Rights are Rights: animal solidarity in action

Animism

I am no pure champion of animals. I do my best. I try not to eat meat. I try to respect their needs on their own terms. I even show up for an occasional vigil.

That said, truth be told, I am no hero. There are times when I do eat meat. Sometimes on accident but sometimes on purpose. There are times when I turn my back on my fur bearing brothers and sisters. I ignore their screams and try to evade their daily nightmare. When I see a dead animal on the highway I do not stop. I just zoom on by.

But I do love them. I really do. I love all of them. I love the hairy ones. I love the squirmy and yucky ones. I even love tapeworms although I have no I idea what they are here for. I love the reptiles and the fish. I love shrimp, plankton and barnacles, too. I love anything that flies. I love anything that crawls. I love spiders with their white pearl sacks. I love termites as they burrow inside the walls of my deck. I love magnets and mites. I love squirrels and blue jays. I love anything that breaths existence. If it moves, I love it. If it hibernates, I love it. If it sings all day, I love it. If it is silent like the microbes inside the deepest ocean caves, I love it.

Goat on an animal rescue farm outside Waterloo, NY.

Spider web at the Finger Lakes Community College “Serenity Garden”

Wasp nest at the Lower Falls in Maplewood Park, Rochester, NY

Tracks by the Plymouth Exchange Neighborhood Genesee Riverway Trail in Rochester, NY.

George Payne outside the Blue Cross Arena at a Ringling Brothers Circus protest. Sponsored by Animal Rights Advocates of Upstate NY (ARAUNY)

Emblem in the hallways of Iona College’s Merton Spirituality Office

Below are pics from an animal solidarity vigil held at the 12 Corners intersection in Brighton, NY. The Sierra Club of Rochester organized this annual event to honor endangered species all over the world.

Canada Geese docked along the Genesee River

The pictures below are part of an art installation within the foyer of a Syracuse University gallery. The casts of these marvelous creatures are symbolic of an ancient mystery which surrounds everything around us. Where did we come from? How did we begin? How did anything begin? What is the meaning of this thing we call existence? What does it mean to exist as a thing without meaning?

On the shelves of the Hickey Center for Interfaith Dialogue reception room/library

Rhino at the Seneca Park Zoo. All I could think was he doesn’t belong here.

Shell found at the bottom of the Seth Green Trail in Rochester, NY.

Painted turtle at Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge in Alabama, NY. Yes, there is an Alabama, NY.

Bees in Perinton, NY