The PETA perspective

Alice Walker once said: “The animals of the world were not made for people any more than blacks were made for whites or women for men.” While we rightly look back on the cruelty of the past with indignation, it is also essential that we take a stand against present cruelty. The Animal Liberation Project’s display reminds viewers that the mindset that allowed for us to put children in mines, deny women their right to vote and enslave countless human beings is alive and well today.

Today, animals are our victims. Billions of animals are slaughtered, experimented on, shot, poisoned, beaten by “professional trainers,” chained, drowned and dissected. This happens routinely despite our ability to choose alternatives and despite scientific proof (and common sense) which shows that animals have the ability to think and to feel pain, love, joy, terror and other emotions. It happens because animals, with their communication, appearance and interests that may seem so different from ours on the surface, are powerless to stop us.

Animal Liberation carries a message of compassion and a plea for justice. It encourages people to open their hearts and minds to the fact that all cruel acts must be denounced, no matter how inconvenient or uncomfortable it is to do so. Many of the horrors in our society’s history are linked by the notion that “might makes right” and by the marginalization of less powerful groups of people. The beliefs of a bygone era seem ridiculous now, and it’s unacceptable to say what was commonly spoken not so long ago: “They’re only immigrants. Who cares about slum children? Women and slaves aren’t as intelligent as white men.”

This very same attitude is now used as the excuse to enslave and abuse animals. The same old tired clich