So I just got back from a fantastic road trip with a few friends. we drove up to Virginia to first stay at Clementine's grandparents' place in the west side of VA - and then to head to Norfolk to the PETA headquarters. there was a conference/convention there for student animal rights activists.
The PETA headquarters was quite a place to be. it's basically a four-story office building - filled with computer workstations, conference rooms and such. But the walls were the coolest. there were tons of framed posters of "Victories" PETA has won... basically marking times in their history when they have pressured a company to end animal cruelty (i.e. animal testing, poor slaughter methods, using fur for fashion, etc.) and the company has listened. that's what the campaigns are for, actually. the KFC and McDonald's cruelty campaigns exist because those companies won't listen to PETA's easy suggestions for more painless chicken slaughter techniques.
Not only was the place inspiring, but the people were, too. there were a bunch of students who have been making quite a difference on their college campus, raising awareness, staging protests, and putting pressure on people in administrative position to stop support for animal cruelty. they held panel discussions, and the peta2 people gave lectures and workshops on how to effectively advocate animal rights, vegetarianism, etc. i want to implement everything i just learned, but I i'll have to wait until January to get back to campus and start making a difference at Yale. in the mean time, they gave us tons of free literature to share with people - DVDs, stickers, pamphlets, all chock-full of info about the terrible things that are happening to animals, and what we can all do about it.
i feel very empowered. the animal rights movement is gaining ground, and it's definitely the next big thing that's going to sweep the world. it's really cool to be on board. wanna join?
The PETA headquarters was quite a place to be. it's basically a four-story office building - filled with computer workstations, conference rooms and such. But the walls were the coolest. there were tons of framed posters of "Victories" PETA has won... basically marking times in their history when they have pressured a company to end animal cruelty (i.e. animal testing, poor slaughter methods, using fur for fashion, etc.) and the company has listened. that's what the campaigns are for, actually. the KFC and McDonald's cruelty campaigns exist because those companies won't listen to PETA's easy suggestions for more painless chicken slaughter techniques.
Not only was the place inspiring, but the people were, too. there were a bunch of students who have been making quite a difference on their college campus, raising awareness, staging protests, and putting pressure on people in administrative position to stop support for animal cruelty. they held panel discussions, and the peta2 people gave lectures and workshops on how to effectively advocate animal rights, vegetarianism, etc. i want to implement everything i just learned, but I i'll have to wait until January to get back to campus and start making a difference at Yale. in the mean time, they gave us tons of free literature to share with people - DVDs, stickers, pamphlets, all chock-full of info about the terrible things that are happening to animals, and what we can all do about it.
i feel very empowered. the animal rights movement is gaining ground, and it's definitely the next big thing that's going to sweep the world. it's really cool to be on board. wanna join?
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