Comments on: Intersectionality ‘Round the Interwebs, No. 4 http://www.easyvegan.info/2009/07/08/intersectionality-round-the-interwebs-no-4/ Heathen. Vegan. Feminist. Fri, 19 Mar 2010 04:11:48 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Kelly G. http://www.easyvegan.info/2009/07/08/intersectionality-round-the-interwebs-no-4/comment-page-1/#comment-785809 Kelly G. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 17:02:21 +0000 http://www.easyvegan.info/?p=7610#comment-785809 Actually, let me put it another way. Let's say the government decided to target a specific population of "food" animals for slaughter because of homophobia. Imagine, for example, that there was a recent high-profile case of a bonded pair of male pigs in Egypt who made international headlines (like the gay penguins in NYC), and the Egyptian government, being homophobic, decided to slaughter all the country's pigs out of embarrassment, anger and religious fervor. In order to make this apples to apples, let's also say that the government specifically denies that this is the case - instead citing public health concerns - but their excuses are rather transparent. I think most people, particularly the LGBTQ community, would be offended if PETA penned a similar letter asking that the culls be halted until they could be performed humanely. Most progressives - whether animal or LGBTQ advocates - would expect PETA instead to challenge the reasons behind the cull. Yes, the pigs will most likely die either way. But. The issue in question isn't the pig farming industry in general, it's the culls. So why add homophobia to speciesism, and then reinforce them both? Actually, let me put it another way. Let’s say the government decided to target a specific population of “food” animals for slaughter because of homophobia. Imagine, for example, that there was a recent high-profile case of a bonded pair of male pigs in Egypt who made international headlines (like the gay penguins in NYC), and the Egyptian government, being homophobic, decided to slaughter all the country’s pigs out of embarrassment, anger and religious fervor. In order to make this apples to apples, let’s also say that the government specifically denies that this is the case – instead citing public health concerns – but their excuses are rather transparent.

I think most people, particularly the LGBTQ community, would be offended if PETA penned a similar letter asking that the culls be halted until they could be performed humanely. Most progressives – whether animal or LGBTQ advocates – would expect PETA instead to challenge the reasons behind the cull. Yes, the pigs will most likely die either way. But. The issue in question isn’t the pig farming industry in general, it’s the culls. So why add homophobia to speciesism, and then reinforce them both?

]]> By: Kelly G. http://www.easyvegan.info/2009/07/08/intersectionality-round-the-interwebs-no-4/comment-page-1/#comment-785808 Kelly G. Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:48:47 +0000 http://www.easyvegan.info/?p=7610#comment-785808 Glenn - I know there's really nothing PETA can do to ultimately save the pigs, whether it's from the culls or slaughter for food; that's the unfortunate reality. But in calling for "humaneness" in the pig calls, PETA is implicitly endorsing religious discrimination - whether they realize it or not (and, to be fair, they're probably wholly ignorant of the country's religious tensions, as intersectionality isn't exactly their thing). I'd rather they just pen a letter challenging the efficacy of the culls in preventing swine flu, perhaps briefly mention the religious discrimination angle, and leave it at that. Glenn – I know there’s really nothing PETA can do to ultimately save the pigs, whether it’s from the culls or slaughter for food; that’s the unfortunate reality. But in calling for “humaneness” in the pig calls, PETA is implicitly endorsing religious discrimination – whether they realize it or not (and, to be fair, they’re probably wholly ignorant of the country’s religious tensions, as intersectionality isn’t exactly their thing). I’d rather they just pen a letter challenging the efficacy of the culls in preventing swine flu, perhaps briefly mention the religious discrimination angle, and leave it at that.

]]> By: Glenn http://www.easyvegan.info/2009/07/08/intersectionality-round-the-interwebs-no-4/comment-page-1/#comment-785804 Glenn Thu, 09 Jul 2009 16:39:38 +0000 http://www.easyvegan.info/?p=7610#comment-785804 Just one note about the Peta campaign about Egypt's pig cull: those pigs will be slaughtered anyway. All the government wants to do is kill them all earlier than normal, and quickly, which means they will be killed in a horribly painful way (if not buried alive). What are you proposing Peta do, try to get them to stop killing the pigs entirely and let them live out their days? The farmers raise these pigs to sell them for meat. This campaign by Peta seems a perfectly reasonable attempt to mitigate the potential for huge amounts of suffering by reducing the pain of death for the thousands of pigs that will be killed anyway. Just one note about the Peta campaign about Egypt’s pig cull: those pigs will be slaughtered anyway. All the government wants to do is kill them all earlier than normal, and quickly, which means they will be killed in a horribly painful way (if not buried alive). What are you proposing Peta do, try to get them to stop killing the pigs entirely and let them live out their days? The farmers raise these pigs to sell them for meat. This campaign by Peta seems a perfectly reasonable attempt to mitigate the potential for huge amounts of suffering by reducing the pain of death for the thousands of pigs that will be killed anyway.

]]>