism’ (for me there is one form of veganism, and coming up with labels such as ethical is as problematic that for vegetarianism — see the redicularity of the term ‘pescatarian’ for example. To create a demarcation here, anyone who is not an ‘ethical vegan’ is not a vegan: they adopt a plant-based diet).

Rethinking revolution: total liberation, alliance politics, and a prolegomena to resistance movements in the 21st century

musings on 12 July 2011

One of the most notorious posts on this blog was published in 2006 (when I had more time available to pen and share thoughts), and has received more than 40,000 views. The post was quite a scathing critique of Steve Best. For example:

'The sweeping generalisations, clear lack of knowledge, awareness and understandings of that which he authoritatively comments on, and the lack of critical reflexive awareness are very surprising.'

vegansexuals

musings on 30 June 2011

The term vegansexual emerged in 2007. It was coined by Annie Potts, the co-director of the New Zealand Centre for Human and Animal Studies, and Madala White, at the University of Canterbury. They were researching cruelty-free consumption, with the findings published as Cruelty-Free Consumption in New Zealand: A National Report on the Perspectives and Experiences of Vegetarians & Other Ethical Consumers.

The challenges of introduced species

musings on 17 May 2011

The introduction of non-native species to regions and islands, and the ongoing implications of these, are a legacy of human chauvinism. Our ideological arrogance continues to shape decisions and forms of (strategic) ignorance will have long-lasting implications based on the actions we take today. Apparently we have learned, and continue to learn, little.

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