The Great Big AR2009 Summary Post

Alternate title: I Will Write About AR2009 If It Kills Me (Or Takes Me 2 Months)

This happened last year too. I came back from the AR conference with dozens of things I wanted to write about, but with so much else happening, and with all the energy and time that articulating my post-conference thoughts was going to take, the posts just never happened. And I can see that I'm headed in that direction this year too. (I'm actually relieved, though, to realize that the conference concluded only three weeks ago--in part because of the nature of this blog, I experience time very differently now from how I did just one year ago, and if I'd had to answer a question off the cuff about how long ago the conference was? I would have told you it took place at least two months ago now. Seriously. Sheesh!)

So. Here's what we're going to do. To ensure that these planned posts don't disappear into that black hole known as Things I Say I'm Going to Write About "Soon" But Take Six Months to Write About If I Ever Do, I'm going to give you the intros to several posts all at once below. I had already planned (and in some cases, promised) to cover a number of these topics long before the conference, but in those cases, experiences or sessions in LA helped to re-energize or remind me or to reconfirm the need for the post. If you happen to notice my going more than a week or so without putting one of the following posts out there, get on my case. I mean it. All right, now for the interesting stuff:

Grassroots Activism. This was the subject of one of the first sessions I attended. And it provided some excellent reminders about all the things any of us can be doing to advocate for animals, whether we live in a large city with an extensive network of advocates or a rural town where we may be the only one fighting for animals. I definitely want to talk about this one soon. So remember--give me hell if "soon" turns into a joke.

Jan Haagenson and the Hunter Harassment Defense Fund. Many animal advocates have heard Jan's stunning story in recent years, but many--and most outside the animal rights community--have not. If hunters were on your property, and you repeatedly asked them to leave and not to hunt on your property on multiple occasions, and they refused and even threatened you, they'd be the ones the police would arrest, right? That would be the logical outcome. But with absurd hunter harassment laws in place, that's not what happens, as Jan Haagenson learned the hard way.

Repeal of the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act. There are several posts referencing the AETA on this blog. And efforts to repeal this broad, unconstitutional, industry-backed atrocity are continuing--and vital. At the same time, defendants already charged under this law--and the social-justice attorneys working entirely for free or for very little compensation on their behalf--need the AR community's support.

Tone--in Advocacy Online and Off. I participated in a panel on Agitating on the Internet at the conference and spoke a bit about tone in my portion, and I'll recap--and expand on--what I had to say in a post here.
Tone and Treatment within the Movement. During the aforementioned panel, I talked only about our tone when talking to non-vegans and to people outside AR whom we're trying to reach. But how we talk to and about each other in the movement is important and something I've long wanted to address here too.

Inspiring People. One really lovely aspect of the conference is meeting and hearing from all sorts of people, from all sorts of backgrounds, who are remarkably inspiring--in what they do and where they've come from, in the battles they take on, in the lives they lead, in the compassion and kindness with which they move through this world.

Free Trade Kills Animals. I gathered some info about this at the 2008 conference but missed the 2009 session, though I did chat for a moment with the smart, dedicated activist (the awesome Adam Weissman) presenting on this topic when he was out in the lobby area in the middle of the night diligently working on his next-day talk. This is an important issue, and it doesn't get enough attention.

I'm Vegan. My pal Eric? He rocks. A number of us were lucky to see the first couple profiles from his I'm Vegan documentary project, for which he and his crew traveled around the United States and Canada doing interviews and shooting footage this past spring, and it was clear that everyone else in the room was as impressed as I was. I knew from the moment I heard about Eric's project that it was going to be something special--and a great advocacy tool.

Public Perception. Over the last year--in personal interactions both at and away from the conference and in an AR2009 rap session--I've engaged in several discussions, sometimes heated, about the public perception of the animal rights movement and whether it matters. My position? That it absolutely does matter. I'll go into more detail in the actual post, regarding the debate over this issue as well as my reasons for taking the stance that I do.

Welfare Reforms. Oh yes, welfare reforms. Welfare reforms and abolitionism and strategy and honesty and politics and efficacy and the problems with deferring to the large nonprofits. This is the stuff of intense, animated conversations in the hotel bar and lobby at 4 a.m. And the stuff of important blog posts too.

Palm Oil (and Earth Balance). Another of those posts I've been contemplating for many months, while trying to figure out exactly how I want to approach the issue. Debra Ehrenberg of Rainforest Action Network (RAN) was kind enough to take some time to chat with me about all the thoughts swirling around in my head on this topic. Next step: getting those swirling thoughts into coherent form for you.

Videos. There are videos floating around online--from both the Animal Rights 2009 National Conference and the (by all accounts excellent) 2009 Let Live NW Animal Rights Conference--of excellent speakers, and I'll be directing you to those intermittently.

The Ones I Missed. I didn't get to all the sessions I was interested in attending, and after I remember to order (and then receive) my conference recordings, there at least a few sessions I'll want to chat about here after taking a listen.

Whew. This is a long list. I better get started soon, eh?

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The photo at top captures one of those 4 a.m. conference moments with friends from all over the country, from Boston to DC to Texas to California: Saurabh of the International Vegetarian Union and Vegetarian Society of DC; Michelle of Vegan Break (and, prior to graduation from Case Western, CARES, which she founded); Eric of the I'm Vegan documentary and Boston Vegan Association; yours truly of, um, here (and who's never cool enough to notice she's still wearing her name tag and remove it); and Greg of the Vegetarian Society of El Paso and ACT Radio. Photo by our Nashville pal Yvonne, the Traveling Vegetarian.