I had the pleasure of speaking with Jasmin Singer and Mariann Sullivan on their podcast, Our Hen House. It was a great discussion! We talked about why animal activists should join Occupy Wall Street, the possible resurgence of ag-gag bills, and the importance of vibrant, grassroots activism.
Here’s an excerpt:
Jasmin: “…what kinds of activists should AR activists focus on?”
Will: “I do my best to refrain from trying to answer that, because I don’t think I am any more of an expert that anyone listening to this program. I don’t intend that as the total cop out it sounds like, but — I don’t know what the right way to social change is. Through my work I try to raise the point that I don’t think any of us do. I think we all should do what we find most appropriate, given our skills, given our resources, and give our passions. The reason I pursue my work as a form of activism, journalism as activism, is quite simply because I didn’t know what else to do. And I think a lot of people are feeling that way… We all have to find our niches.”
You can listen to the entire show at Our Hen House. My segment of the radio show starts at about 32:34. I hope you’ll listen, and also check out the other Our Hen House podcasts. Jasmin and Mariann offer a wonderful self-reflective voice in the animal rights movement.
I’ll turn one of the questions over to you all: What do you think are the greatest challenges facing the animal rights and environmental movements?