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How Civil Rights and Animal Rights Are Inextricably Linked
It's
fitting that Rosa Parks'
birthday, February 4,
has been designated the Day
of Courage. Parks is, of course, famous for her work to end
segregation and racism, beginning with her refusal to give up her bus seat to a
white passenger and continuing with her leadership during the bus boycotts that
followed. But Parks soon broadened her base to include others who needed to be freed
from the yoke of slavery: animals. She was a vegetarian for more than 40 years.
In
fact, many civil rights leaders, past and present, have maintained that as long
as one form of prejudice exists, no form of prejudice can be completely
eradicated, and thus, civil rights and animal rights are inextricably linked:
Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.: “There comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe,
nor political, nor popular, but he must take it because his conscience tells
him that it is right.”
Cesar
Chavez: “Kindness and
compassion towards all living beings is a mark of a civilized society. Racism,
economic deprival, dog fighting and *** fighting, bullfighting and rodeos are
all cut from the same defective fabric: violence. Only when we have become
nonviolent towards all life will we have learned to live well ourselves.”
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The
Rev. Al Sharpton: “So I say if KFC
wants to take [African-Americans'] money, and use it to pay for sloppy
practices that hurt animals, I say we send them a message that this is not
going to happen. I'm calling on people to boycott KFC until they adopt animal
welfare systems recommended by PETA.”
© StarMaxInc.com
Russell
Simmons: “The more I opened myself up to the idea of the full scope
of exactly what non-violence translates to, the less interested I became in
consuming the energy associated with the flesh of an animal that only knew
suffering in his/her life and pain and terror in its death. ”
Rosa
Parks did not just refuse to give up her seat on the bus. She refused to give up her humanity. She refused to accept oppression as “how things are.” In honor of her,
please encourage your friends and family to do away with the last of their
personal prejudices by sharing the quotation above that speaks to you the most on
your social-networking sites.
2013-02-04 09:45:24
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