Lee Hall, notorious defender of state oppression of animal
activists and author of the ridiculous �Capers in the Churchyard, Animal
Activism in the Age of Terror� was scheduled to give a talk today (Sunday
Sep 6th) at the London Vegan Festival. Things didn�t work out quite as she,
or the festival, had planned however. If Hall was seriously entertaining the
notion that she could fly to England and hold forth for fifty minutes at an
event like this, with SHAC activists present, on the subject of her choice,
without being confronted about her statements on direct action, then I
suggest she is in need of a psychiatrist.
Pacifism or Animals: Which Do You Love More? A Critique of Lee Hall, Friends of Animals, and the Franciombe Effect in the New Abolitionist Movement Ironically, the relatively few animal defenders who carry out the struggle against the monstrous animal-industrial complex through militant direct action (MDA), such as property destruction and liberating caged animals, often find that animal exploiters are not their only opponents. In a perverse twist, a surprisingly large number of people whom the casual observer would assume to be allied with direct activists often align themselves with animal oppressors in their rush to show they �reach across the aisle,� �remain civil,� �work within the system,� and above all, �adhere to non-violence.� They become perfect puppets of the corporate-state complex�.. http://thomaspainescorner.wordpress.com/2009/02/07/pacifism-or-animals-which-do-you-love-more/
A key intent of the essay was not to speculate on the relationship between Francione and Hall and FoA, but rather to describe what we call the �Franciombe effect� among animal rights activists and abolitionists throughout the world and in many languages. In �Pacifism or Animals: Which Do You Love More?,� we sought to highlight a problematic phenomenon that few have identified: the uncritical embrace of a dogmatic pacifist, legalist, and single-issue party line amongst abolitionists who champion and parrot Francione�s positions as if they were sacred scriptures. The Franciombe effect is evident in the slew of abolitionist forums and blogs in numerous languages, many of which are clones of one another, and all waiting for more pearls of wisdom from their revered mentor�s prolific output of books, articles, blog essays, and interviews�. Presence of Malice: UK Activists v. Lee Hall UK activist, Lynn Sawyer: Hall is opposed to violence that is very clear and this is the issue her US critics are most concerned with. But what is �violence� or �force�? Hall does not enlighten us much, but she does include shouting, breaking the law, and upsetting those who wear fur or destroy forests. This is her opinion and she is entitled to it but it appears to come from an ivory tower far away from the reality of the streets and the fields. She seems to assume that the police/courts are always fair, that those who eat meat just need a few recipes to persuade them to become vegan, and that it is only animal rights militants who are ever violent. It would appear that she lives in a different realm than other activists because we always seem to encounter some mad fucker called Jethro who is 6ft 6 (tall and wide) carrying a Chainsaw and a shotgun, whose favourite uncle is Chief Constable and head of the masons, along with all his mates �who all know where we live. Yes, Lee, you persuade Jethro that his unappealing habit with badgers and sheep is wrong by giving him a recipe on vegan fruitcake; we will continue to rely on the fact that the only reason he hasn�t murdered us in our beds is because he thinks that we will invoke calamity and woe on him and his inbred clan if he tries it�..
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