Nonviolent Communication is for the Privileged

[© All rights reserved to Raffi Marhaba 2022. Article updated May 2022. If you wish to utilize this article for educational purposes, please reach out to info@collectivelyfree.org to discuss a usage fee. Copyright states that: you may not publish this article without permission; you may not translate it without approval.] by Raffi Marhaba I am a lover of words. I speak 7 languages, hold a BA in Translation, write and perform poetry and am deeply fascinated with the power and impact of language. When I first heard of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), I was curious and ...

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My Trip to Palestine and the Struggle to Decolonize Eastern Food Systems

by Yousef Shami Veganism has become significantly more accessible around the world in the past few years. As I prepared for my trip to Palestine, I didn't have any concern that I'd have to suffer or make concessions from my values. It was quite the contrary: I view plant-based foods as closer to the roots of indigenous cultures around the world, including in the Levant, rather than as a new Western diet fad. In this way, I strongly believe that the transformation of food culture is an important facet of colonialism, especially in Palestine. The Food Culture A ...

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Veganwashing and the Lie of Vegan Unity

by Chris Hendricks "Veganwashing" refers to a form of whitewashing meant to encourage positive association of a subject with veganism or animal rights. It occurs, for example, when a company introduces plant-based alternatives to their non-vegan product line to raise their image among compassionate consumers and compete for a share of the vegan market without ever actually reducing their contribution to animal suffering. The veganwashing strategy has in recent years been employed for political purposes as well, most notably in the advancement of the Zionist project ...

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Emptying the Cages: For the Abolition of Prisons and Animal Agriculture

by Matthew Kelly, edited by Lilia Trenkova Trigger warnings: Sexual Assault Torture Violence Murder Racism Slavery Why are the cages here? Cages exist to petrify their inhabitants. If you exist within a cage, you cannot choose to walk outside, you cannot choose when you eat, you cannot choose who you interact with. Those who control and own the cages intend to confine not only the inhabitant, but their possibilities for existence. The occupant of the cage is converted into an object for the use of their captors, and is denied experiencing life on their own ...

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The Police Are Not Our Friends

The “pig roast” was seen by many social justice groups as an offensive mockery of the violent corruption of law enforcement agencies across the country, and, in itself, an act of violence. Pigs are not the perpetrators of violence, they are the victims.  CF is promoting the idea that the same system treating nonhuman animals as expendable is the SAME system saying "Make America Great Again,” pushing for the deportation of immigrants, shooting people of color, controlling women's bodies, killing LGBTQ people, and treating disabled folks as lesser than. Police ...

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Disrupt Organized Religion

The church is a place for communities to come together and it's during this moment that people need to be reminded of their true values such as thou shalt not kill. And on Easter we gather with our family and friends to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus while holding on to the violent tradition of feasting on the bodies of animals. HOW TO ORGANIZE? Do you have the passion and desire to fight for animals and beyond? Once you join our team you will have access to various materials and one-on-one assistance on how to start organizing where you live! Drop us a line ...

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Chick-Fil-A

 Companies like Chick-Fil-A promote the idea that some lives matter more than others. And that is the root of all that is wrong with our world. The lives of the chickens that they profit from matter just as much as the lives of any of us. Whether you're gay, trans, bi, chicken, queer, cow or fish, you have the right to exist for your own purpose. NY, is considered the birthplace of US LGBTQI+ rights and it is a strong voice for animals. It deserves better than allowing a homophobic, transphobic and speciesist company to make money from violence. HOW TO ORGANI...

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May Day

What does speciesism have to do with colonialism, capitalism and white supremacy? Plenty. Pigs, cows and chickens didn't exist in the Americas prior to colonizers. Europeans displaced, used and killed native humans and nonhumans, and on the stolen land they started to breed - and kill - “domesticated” animals as well as continue to exploit and kill other, non-white, humans. Animal agriculture helped advance European settler colonialism, and its later industrialization helped advance capitalist economy. This is why on May Day  we marched alongside multiple groups ...

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Human + Animal Liberation

CF made its way to J20 to disrupt Trump's administration and beyond. Our message is simple: that all species have the right to freedom, all species have the right to migrate, all species have the right to water. We need to realize that the same system treating nonhuman animals as expendable is the same system saying, “Make America Great Again.” It’s the same ideology deporting immigrants, shooting people of color, controlling women’s bodies, killing LGBTQ’s, and treating disabled folks as lesser than. Our society already teaches us to commodify the bodies of ...

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Pride

CF has consistently showed up and supported the LGBTQI+ community and will always continue to do so. During Pride, we marched for two marginalized and oppressed groups: the LGBTQ+ community and nonhuman animals. We live in a system that treats certain groups and individuals as "lesser than". It teaches us to treat nonhuman animals as lesser than us, to treat their bodies like commodities and products and to refuse to see them as individuals with their own needs and desires. It also allows for us to see one another as lesser too, for reasons such as who we love or what ...

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