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18 February 2010 Issue
1. Activist Feedback
2. Comment on Last Week’s Essay
3. Commentary – Scapegoating Animals, part 2
4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman1. Activist Feedback
Anjanette writes:
Hello my truly compassionate lovers of our Lord! I am so glad to leaflet. I leafleted at the "Red" concert in San Antonio a couple of weeks ago. I was able to give out most of the leaflets, and my CVA shirt generated some curiosity. Most everyone showed an amount of reverence for the Truth to what the Lord was doing. After the show started , I picked up leaflets that were thrown down or into the trash. Because I am a full time student and part-time worker, my time in the next couple of months is thin, but certainly I am looking forward to doing it again. Thanks so much brothers and sisters. Remember the scales on our families’ eyes, so we pray daily for this to be removed. Lord be with ya'll. AMEN.
Upcoming Activist Opportunities
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02/24 TX Gatesville Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock
Concert
02/24 FL Jacksonville FlyLeaf Christian Rock Concert 02/25 OK Tulsa FireFlight Winter Jam 02/26 FL Estero FlyLeaf Christian Rock Concert 02/26 TX Dallas FireFlight Winter Jam 02/26 NE Lincoln Blaze Youth Conference 02/28 AZ Tuba City Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock Concert 02/28 MO Kansas City FireFlight @ Winter Jam 02/27 FL Tampa FlyLeaf Christian Rock Concert 02/27 CA Temecula Seventh Day Slumber Christian Rock Concert 02/27 OK Oklahoma City FireFlight @ Winter Jam 02/27 IL Belleville O.L.Snows Confirmation Rally for Jr. High Youth 03/05 OK Tulsa Jeremy Camp & Natalie Grant Christian Rock 03/05 GA Warner Robins The Hoppers Gospel Concert 03/05-6 AZ Phoenix Blaze Youth Conference 03/06 TX Longview Point of Grace Christian Concert 03/06 TX Longview Point of Grace Christian Concert 03/06 FL Tampa Bay TABLE Bark in the Park 03/07 CA Monterey Jeremy Camp Christian Rock Concert 03/10 NB Omaha Bread of Stone Christian Rock 03/12-13 IL Normal Hearts at Home National Conference 03/13 SC Greenville Third Day Winter Jam 2010 03/13 KY Lexington Third Day Winter Jam 03/14 AL Birmingham Third Day Winter Jam 03/16 CT Bridgeport Carrie Underwood Concert 03/19 AR Little Rock Third Day Winter Jam 03/20 LA Bossier City Third Day Winter Jam 03/21 KS Wichita Third Day Winter Jam 03/21 FL Tamarac TABLE Great American MeatOut 03/25 MI Grand Rapids Third Day Winter Jam 03/26 MI Ypsilanti Third Day Winter Jam 03/26 FL Jacksonville TABLE Florida VegOut 2010 03/27 IL Normal Third Day Winter Jam 04/18 CA San Diego ABLE EarthWorks' EarthFair 2010 04/23-24 NY New York EarthFair TABLE at Grand Central Terminal 04/24 FL Orlando Central Florida Earth Day! 05/16 NY New York TABLE Veggie Pride Parade & Rally 06/19 VA Richmond TABLE Richmond Vegetarian Festival International Events: 03/06 CAN Ontario Revelations Music Festival Concert 05/30 CAN Ontario TABLE Ottawa Veg Fest 2010 |
Contact Paris at christian_vegetarian@yahoo.com if you can to help. To find out about all upcoming leafleting and tabling opportunities in your area, join the CVA Calendar Group at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christian_vegetarian/
2. Comment on Last Week’s Essay
Gracia Fay writes: Another form of scapegoating of animals that I've become more aware of lately is the cases of sadistic abuse in slaughterhells. The interviews Gail Eisnitz did for her book Slaughterhouse make it clear that these aren't just rare cases of psychopathy. People who had a conscience to begin with and are constantly stressed by violating it daily in their jobs on the killing floor in some cases "take it out" on the animals.
3. Commentary – Scapegoating Animals, part 2
This week I will continue the discussion of how people scapegoat animals, i.e., transfer of guilt onto vulnerable, voiceless creatures. One major source of guilt is a sense of inadequacy. If we feel inadequate, we tend to feel that we have failed those who are important to us, such as family and friends, and we tend to feel unworthy of love from God (or whatever people call the divine). This sense of failure is a form of guilt, and, in general, people try to avoid this unpleasant feeling by doing things that enhance self-esteem.
Many people gain a sense of self-esteem by dominating other individuals. Animals are among the most vulnerable individuals, and almost everyone can gain a sense of competence and self-esteem by dominating animals. A trapping handbook summarizes this process well:
“While many youths develop interest in sports or good grades in school, some do not when they realize that they cannot excel. . . Any young person, regardless of social advantages, can excel and be an achiever by catching the big fish of the day, or making a nice shot, or catching a mink.”
In the book Meat: A Natural Symbol, Nick Fiddes notes that consuming the bodies of animals gives people a sense of mastery of and superiority to the natural world. Killing animals directly or indirectly can give any person a sense that, whatever their shortcomings, they are superior to the rest of the animal kingdom.
If people abuse animals in order to gain a sense of self-esteem, what happens when dominating animals fails to generate enough self-esteem to make people feel good about themselves? It is tempting to try to dominate “higher” creatures (i.e., humans) in order to gain the desired sense of self-esteem. Just as killing larger and more dangerous animals confers greater status to many hunters, it is reasonable to expect that people will get a greater sense of accomplishment if they can dominate other humans. Scapegoating requires a mindset that excuses victimization, and there is no reason to expect this mindset to respect the species barrier. Though victimizing animals is abhorrent, I think it is important for those humanists who don’t care much about animals to understand that animal abuse readily lends itself to human abuse.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
4. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman
To Love Completely or Not to Love
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons98/s20100214.html .
Your question and comments are welcome
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