Can't we all just get along?
So I got up and schlepped into the city yesterday at 7:00 a.m. to go to the Friends of Animals conference. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about what I saw.

See, there are two camps in the animal rights "movement." I put movement in quotes because many people feel that there really isn't a true movement at all. One camp, the abolitionists, believe that we should fight to eliminate animal exploitation altogether. No meat, no animal products, no animals in entertainment, etc. Their primary tenet is that animals are sentient (capable of feeling pain and pleasure) and, as such, are entitled not to be treated as property. The other group, the welfarists, believe many of the same ideals. However, they believe that we're very unlikely to effect such major change in our culture. As a result, they believe that any improvement in the quality of life for animals is step in the right direction. You'll see them fighting for changes like larger cages for battery hens. The abolitionists have literally no use for the welfarists. They think that their efforts are in fact counterproductive as they make people feel better about the status quo without really eliminating suffering. If you increase the size of the cage but still kill the chicken have you really done it any service? The two major animal rights organizations in this country are on opposite sides of this issue. PETA has a welfarist point of view while Friends of Animals is staunchly abolitionist. As a result, much of FoA's time is spent bashing PETA.

I fall somewhere in the middle. I don't ingest animal products. I've recently eliminated dairy altogether. But, to me, that's a very personal choice. I don't try to get others to make the same decisions. If asked, I could prattle off a litany of reasons for my choice. But it's just that, my choice. I know that I'm not going to get the entire factory farming industry turned on its head. I, however, have chosen not to participate. I also think that PETA does some good. The are in essence a marketing company. They've brought national attention to some of the real issues. Sure, they've done some bad and some goofy things. The FoA people are fond of talking about their "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign and call it a very sexist message. I can see that. I just think that there's not enough of a movement to be so incredibly divisive.

I didn't go back today for several reasons. The primary one, though, was that I was too damn tired to wake up at 6:00 again. Call me lazy. I'm going to go to a museum or something today.

Rolling off my soapbox...