Reflections on Fur Protests

What creates in people the desire to wear the skin and fur of another being? If we go back far enough in time, it was survival. But now? It is morbid to think of, the death you're wearing. How can these people not think of the cats and dogs they've snuggled with any time they feel the fur? Are they really not thinking of the death of animals not so dissimilar to the "pets" they almost definitely have at home?

Maybe it is the power. They feel more in control of their own lives if they are contributing to the horror and death of another being?

I can't accept reasoning along the lines of "because I like it" - the cruelty, inhumanity, complete lack of regard for the life, terror, and pain of another living sentient being is too great for something as simplistic as preference or "liking" to be a reason behind the purchase and wearing of fur. There has to be more, as far as I'm concerned.

And so I can't help but to wonder about the people going into the fur stores. Most of them are obviously wealthy, but that isn't enough reason, the supposed status. The fur store is in a pretty pretentious area of Denver, so there are alot of really expensive cars being driven by, and tons of people driving those expensive cars honk to support us!

Sometimes I see these women with their expensive cars, their downturned mouths, their defensive posture, as they carry their furs to the store, and I can't help but to feel sorry for them. In my mind they become sad housewives, emotionally abused by distant husbands, desperate for any way to feel validated, empowered. Too bad they can't realize that it has to come from within.

It is impossible to not try to figure out the answer to these "why" questions as we hold our signs, encourage honking, ignore the "i love fur" comments, standing outside the fur store. Many an hour among the protesters is spent pondering this, yet we never seem to have an answer. And of course there will never be just one answer to "why". Not that any answer can possibly answer to the cruelty.

We've had some intersting and positive interactions with some of the people who go into the store. One woman went in the store, tried on one coat, came out, and picked up some of our literature. I only hope that we made her think and prevented a sale of one death coat.

Another woman walked past our signs carrying her fur coat, looking extremely pissed off. Well, that and looking somewhat frightened (of us, i suppose), is pretty common. What was unusual was her comment to one of the protesters, "this coat is the worst decision I ever made. It starts to rot, and stinks, so I have to pay money to have them store it in the summer." When she came out, with smiles and encouragement for us, she gladly accepted some literature on donating fur coats, and thanked us.

I think she is someone who wouldn't have gotten the coat had she put more thought into it, had really understood the cruelty involved. So maybe we are accomplishing something, one coat at a time.

It doesn't lessen the frustration of watching these women walk into the store with their furs draped over their arms, averting their eyes from our signs, from us. When they do look at us, it is with resentment and disdain, something I don't understand. Sure, resent us for trying to make you think about what you are doing, but disdain? Are you judging us? You with your death coat and death shoes?

I'll be standing outside Marks Lloyds Furs again tomorrow morning. Honk if you drive by, okay? I'll wave.

Peaceful Prairie Farm Sanctuary - an introduction to John Lee, and others

A few weeks ago I finally got off my ass and did what I'd meant to do for the past year - sponsor one of the rescued farm animals at Peaceful Prairie Farm Sanctuary. I got an email almost immediately, thanking me and inviting me to a picnic/fund-raiser they were having the following Sunday. Life being what it is (ironic, generally) their picnic was on the same day as the first Brunch Revolution that Joy and I were putting on. Arriving late to the picnic would be the best I could do, but it would be worth it - I would meet John Lee!


John Lee, pictured to the left, is the rooster I am sponsoring. I really knew nothing about roosters when I sponsored him, and even now I'm not sure what made me decide on a rooster. Maybe because roosters are seen as having so little value by the farmers, even compared to the commodity-only value other animals have. Also, who thinks of cuddly when they think of roosters? I figured that people are more likely to sponsor the pettables, like goats and cows and the more obviously cute like ducks, and so I would go against the grain, sponsor someone who might be otherwise overlooked.

I soon learned that roosters are often regal, like my new friend John Lee. That they have a strong instinct to keep the peace, and that they know enough about conflict resolution that you can't help but to wonder what is wrong with humans that we can't learn from them. Michele and Chris, the chief caregivers and owners of Peaceful Prairie, call John Lee their peacekeeper and wonder what they'd do without him to keep the order among the chickens rescued from Katrina.

These chickens were not only saved from Katrina, they were saved by Katrina. 5 weeks old when the hurricane hit, they would have been killed 2 weeks later if Katrina hadn't come through. Having been raised in the horrible conditions typical of all boiler chickens, they arrived at the Sanctuary with no social skills. John Lee has been teaching them what it means to be a chicken.

John Lee himself was rescued from a "family farm", where he was allowed to live at birth having mistakenly been identified as a female. Had it been known from the start that he was male, he would have been killed immediately - only the egg producers are allowed to live. When it was discovered that he was male, he was tossed into a cage with about 6 other roosters, left without food and water, to die. John Lee was lucky - though some of the other roosters had already died, he was rescued and has since come to live at Peaceful Prairie where he is free to live his life according to his natural instincts.

For John Lee, this means taking care of, and protecting a flock. When he first got to Peaceful Prairie, there were no "unclaimed" hens available, so he appointed himself protector of a "flock" of pigs. The little 5 lb rooster stood guard over twelve 600 lb pigs!

John Lee is just one of many many animals at Peaceful Prairie. While enjoying a BBQ Seitan sandwich (courtesy of Three Little Figs market!), I met Sherman, a cow who not only loves people, but apparently loves (vegan) people food! He really wanted to give the sandwich a try. When that didn't quite work, he decided to browse the silent auction.

Sherman has an interesting story, one that I know only a few details of. I know that he was rescued after successfully hiding from the slaughterhouse-bound truck loading. That is just one detail of his life that highlights for all his fellow cows just how sensitive and intelligent these giant creatures are. Another Sherman story is of him standing forlorn at the gate for days after his companion, Daisy, went to a new home at a sanctuary in Tennessee. Daisy wasn't always nice to him (you can see that one of his horns looks a bit funny - Daisy did some damage!), but Sherman loved her nonetheless. And he missed her fiercely when she left, waiting for her to come back, mourning her absense.

He was a sweetheart, no doubt. Not all the animals were quite so happy to have humans among them. The other cow kept his distance, wanting only the occasional companionship of Sherman. The ducks were also not sure they wanted to me around. I tried to take their picture, and they came running! Not to say hello, but to drive me off. One bit at my knee several times (didn't hurt at all - they were gentle bites), until I finally got the idea.

There are a lot more stories to be heard and learned at Peaceful Prairie, and I look forward to my next visit. Hopefully soon, with Joy and Ron!

I can't imagine anyone who could care more about these precious animals, than Michele and Chris. They have a dedication that I admire, and would find near impossible to emulate. I'm so glad I finally made the effort to support them, John Lee, and the Sanctuary in general.

Protesting: The importance of keeping your cool

Many people have this idea that protesters are out there angrily shaking their fists and yelling at people. Maybe that is true some of the time at some of the protests, but it is certainly not true at the RMAD fur protests. In fact, RMAD has a detailed policy on the expected behavior of their volunteers.

Ironically, though I've been protesting with RMAD for a couple months now, I hadn't seen the Protester Guidelines until one of our protesters was arrested.

PROTESTER GUIDELINES

Use of These Guidelines

It is Rocky Mountain Animal Defense’s policy that protests and public events shall be conducted in a civil, peaceful, and orderly manner, respecting the rights of all other individuals. Individual behavior during our activities may reflect back on Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, other like-minded organizations, and the overall causes that we represent. Therefore it is imperative that we conduct ourselves in a manner that demonstrates professionalism and knowledge of the issues, and that garners respect from the public. Your participation in a protest or public event organized by Rocky Mountain Animal Defense indicates your agreement with these guidelines and your intent to abide by them.

Protest Participant Responsibilities

Participants shall follow these guidelines:

· Follow the instructions of the protest leader.

· Avoid confrontation. Never harass, insult or personally provoke others.

· If you find that you are directly involved in a confrontation, or in an exchange that likely is leading to confrontation, remove yourself from it and ask other involved protesters to do the same.

· If you observe a confrontation, or an exchange that likely is leading to confrontation, approach the involved protester and encourage him/her to walk away.

· If you are encouraged to walk away from an exchange you are having, walk away.

· Do not yell at others, even if you are provoked.

· If, for some reason you do get into a debate, do so with civility and without raising your voice. Focus on the issues, and not on individuals.

· Never give so much of your attention to any one person that you ignore others.

· Never interfere with the free-speech rights of others.

· Familiarize yourself with the literature. Be prepared to have a short answer as to what you are protesting and why. You are speaking first and foremost for the animals and Rocky Mountain Animal Defense, and secondly for yourself.

· Never impede the public’s access to streets or sidewalks, or to public or commercial spaces.

· Obey all laws, including pedestrian and traffic laws. Stay safely back from traffic.

· Direct media, police and other authorities to the protest leader.

· Make sure your clothing, and all signs and materials that you bring, are consistent with the message of the protest. If in doubt, ask the protest leader.

· Please return all Rocky Mountain Animal Defense protest materials to the protest leader unless given permission to use materials for a future date. In an effort to save money and protect the environment, Rocky Mountain Animal Defense reuses materials whenever possible.

Now, granted, we're all human and it is very difficult to maintain a zen serenity when you are out there demonstrating because of an issue you are passionate about. Especially when assholes walk by and try to provoke you with the "you're wearing leather shoes" comments. (which really just goes to show you how little we need leather, when the immitations pass so easily. but that is another topic entirely)

What happened was this: customers were in the fur store, at which point some of the protesters will hold signs (the graphic ones, especially) facing the store. If you're on the sidewalk, you have to be marching, if you're on the grass you can stand there, just holding the sign.

Though this picture was taken a week earlier, it was the same basic scenario. Except this time a guy walked across the grass right past Craig, and made the he-only-thinks-it-is-clever comment about Craig's shoes. Which are not, in fact, leather, but which apparently can pass as looking quite a bit like leather.

Craig, unfortunately, didn't give this comment the attention it deserved (none), but instead reacted. The guy had been pretty must past Craig, but came back and really got in his face. The kind of logic that this redneck-yuppie used were truely clever and convincing: his assertions that he made more money than Craig, and presumably the protesters in general. His hate talk about "faggots", which was educational as well, because until then I hadn't realized that being gay was required of men interested in protesting. Granted it is Denver, but I haven't met even one gay male protester. Or maybe I have. Somehow sexuality isn't something that necessarily comes up when you get a group of passionate Animal Rights Activists together at a fur protest. Imagine that. Unfortunately the cop, employed by Marks Lloyds Furs, did not hear the hate speach. Not did he hear the threat the guy made to Craig, along the lines of finding out where he lived and implying that Craig would then be harmed.

I heard the hate speach, but not the threats. There were people standing next to Craig who did hear the threats. I can believe that the cop didn't hear the threats, but I imagine it would have been hard for him not to hear the guy ranting, not quietly, about "faggots" and making interesting suggestions, such as, "why don't you go fuck his dick".

There was also obvious violation of personal space. If the guy had taken a deep breath, his belly would have pushed against Craig...that's how close and in-your-face he was. He also made rude comments to other protesters. Clearly his intent was to provoke.

It didn't take him long to keep all of his focus on Craig, who he could see was provokable. Craig moved away, to the other side of one of the protesters, but the guy followed him. Eventually Craig cracked, as I think most of us would have. Still holding his sign with both hands, he leaned his shoulder into the guy to move him away.


Craig was arrested, and the guy wanted to press charges. He was pretty pleased with himself, that much was clear. I would not be surprised if he is friends with Mr. Fur Store and set out to see if he could accomplish exactly what he did.

Unfortunately, it worked. And unfortunately this is not good PR for RMAD or the fur protests in general. We get a lot of support, and I'm sure we didn't lose any of our supporters with this arrest. However, I can't help but to wonder how many of the "I love fur"ers and "Get a job"ers felt vindicated in their belief that we should not be allowed to protest, and that we're a bunch of wackos for believing that wearing the skin and fur of another being is wrong.

Craig reacted, and it ended in his arrest. He was not, however, the only one at fault. Any of us could have and should have pulled him away when things didn't cool down. We are a team out there, working together to reach people, change their minds if needbe, and otherwise remind them that these cruely used animals need a voice. We march, they honk. It works well, but how many more people will remember instead the arrest, if peaceful, of one of ours?

I don't think Craig will be convicted. He has a good (and free) lawyer. One of us. He will get a jury trial, if the case is not thrown out of court. None of that changes the impression we may have given the people driving by that day, nor does it change the fact that Craig was in jail until 10:30pm that night.

Keeping our cool is never more important than when faced with the challenges of the people who can push our buttons the easiest. The hardest thing is sometimes to just walk away, but this is exactly when we need to. And next time, if there ever is a next time, when one of my friends needs to walk away and isn't, I'm going to overcome my own anger and pull him away. Pacifism is not the same as being passive.