Or, a sab is a cat is a dog is a wife.

“Sabbing” really came into its own in the mid-1970s after enjoying some favorable publicity in the British media. “Sabs” [...] disrupted the hunt by laying false scents, wiring up gates to slow down the hunt’s progress, and setting off fireworks in woods to scare the foxes away. Some sabs developed an amazing expertise with a hunting horn and even succeeded in gaining control of the pack from the hunt master.

Hunters, of course, retaliated by attacking sabs. In 1976 the Joint Master of the Essex Union Foxhunt was widely quoted as saying, “Horsewhipping a hunt saboteur is rather like beating a wife – they’re both private matters.”

Excerpted from Kim Stallwood’s “A Personal Overview of Direct Action in the United Kingdom and the United States.”

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Namely, the veg*n language police at Create For Animal Rights (they’re the good cops to my cranky cop, natch):
 

 
The comic strip, entitled “PIGS AREN’T SEXIST,” is an anti-speciesist language lesson in three acts:

In panel one, two stick figures discuss Howard Stern’s misogyny as a cuddly little porcine looks on. Stick Figure One says to Stick Figure Two, “Howard Stern is so sexist!” To which Stick Figure Two replies, “He’s such a pig!”

In panel two, the sad-looking pig protests, “Hey! I resent that!”

In panel three, the lil’ pig despairs, “I am soooo much more likable than Howard Stern!”

Why, yes you are, little piglet. Yes you are.

In other words, and apropos of my previous comments on the New York Post/Sean Delonas Obama/chimp cartoon, it’s inherently speciesist to insult a human animal by referencing a non-human animal as the point of comparison. While such aspersions can sometimes be sexist, racist or otherwise marginalizing to human group x, they almost always serve to Other and deride the non-human animal point of reference – as is illustrated above.

Don’t our non-human brothers and sisters deserve better? Think before you speak, peoples!

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Proceed with caution: Moderate spoilers ahead. Specifically, I’ll be discussing Sayid’s flashbacks in the Season 3 episode “Enter 77″ (3×11). There may also be a few small spoilers through Season 4, but none for Season 5 – promise! (Although the external links may lead to more current spoilers.)

The husband and I became Losties rather late in the game. We picked up Season 1 on DVD on a whim during the writer’s strike last winter; within the first five minutes of the pilot episode, we were hooked.

Lately, I’ve taken to consuming pop culture with a more critical eye. I’ve always been somewhat sensitive to how women are portrayed in the media; increasingly, I’ve consciously tried to expand my “circle of compassion” vis-à-vis pop culture to other marginalized groups, including non-human animals. While animal welfare issues rarely surface on Lost, one episode in particular has stuck with me – “Enter 77″ (3×11), a Sayid-centric episode.

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Action Alerts

Amnesty International: Investigate misuse of US weapons in Gaza and stop arms transfers to Israel
“Amnesty International researchers came across many US made white phosphorus artillery carrier shells, and fragments of other US produced weapons, throughout Gaza. We consider the repeated use of white phosphorus in densely-populated civilian areas a form of indiscriminate attack, and amounts to a war crime. Since 2001, the USA has been by far the major supplier of conventional arms to Israel, including government to government as well as private commercial sales. In addition to this trade, the USA has provided large funding each year for Israel to procure arms despite US legislation that restricts such aid to consistently gross human rights violators. Call for a US government investigation into Israel’s potential misuse of US made weapons in Gaza.”

Farm Sanctuary: Is Compassion on Your Kid’s Menu?
“The Child Nutrition Act is the foundation for food policy in our schools. This year, Congress will reauthorize the law, providing us a tremendous opportunity to bring more vegan options to schoolchildren around the country. [...] Urge your federal senators and representative to support more plant-based choices in the programs administered under the Child Nutrition Act. Specifically, ask that non-dairy milk, such as soy or rice milk, be easily available to school children.”

Farm Sanctuary: Isn’t it time for Illinois dairy farmers to stop cutting cows’ tails off?
“Many large-scale dairy producers routinely cut off a large portion of their cows’ tails. A bill has been introduced by Sen. Antonio Munoz to ban the cruel and unnecessary practice of tail-docking in Illinois, but the industry is pressuring your state senators to oppose the measure. Your voice is needed! [...] Don’t let industrial farm lobbyists defeat this modest but important reform. Contact your state senator today urging them to support SB 1336!”

Humane Society Legislative Fund (HSLF): Support the Captive Primate Safety Act
“There are an estimated 15,000 monkeys and other primates in private hands in the United States. Sadly, many primates kept as pets end up abused or neglected. Often acquired as infants, as they grow they can become too strong and aggressive to handle. The Captive Primate Safety Act (H.R. 80) prohibits interstate and foreign commerce in primates as pets. Please make a brief, polite phone call to your U.S. Representative to urge support for H.R. 80, the Captive Primate Safety Act and do all they can to pass this important legislation.”

Media Matters: Willful Denial
“Last week, The Washington Post ran a column by George Will that misused data and distorted statements by climate experts to suggest that human-caused global warming is not occurring. Despite the widespread outcry about Will’s climate misinformation, the Post has refused to correct the record. Now we need your help — to demand that The Washington Post run a correction.”

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Now for a much-needed (over)dose of cuteness. Behold! Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary’s Valentine Piglets!

The story of the piglets’ origins is a sad one, which I’d rather not delve into for fear of negating the cuteness factor*; suffice to say that their story runs counter to popular, romanticized conceptions about “sustainable meat,” “small/backyard/diy farming” and the like**. Luckily, Nemo, Eva, Pinky and Wally survived their first days on earth, and in time made their way to the good folks at Woodstock FAS. Here, they’ve found permanent sanctuary – until, of course, a pig lover (read: not eater!) whisks them away to their new home, for a lifetime of piggy snuggles and belly rubs.

Bonus cuteness: Kisses from Dylan the Cow!

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Action Alerts

American Bird Conservancy: Help Stop Bird Kills at Communications Towers
“The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that up to 50 million birds are killed each year because of lighted communications towers! Scientists have shown that — especially during bad weather conditions — migrating birds become disoriented and trapped by the halo of light surrounding towers that use steady-burning illumination. The birds circle endlessly until they either collide with the structure, each other, or simply fall dead from sheer exhaustion. [...] Simple steps can be taken to prevent these needless deaths, but for over ten years, the FCC (the government agency that licenses towers) has been dragging its feet in implementing them, despite repeated appeals by American Bird Conservancy, Audubon, and Defenders of Wildlife, as well as independent scientists, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and even a federal court order.”

Bitch Magazine: Friday Health Question: Going Vegan or Going Crazy?
Bitch magazine blogger Lisa Factora-Borchers is trying her pan at a vegan diet, but is finding it rather expensive. She wonders “…as I contemplate someday having a family, is veganism realistic with little ones who may be picky eaters? How economically affordable is natural and organic for a growing family? What are the ways to eat, cook, live well on reasonable budget? Is going vegan worth it? What’s your advice about going vegan? What pushed you to veganism? What’s your story?” Drop by and giver her your two cents!

Human Rights First: Is Obama backing Bush’s secret policies?
“How the U.S treats victims of government abuse is among the most important symbols of our respect for human rights. Unfortunately, the Obama administration has adopted a dangerous legal position that was used by the Bush Administration to shield policies of official cruelty, torture, and secret prisons for 7 years. The House and Senate have proposed a bill called the State Secret Protection Act that provides for a more transparent process that involves judicial review of victims’ torture claims but still protects sensitive national security information.” Note: You can view the House version of the bill here; the Senate version, here.

In Defense of Animals (IDA): Support Federal Bill To Stop Horses From Being Sent To Slaughter
“The Prevention of Equine Cruelty Act of 2009 (H.R. 503) is back on the legislative calendar. Please help pass this measure to ban the possession, shipping, transporting, purchasing, selling, delivering or receiving of a horse or horseflesh for human consumption.”

National Wildlife Federation (NWF): Hold Your Members of Congress Accountable for their Green Recovery Legislation Vote
“Thanks to tens of thousands of wildlife champions, Congress got the message to vote for economic stimulus legislation that protects wildlife and restores our natural world. Signed into law on February 17, 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will provide tens of billions of dollars for clean energy investments, conservation advances and green jobs.”

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This series of retro ’50s monster movie poster adverts for the SciFi Channel has little to do with animal advocacy – but why let a lil’ thing like that stop me from putting an animal-friendly spin on ‘em?

Each “poster” depicts an iconic movie monster recoiling in horror as a human invades his space:

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Action Alerts

ACORN: Tell Congress: Keep Families in their Homes
“The foreclosure problem lies at the very heart of our economic crisis. If we do not take any action, there will be between 8 and 9 million foreclosures in the next four years, leaving millions of families without homes or hope. ACORN and people like you have joined hundreds of men and women in 24 cities ready to stand up and stop families from being kicked out of their own homes. President Obama has outlined a comprehensive $75 biliion plan to address the foreclosure crisis and we need to make sure it doesn’t get watered down in Congress.”

Color of Change: Not a joke – Hold the New York Post accountable
“The New York Post recently published the political cartoon shown here, depicting two white police officers standing over the carcass of a bullet-riddled chimpanzee, with the animal representing the author of the stimulus package. The decision to run this cartoon was irresponsible at best, and hurtful and malicious at worst. It seems unthinkable that an editor of a newspaper would not understand the history of Black folks being depicted as monkeys and apes or the recent spate of death threats against President Obama. Worse, when confronted, Post editor Col Allan dismissed people’s concerns as baseless. Join us in demanding that The Post issue an apology for the decision and their callousness, and fire the editor who allowed this cartoon to go to print.”

Kelly’s note: Please also explain that Delonas’s cartoon is speciesist as well as racist, and displays extreme insensitivity by making Travis’s tragic death into the butt of a joke. Feel free to paraphrase yesterday’s post, if you’d like.

Defenders of Wildlife: Save Sea Turtles from Reckless Fishing Practices
“Bottom longline fishing in the Gulf of Mexico has resulted in the death and injury of hundreds of imperiled sea turtles. Snagged by razor sharp hooks on fishing lines that span anywhere from four to nine nautical miles, loggerhead and other threatened and endangered sea turtles are drowning and dying right now in the Gulf of Mexico. Please help us save the lives of threatened and endangered sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico. Fill out the form below to encourage the National Marine Fisheries Service to immediately close the bottom longline fishery in order to save sea turtles.”

Oceana: Tell Canada to Protect Sea Turtles
“America’s neighbor to the north is falling down on the job of protecting sea turtles, and we need your help to change its ways. Every year, an estimated 1200 loggerheads are caught in the Canadian pelagic longline fishery. That’s a daily average of more than four sea turtles that are wounded by fishing gear in just this one fishery. Fortunately, a government committee will meet soon to discuss the fishery, so please let them know that the survival of sea turtles is in their hands.”

PETA: Urge the Olympic Committee to Help End the Canadian Seal Slaughter
“All eyes are on Canada as it prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympics. This extra attention will bring increased scrutiny and comes with the added responsibility of setting a positive example for the world. That’s why we are calling on the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee to help stop the Canadian seal slaughter.”

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Update, 2/20/09: The New York Post offered a half-assed apology for the Delonas cartoon today; by “half-assed,” I mean of the “we’re sorry if we hurt your delicate feefees” variety.

Naturally, the “apology” only addresses the racial aspects of the cartoon, while completely overlooking the speciesism inherent in comparing marginalized human group x to marginalized animal species y as a means of insult – and in mocking chimpanzee Travis’s needless and tragic death.

If you’d like, you can comment on the “apology” here, or submit a letter to the editor here.

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The above cartoon ran in today’s issue of The New York Post.

In one tidy little panel, cartoonist Sean Delonas – and, in printing and defending such trash, The New York Post – happily wallows in a toxic pool of racism and speciesism.

Here, President Obama is likened to Travis, a captive chimpanzee and former “animal actor,” who escaped from his “house” and attacked his “owner’s” friend on Monday. He was later shot and killed by police.

In bestializing Obama, Delonas engages in both racism and speciesism. Comparing people of color to nonhuman animals – particularly primates, such as chimps and monkeys – is a familiar, age-old racist meme. Denying the humanity of people of color – again, by likening them to nonhuman animals, which are presumably “sub-human,” “lesser beings,” “wild” incapable of intelligent thought or emotion, etc. – was used to justify slavery and segregation, and is still employed as a rationalization for current social inequities such as the disproportionately high rates of poverty, hunger and incarceration among people of color.

These comparisons are also speciesist, inasmuch as they rely upon and reinforce our (collective) stereotypes and prejudices re: nonhuman animals, as well as our utter lack of regard for their sentience and interests. Just as the above cartoon derides Obama by tying him to Travis, it also vilifies Travis (and, by extension, chimpanzees) for being “stupid,” “wild” and “vicious” – “less than.” To add insult to injury, Delonas turns Travis’s tragic death into the butt of a joke. (This didn’t have to happen: Travis should have been living in a sanctuary, with his own kind, not in the residential home of an elderly woman.)

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While searching the internets for the latest “meat-as-sex” Burger King commercial (BK’s Burger Shots, natch), I stumbled upon this SNL parody of BK’s “Whopper Virgins” series. I’m fairly certain that SNL is poking fun at BK for devising such an absurd and culturally insensitive campaign, but with varying levels of success.
 

 
Take, for example, the man who tried to run away with the Whoppers: “This food could feed my village for a month!” Here, Western excess as exemplified by Burger King is the butt of the joke, as opposed to the impoverished villager himself.

Other “subjects” seem puzzled; they’ve never seen a burger before, so they’re unsure what to do with it. The “Whopper as a hat” bit is deliberately over the top, but in trying to poke fun at BK’s idiotic PR stunt, SNL also mocks (unintentionally?) “those silly foreigners.” Or perhaps SNL means to imply that the BK “researchers” are the stooges, seemingly for expecting such behavior from the uncivilized heathens to begin with?

I only wish SNL had aimed their axe at the root of the problem, namely, the conflating of “meat” with sex, and “meat”-eating with masculinity.

Your thoughts?

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