Purrrfect for a Saturday Morning…
So, the band I made the angry wolf for didn’t want to use it. So now, you get a funny t-shirt!
Specism: Meat is Murder
I am going to start work on a new zine/workshop. It’d be about specism and how all forms of oppression are linked. I was asked to give a talk on the topic for a conference. It’s going to be a lot of work to get it together but it should be pretty awesome when done. There isn’t really anything out there about specism/sexism/gender binary/feminism and how they are all connected.
One of the things I am going to focus on his how language controls and oppresses animals. I got someone really upset when I mention my view that “Meat is murder.” Which was odd because they claimed to be against specism; one species being used by another species without consent, but apparently finds nothing wrong with eating flesh. I do have issues with people being flesh eaters and giving the green light that murders lots of animals.
I believe in personal choice – but not when that decision harms another being. I went though counseling training and the only time you would break confidentiality is when someone was going to harm themselves or others. Eating meat falls in the harming others category.
However, how much I dislike meat – I do live in a house of flesh eaters which is a struggle for me. My dad’s preferred diet is Atkins which is heavily meat based. He doesn’t like vegetables. He likes meat. He likes creatures being tortured and killed for his pleasure. He views animals as “animals” and humans as a different sort of animal. He’s a speciesist, as most meat eaters are. It hurts me a lot that he’s closed minded but it’s his choice – even it breaks universal law that murder is wrong.
Just because we have the power to do something doesn’t mean it’s right. No one – when given a survey on veganism found it to be wrong or immoral. No one. However, people do find meat eating to be a problem: for us, the animals, and the environment. This flesh eating obsession is literally killing us.
It’s kind of rough living in a world where the majority of the people are murderers. But, that’s reality. We’re all thieves and murderers here by associating with our capitalistic system. Even veganism isn’t 100% guilt free. But it’s a step in the right direction.
The reason why finding other vegan straightedge people is so important to me is because they are upholding universal law of doing no harm to other beings or themselves. It’s not about having “everyone being the same” because equality and sameness are two different things. However, it’s about respecting all life which is precious. It’s about respecting life and not breaking the code, “harming yourself or others” which I think is key.
That doesn’t mean I don’t befriend people who are meat eaters but I don’t have the same connection as I do with people who respect life. I couldn’t have a long term relationship with a meat eater. I am having a hard enough time coping with accepting the selfishness of my family to not be considerate for other lifeforms. It’s a lack of responsibility and the idea that “my need is greater than yours” that most problems that plague mankind stems from. It is all connected.
What does this say about us?
I was reading the news the other day and read a piece about the NYC bombing attempt. First off, I have to say violence is -never- the answer. As Crass said, “And you’ll never change the system by bombing number ten/Systems just aren’t made of bricks they’re mostly made of people/You may send them into hiding, but they’ll be back again.” I fully believe that’s true. You can’t change the people or the system with violence. Only by peaceful means with education can people and the system be changed. With that said, I find it sad people feel the need to resort to violence. I also find it disturbing that when people resort to violence to be heard – they are never listened to. Our society is so callous that not even violence gets our attention. What does it say about us?
There must be something -wrong- with society that makes people act out violently. I think about what Marilyn Manson said about the Columbine shooting that he would have listened to what they had to say. That no one is doing that. What is getting people so upset that they want to hurt, even murderer others? Sometimes it’s a cause of mental illness but some of the time there’s nothing psychology wrong. No one is asking why and what can we do to change to prevent this from happening again. Why are people being pushed to the edge. What have we done as a society to provoke such violence. Our response is going in with guns and destroying all opposition. But, we never reflect on ourselves. The truth is our society is based on violence, not peace.
With violent movies, violent video games, the eating of murdered flesh, and teaching our young to play with guns – is it a wonder we’re turning out this way? We are taught to hate – not love. Even religion teaches and is based on hate. Once you need to classify some people as “saints” and others as “sinners” – you are pointing the finger at the other and aren’t trying to understand why. The truth, the reality of the situation, to quote Rudimentary Peni, “There is no right or wrong.” It is all a matter of perception. And the reality we are teaching people is to be divided, callous, not feeling, static, and numb. People in our society don’t feel and for the most part are already dead inside. That’s really sad.
I was thinking about AFI lyrics yesterday, “We can’t even remember the seasons…We can’t even recall the feelings we can not show.” What does this all say about us? Our society is built on the exploitation of third world countries. Our global wealth creates global poverty. There is only world hunger because that’s the way people -want- the world to be. We are taught not to care. Not to care about our fellow man or even value life. Is it really a surprise then, being taught not to value what is most precious that those who most distorted by society act out in the only means they find necessary? Aren’t we to blame too? What can we do to change to stop creating a violent world? The media will never talk about that. It’s easier to point fingers than self reflect.
I used to live about 20 blocks away from Time Square. I was blocks away from the bombing on 7/7/2005 in London. I heard the bomb go off from my hotel room that blew up the bus in Russel Square. I’ve been assaulted for being a homosexual at a punk show that was against homophobia. There are just some sick people out there but why are we producing sick people? What has their life showed them that violence is all they know? When I was hit, my thoughts weren’t on my own safety, my heart was bleeding for my attacker. I wanted to help him and show him that violence and hate isn’t the path to take. That it’s okay to feel pain, to feel anything, but it’s not okay to take your rage out on others. That violence doesn’t solve anything but makes problems worse. That it’s okay to be different. That there’s nothing wrong with being yourself as long as you aren’t hurting yourself or others. I wanted to know why – not point fingers, not get revenge, I wanted to see what he saw and see how to not let it happen again.
So, what does this all say about us?
‘Individualism’ is the mentality that you don’t owe anyone anything. / “Don’t tell me how to live my life and i won’t tell you how to live yours” – Fuck that / Manifestation of living in a capitalist system / Everyone is just looking our for themselves / We shun and ignore the one that need our help / But our action affect everyone around us / And the choices we make have very real consequences / And the thing you demand and the things you take for granted… / Convenience for you could be the result of another’s life / Step out of you little world… And open your eyes and your hearts! / A luxury for you could be the result of another’s suffering / Can you trace the origins of what you consume back to torture and abuse?/ Never stop questioning / The unexamined life is not worth living / This is not PC chit chat / This is what it is to be a human being / Taking shortcuts to happiness / will not bring you a lifetime of fulfillment
— Gather
Bane and Ceremony Show Review + Punk Vest for Sale
I went to a hardcore show this weekend. I saw Bane, Ceremony, and Alpha and Omega. Bane was -amazing-. I was disappointed with Ceremony, I just wasn’t feeling it, I thought they would be more intense. But Bane had amazing energy. Alpha and Omega were good too.
At the show, I had some vegan donuts. I met some other vegan edge kids so it was pretty sweet. They were nice. I thought I was infinitely awkward as I discussed punk fashion: how hardcore kids don’t dress up and punks do. I always dress up for shows. I dress up for day-to-day life. Sometimes, I think it’s funny when I am sitting here at the computer wearing a patched vest and my studded wristbands with nowhere to go!
I got an interesting comment at the show. I was told I wasn’t like other vegan edge folks. I don’t really know what a sterotype vegan edge punk is like since I’ve been pretty isolated from that scene until recently. I think I am a standard issue anarcho-punk but maybe not. The speaker of the comment didn’t really elaborate much on what he meant but he said it was a good thing to be different. Right on.
I’ve been working on trying to get my little business going. I am also going to put in some more resumes. Maybe places will be hiring soon for summer. I also put up a punk vest for auction: here. Hoping someone will buy it. It’s worth about $500 and I am asking $250 – plus free shipping/handling and part of the profit is going to go towards Amnesty International. Fight the good fight and get something stylish for yourself. Win win.
I have a ton of reading to do. I know I made a post about it awhile ago and I haven’t been making much progress. Right now, I am in the middle of “The Primal Screamer” by Nick Blinko. It’s pretty good so far. Then I was going to tackle a copy of “The Haunted Head” also by Nick Blinko.
I think I might dedicate the next month to reading and then focus on doing art? Or maybe mix it up. It’s pretty awesome that people have been buying my designs especially in this hard economy.
Oh, anyone want a semi-custom punk vest? I have an extra brand new black denim vest – size xl – which is 46 inches at the waist/shoulders. It’s a little too big for me and I can’t return it because the vest was a jacket. So, I have a collection of patches that I was going to sew some onto it and see if maybe I could sell it. I love making punk clothing but my biggest problem is that I only have one torso. I think I’ll post pictures of all my vests in the near future. It’s kind of fun seeing the evolution.
WTF Arizona
Arizona Ethnic Studies Classes Banned, Teachers With Accents Can No Longer Teach English
Seriously, that’s messed up.
Gulf Coast oil spill could eclipse Exxon Valdez
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100430/ap_on_bi_ge/us_louisiana_oil_rig_explosion
What are we doing to this planet? 🙁
Genderqueer Symbol Apparel and Accessories
Hey folks,
I just set up a zazzle store to sell items with the cute genderqueer sea horse I designed on it. I am eventually going to get pins and pendants made – but this is a start. Check it out:
http://www.zazzle.com/jessfive18*
Thanks for your support! Tell your friends! 🙂
Not Gay as in Happy… Queer as in F**k You patches.
Pride is around the corner – and it’s a perfect time for queer punk pride. I managed to track down the creator of the “Not Gay as in Happy – Queer as in F**k you” image and got his okay to start selling patches with it. I am going to try to come up with other queer punk flavored patches and slogans so this is hopefully the first of many. I’ll be listing the patches on ebay under: Queer Punk Backpatch Queercore Not Gay As in Happy lgbt or Queer Punk patch Queercore Not Gay As in Happy lgbt. For now, the links for the back patch (around 12″x16″) is here and for 4″x4″ patch is here.
Punk Rock 101: Nick Blinko: Author and Musician
I am a huge Nick Blinko fan. I feel a bond with him because he has schizoaffective disorder like me. I was browsing the internet today and found a copy of his book The Primal Screamer – which is a rare, out of print book, online. The link is: http://www.pissinapod.com/#/the-primal-screamer/4527608721. I also finally picked up a copy of his new book The Haunted Head from http://copticcat.greedbag.com/. It’s limited to 350 copies for the hardback book that contains a note card with a written excerpt by Blinko. The micro edition which is limited to 60 copies (25 which have been reserved by collectors and museums) comes with a note card with an original pen and ink drawing by Blinko. I’ll write a review of the book once I read it without giving anything away. So far, from what little I have read about it since there is little written, I heard it’s hard to read. It’s only 200 pages long with 99 chapters. I’m pretty excited and looking forward to reading it.
Nick’s band is Rudimentary Peni, for those of you who don’t know. They are an anarcho-punk band. They stopped performing live gigs years ago due to health reasons but they still make music. I recommend checking out “Death Church” which is a work of punk art.
The lyrics to the first song on the cd is called “1/4 Dead” and goes like this:
Three quarters of the World are starving
Three quarters of the world are starving
The rest are Dead
The rest are Dead
Overdosed on Insensitivity,
All Varnished to Crosses
Three quarters of the world are starving
Three quarters of the world are starving
The rest are Dead
The rest are Dead.
*****
The song was written 26 years ago and is still relevant today. Not much has change, has it?
Vegan Enough?
“I’ll die before I break edge or veganism.” said the straightedge vegan I was talking to.
“I am pretty sure about being edge and pretty sure about being vegan – but I am not hardcore enough to get a tattoo. Besides, sometimes I mess up.”
“Then you aren’t really vegan.”
“No, it’s not like I purposely mess up. I just get misinformed and mistakes happened. What about the field mice?”
“Field mice?”
“Yeah, the field mice when it comes time for the grain for your bread. When they harvest it, big machines – little animal, big machine… dead mice.”
“I am sure the companies make sure that doesn’t happen.”
*****
How many people here will believe for one minute that any bread company is looking out for the health and safety of the field mice? My bet is problem not. This draws the question: When is vegan “vegan” enough? There is no way to be 100% on anything unless you make everything yourself. I don’t know anyone who has the money, resources, and time to do that.
Am I vegan enough? I mess up sometimes. Rather, mistakes happen to me. For example, I was buying wheat tortillas a few months ago I read over the ingredients, didn’t see anything, so I bought them. I bring them home, make a bean and rice burrito, when I decided to double check the ingredients. When I re-read the label, I saw “whey” which I didn’t see the first time. So here I am with a vegan bean and rice burrito in a wheat tortilla that has whey – I am faced with the choice: eat it or throw it out. If I didn’t eat it or took it back to the store – the tortillas would go to waste. Which is the bigger wrong? Wasting food or having some whey? It would be a waste to throw away perfectly good food over a mistake so I ate it. However, I was certain never to buy those tortillas again.
Another burrito mishap: I used to get beans and rice burritos from this Mexican restaurant. Their vegetarian burrito comes with rice and beans. I asked if it was vegan, I was told yes. Next time, my dad goes, so he asks, “Is it vegan?” He was told, “Rice – yes, beans – no.” So, for a couple of weeks we didn’t go there but I told him I was certain that it was vegan. So, we went again. I asked, “Are the beans vegan? Is the rice vegan?” This time, I was told, “Beans – yes, rice – no. It’s cooked in chicken broth.” Which lead me to ask, “Why does rice come on your vegetarian burrito?” They had no answer.
A meat mishap: I was out to dinner with a group. The food was group ordered and I had no control over it. I was told they ordered some vegan options for me. A roll was brought to the table and I was told it was vegan. I asked the waitress, and her English wasn’t that great, but she said, “Yes.” Unsure, I asked everyone at my table. Everyone assured me it was vegan and ordered just for me. So, trusting the group and the waitress, I ate it. Turns out, it has chicken diced like small cubes of tofu – I ate meat. I was really upset, but what could I do about it?
It isn’t like I am trying to mess up. It just happens. I am told something is vegan and it’s not. Ingredients are misread by me or someone shopping for me. My intention is to be vegan but once in a while a mistake happens. It’s not like I am going out and ordering a steak (I know a girl who claims to be vegan and goes out and eats steaks) but maybe the rice was cooked in chicken broth without my knowledge. Does that make me not vegan for being flawed? I am only human. By our very nature, humans are destined to mess up.
I am not planning on ever breaking edge or breaking veganism. However, if I was traveling and I ended up in the middle of a starving third world country and they offered me food of mysterious origins and it was all they had – I’d eat it. I’d tell them it was the best food in the world. It would be rude, disrespectful, and shameful to do otherwise.
I was at a book reading discussion recently, and they were talking about how veganism is hypocritical. That here in America, we have a choice, where elsewhere there isn’t an option. That to expect people to be vegan is an unrealistic expectation. I voiced that because we have a choice we should chose to not take life. Besides, if everyone was on a vegan diet, there would be enough food to feed the world.
Right now, there’s what I consider to be indirect cannibalism. The western world feeds corn that could be feed to the starving nations to cows. They then eat the cows and people starve to death. If people would just eat the raw material – and stop caring about lining their pockets but common human good will and give the food to those who are in need. World hunger is gone, if you want it. People don’t talk about the wasted resources to raise their bloody dinner.
I chose life over death. Freedom from oppression and suffering for all beings. If my intention was to eat rice cooked in chicken broth – then I’d say I am not a vegan. But, I am firmly against factor farming and consuming flesh. I don’t think I instantly stop being vegan because of a mistake. Besides, no system is perfect. What about the field mice?
