In the animal rights community, we often repeat a quote by Sir Paul McCartney: “if slaughterhouses had glass walls, the world would be vegetarian“. I have spent the greater part of my life believing this adage to be true — that if only people knew what was going on, the world would be a very different place — that we simply would not and could not tolerate cruelty when it is exposed to us in all of its horror. My activism has been informed by such beliefs, with me spending the majority of my life attempting to reveal to the wider public how non-human animals are treated, sneaking through farms to film animal abuse, and risking arrest for staging sit-ins and occupations demanding that the media be allowed access to expose the reality of what is going on to its audiences. I believed whole-heartedly in our ability to tell right from wrong, and to want to prevent abuse once we are made aware of it.
And yet, I have now learned these things not to be true. When we are faced with an ongoing campaign of annihilation by Israel against the Palestinian people, somehow humanity has found excuses to look away, to remain silent, or frighteningly, to attempt to justify their slaughter. The genocide of Palestinians is not hidden behind walls. It is happening in real time: paid for with our taxes, through the weapons our elected governments provide, and is evident on our screens, if only we dare to look. While over 179 Palestinian journalists have been killed, and many more injured and arrested for attempting to tell their stories to us, we shrug our shoulders, either from indifference, or because we believe there is nothing we can do, or because we are simply too scared to speak out for what it might cost us. It is heartbreaking and gut-wrenching and maddening.
“It is very tempting to take the side of the perpetrator. All the perpetrator asks is that the bystander does nothing. He appeals to the universal desire to see, hear and speak no evil. The victim, on the contrary, has asked the bystander to share the burden of pain. The victim demands action, engagement and remembering.
The perpetrator requires nothing from us.”
-Donna F. Johnson
I don’t know why the photos, videos, words and testimonies of Palestinians who have endured more than 75 years of unrelenting oppression, bombing, land theft, continued displacement, and apartheid rule are not enough to stir all of the world’s people into demanding a free Palestine. It is enough to cause anyone to want to despair, however hopelessness cannot be an option. When we know better, we can do better. We must continue to believe in the power of truth-telling to wrestle us out of our passivity and compliance. In a world full of indifference and distraction, the stories we choose to tell remain a powerful and transformative tool to shift narratives, to change hearts and minds and to push forward the needle of social consciousness. Every action ripples outwards. And it is for this chance at social progress that we must all choose to use our voices now, before it is too late — in the hopes that our words and actions can help stir another world into existence — one where everyone can live their life free and safe from harm; one where being called a human-animal could never be a death sentence, because we recognise the intrinsic value of every life; one where we are never afraid to confront injustice, or if we are afraid, that we have the courage to do so anyway, with whatever trembling voice we can muster.
Every single one of us has the power to do something. Whether it is contacting our elected representatives and demanding they take action, staging a sit-in, donating money to organisations or families on the ground, writing letters to the media, boycotting complicit companies, attending or organising protests, being involved in direct action with groups like Palestine Action and forcing the closure of weapons factories, sharing and uplifting Palestinian content on our social media, or even simply speaking to our friends, families and colleagues about what is happening, our voices added together become impossible to ignore.
“Hope is a discipline and… we have to practice it every single day.”
Mariame Kaba
I am no expert on Palestine, and there are plenty of other voices who should be heard first and foremost, above all, Palestinian voices themselves. However, it does not take an expert to recognise injustice. Our solidarity with those facing violence matters, above all in the face of genocidal governments, weak and corrupt politicians, greedy weapons manufacturers, a biased corporate media, and an all-too apathetic public. The strength and courage of the Palestinian people is humbling, and seeing a global community rising up in support of them is the one thing right now that gives me hope for humanity’s future. Our caring counts. Our protests matter. Our speaking out matters. Our critical thinking matters. Our ability to recognise and point to the source of the violence matters. Our taking sides with the oppressed matters. And our solidarity with those facing state repression, murder and genocide matters. Speaking out against the violence of the status quo is not easy, nor has it ever been. Speaking out has cost many people their lives, statuses and freedom. And yet, to not risk speaking out? What do we risk then?