Rescuers Tell Us How to "Really" Help "The Movement"

And "we" are laughing out-loud! lol

From Kathy:

I target non -horse people and most can't believe it but the thing is to get them to do something. Its one thing to hear about but another to get people to act just like voting. I will fight for the horse until I am no more.
I have no time for horse people that believe in it and can be very stoned face when trying to save a horse even from the meat man. Which we did a few years ago. The beautiful boy was headed for Mexico. You can't make people have a heart and I know that. This past year I have taken 4 horses that people cared enough for to find them a home for when they couldn't keep them any more. I even had 1 person give me some hay along with the Horse they are all welcome to come back and visit them.
Kathy
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FROM BARBARA;

----- Original Message -----
From: Barbara
Sent: Tuesday, November 11, 2008 7:57 AM
Subject: How to REALLY help the anti-slaughter movement...


Protesting horse related events like Congress or the AQHA World show
is NOT going to do any good. Most horse people have already made up
their mind one way or another. Sure, have a booth, pass out some
fliers, whatever... But "protesting" is not going to work. It hasn't
in the past, it won't in the future.

If you want to actually change minds and get the message out there,
you need to target NON-horse people. THESE are the people who have no
idea that slaughter even exists. They thought the old "dog food" line
for a misbehaving or old horse was just a "saying." Most of the
general public thinks horses live out their lives in some sunny
pasture to die a peaceful death on a knoll. These people have no idea
how bad things can get, for slaughter bound horses and for horses
suffering from abuse and/or neglect. The occasional starving horse
they see on Animal Cops Huston is just a drop in the bucket.

So, if you want to demonstrate, hand our fliers, or talk to people who
might just listen, you need to find NON-horse venues. Post an ad in
your local paper. Encourage your student or students you know to do
speeches and papers on the horse slaughter issue. Find some receptive
college students and rally during campus events or just post fliers
around campus. Set up a booth at a big open rummage sale, antique
fair/mall, craft fair (get a girl scout troop to make some horse
related crafts to sell), or open outlet mall/fair. Ask your church if
you can submit an article talking about the horses and tying it
religion (how we are the keepers of the animals and what-not). Join
some message boards that interest you and strike up conversation on
the issue (try not to spam though, talk a bit before bringing it up),
groups like mothers, weight loss, knitting, painting, DIY, etc. Join
groups that are against dog/can abuse or a dog/cat rescue. If your
local humane society or animal rescue group is having a fundraiser,
see if they'll let you have a table or pass out information (that will
NOT compete for donations, information only).

Of course, all of this should be on hold until the next congressional
session begins, when we get new bills in the House and Senate. And
keep in mind that the economic and war issues are MUCH higher priority
for most people and politicians. Don't be disheartened. Just keep at
it, consistently and patiently. We won our first battles, all of the
US horse slaughter for human consumption plants are gone. If we keep
on working, we'll win the next battles too

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OUR REPLY TO THEM BOTH:

Kathy, Barb;

You are so right, it is the un-informed that we need to target, and that is exactly what I "we" do when "we" protest in public - TO the public, but "we" do it right "under their industrial noses." It really irks them to see us educate the people right "in their face." Havent you read any of our "Demo Reports?" Go to the "Demo Report" page here to see what "we" are all about;
http://www.freewebs.com/friendsofequines
Doing these "in your face" public demonstrations (which, by the way, we call "public educational seminars," embarasses them for sure, we have seen it in their attitudes and even in their eyes which they cannot even look at us without turning their faces away. They Know we are right, and gaining support in public RIGHT IN FRONT OF THEM puts great pressure on them to change their attitude and policies.
Do you really think public pressure and DEMANDS for change do not work? Go back in history.
We do all that you say, we educate the public AND set up information booths & pass out flyers while we are protesting and demanding in the industys face.Suprisingly, we have found our "one-person" demos to be very effective in gaining public support and embarassing the pro-slaughter "industrialites" into "right thinking and acting." We have even convinced some of the American Horse Counsil Members that it would be a good thing for them to take a vote on the slaughter issue by ALL members, to see who is for or against, some of them even promicing us to bring it up at the next meeting, and THAT indeed is progress. How can you say protests dont work when we really have never tried it as a UNITED FRONT and consistantly all together as a movement? Who has demonstrated and where and when? Except for a small group in Nevada that protested once or twice over the BLMs mismanagement of our wild horses, and a few small demos by the Anti-Fur Folk,.... I have heard nothing of any concerted effort to conduct continous actions,..so whereer or whoever it was you say "have tried it,".... wasent loud enough or consistant enough to do any good. It needs to be done continously and consistantly at all industry related events,...and CANNOT be a "once in awhile" type thing, ...we need to put the pressure on continously, until progress is made, policies are changed, breeding is controlled and alternatives to slaughter are utilized. We must demand & protest until the slaughter ends. Where are our "Mother Orgs" and our state (rescue) representatives? We need them to help us organize. We cannot do it without their help. It will take a UNITED effort and therein is the problem. We are an UnOrganized lot.
Demonstrations and protests DO work, if we can form a united front and "haunt them" whereever they go. It DOES NOT have to be done with great crowds of protesters. Even ONE person will do! They absolutely hate the PR we give them and always try to have us removed,....but the police always stick up for us. Isnt THAT a wonderful thing, just knowing that they hate for us to be their so much but there isnt a DAM thing they can do to remove us! Protest is a very important powerful tool that we should be utilizing. How could you NOT belive in the power of protest? Our country was founded upon dissent! Need I remind you, our founding fathers were revolutionaries, "revolting" against an oppressive system, and won their independance through continous and relentless protest, DEMANDS and dissent. Then there are the workers unions who protested and got workers rights. Then the womens movement, then the civil rights movment,...loud & continous protest also got us out of the Viet Nam war. I have to laugh when people say "protest dostnt work! You are here in this country standing on "free ground" thanks to the power of protest. Of course, the people have to want something bad enough to go about consistantly protesting and demanding. Guess most us just dont want to see an end to horse slaughter bad enough to do that. Thats why I say shame on us. As for the statement one of you made that there are "other, more important" things for Congress to address, I can oly say this: No wonder with attitudes like that we are getting nowhere fast. Surely you MUST know that in Congress, as far as bills go, it is the "squeaky wheel" that gets the grease. Perhaps we are not "squeeking" loud or stong enough,..for instance, right smak dab in the middle of the financial melt-down bail-out crisis, Congress did manage to pass a bill that would protect the monkey. Go look that up on "Thomas.Gov" and you will see. We arent making enough noise. We are letting them get away with the murder of our American horses and THEY FEEL we are OK with that cause no one is protesting or demanding an end to it NOW! Without this kind of GREAT pressure, you will never have your bills passed. The pro-slaughterers will stall it or kill it "in the end," like they always do. We aint waitin for no dam bill. We dont need to wait for no dam bill! The power is in US, the horses are depending upon US, not the politicians!
Listen to the so-true words of Fredrick Douglas; Do you think he was a fool? There are many other "great minds" that believe as he did also; why cant you?

"Those who profess to favor freedom, yet deprecate agitation, are men who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightening. They want the ocean without the awful roar of its many waters. This struggle may be a moral one; or it may be a physical one; or it may be both moral and physical; but it must be a struggle. Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will."

– Frederick Douglass, African-American abolitionist

Need I say more?

CJ/MK

* “It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brushfires in people’s minds.”
--Samuel Adams

* "The limits of tyrants are prescribed by the endurance of those whom they oppress.If There Is No Struggle, There Is No Progress"
-F. Douglas