Pittsfield — Saturday, Aug. 30, marked the 11th Worldwide Day for the End of Speciesism. On August 30, activist groups around the world gathered to protest “speciesism,” or the prioritizing of human lives over, and often at the expense of, those of other species.
At Park Square in Pittsfield, a small crowd of local activists stood with signs. Sheryl Becker, the founder of the Western Massachusetts Animal Rights Advocates (WMARA), held up a two-part cardboard sign; it read, “End Speciesism,” and, “Teach Compassion.” She founded the animal rights group in February 2011, but Becker has felt a real compassion for her “fellow creatures” since she can remember. At eight years old, Becker wrote a letter to the local newspaper, The Springfield Republican, insisting that humans making animals suffer for their own benefit was wrong.
As Becker was speaking, someone yelled out from a car, “Get a job!” (While maintaining a commitment to the fight for animal rights, Becker also had a career as a nurse.) This kind of pushback does not shock the demonstrators. They are used to it. Others yell, from their cars, “I love steak,” and, “Bacon is the best!” Their strategy is not to react at all, unless it seems like the dissident genuinely wants to engage, in which case the activists are happy to do so.
Jean Daniels, who has been vegan for 41 years and fighting for animal rights for just about as long, said that she does not let the negative feedback get to her. She sees veganism as a “win, win, win” solution: It is good for the planet, good for our bodies, and we can feed more people that way. In her late 70s, Daniels says that she has “not much more time, but still some energy.” And she was using that energy by being out there on Saturday.
