"The offences in question today were of a very serious nature and demonstrate the lengths a minority of animal rights activists are prepared to go to for their cause,"
""The offences in question today were of a very serious nature and demonstrate the lengths a minority of animal rights activists are prepared to go to for their cause,""
Yeah, you could insert any belief system into that sentence. Rebellion, aggression, and hatred are a part of humankind, and are regularly used by the vast majority of people in defending whatever they believe is right: US freedom, Christianity, wealth, SUV's, cute furry bunnies...
The only real way to avoid aggressive, violent behavior is to teach people to solve their problems in more effective and respectful ways.
I'm curious, though this article is about the ALF, how do you feel about SHAC? They use similar tactics (the more aggressive kind) though other than smoke bombs I don't think they've blown anything up. But they both have had pretty dramatic success with their efforts. I certainly don't think they're making anyone believe that they are compassionate, but I don't think they're trying to have a good PR record or make anyone admire them, they are going after the industries and their affiliates directly. What are your/anyone else's thoughts?
I am not in favour of harrassing people, including families of lab workers or company directors; having had our tyres slashed several times in a row by a local villain my Dad put away, I know how it is to be a child who is very, very frightened of coming home to find Mummy and Daddy dead (I don't imagine this was the effect Local Villain intended, but it was the result of his actions), and it revolts people in general.
I am not in favour of sending death threats or trashing peoples' places of work, or the places of work/buildings of their affiliates - I believe it simply reinforces the idea that AR people are dangerous loonies in the public's imagination. The burning of the Oxford university boatshed did not change students' minds and inspire them to rise up as one against the university's research programme, it just pissed them off and turned them off to the message of AR.
I do, though, recognise that it is hard, hard, hard to get things changed within the system, because the system is weighted in favour of itself. I am all for
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The publicity ends up being about the group, and not so much why the group does what it does
Absolutely.
And when you have highly-publicised events like this, especially in a period where governments are already paranoid about security, you risk endangering every other AR group too.
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at least he realizes they're in the minority.
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Damn shame, though, that anyone thought firebombs were a good way to further the cause of compassion.
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Yeah, you could insert any belief system into that sentence. Rebellion, aggression, and hatred are a part of humankind, and are regularly used by the vast majority of people in defending whatever they believe is right: US freedom, Christianity, wealth, SUV's, cute furry bunnies...
The only real way to avoid aggressive, violent behavior is to teach people to solve their problems in more effective and respectful ways.
Reply
Reply
Reply
I am not in favour of sending death threats or trashing peoples' places of work, or the places of work/buildings of their affiliates - I believe it simply reinforces the idea that AR people are dangerous loonies in the public's imagination. The burning of the Oxford university boatshed did not change students' minds and inspire them to rise up as one against the university's research programme, it just pissed them off and turned them off to the message of AR.
I do, though, recognise that it is hard, hard, hard to get things changed within the system, because the system is weighted in favour of itself. I am all for ( ... )
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Absolutely.
And when you have highly-publicised events like this, especially in a period where governments are already paranoid about security, you risk endangering every other AR group too.
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