Politicians Refuse to Stand Up for Animals for Fear of "Scorn"

by Stephanie Ernst · 2008-11-10 13:44:00 UTC
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foie gras duckChicago Tribune: "Foie gras ban comes back to bite elephant protection push"

A City Council panel passed a weakened version today of a proposal to protect elephants from being abused in Chicago.

The ordinance originally called for an outright ban on using a bullhook on an elephant. But that clause was deleted after proponents failed to garner enough support for it, said Ald. Mary Ann Smith (48th), who introduced the measure two years ago.

Smith said some aldermen withheld their votes because they feared they would be scorned for spending time on this issue, as they were after passing---and then rescinding---a ban on serving foie gras in Chicago restaurants.

Is this really the world we live in? Is this really how we make our decisions and order our priorities? In a nation of people who claim to care about animals, those who make efforts to protect them are derided, and those who are in a position to help them mostly refuse to do so because they don't want to be mocked. And I will never stop being stunned by the absurdity of that--by the fact that people are mocked and ridiculed and called extremists because they dare to live compassionately, because they dare to stand up for the defenseless and exploited. This is why we have starving cattle, boiled monkeys, injured, traumatized hens, and yet no real repercussions for the humans who cause the suffering and do the exploiting. I've said it before today, and I will say it many times more after today: it's time to get pissed off, people.

Stephanie Ernst wrote the original Animal Rights blog at Change.org until December 2009. She can now be found at Animal Rights & AntiOppression.
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