Frank Herbert once said –
“There is no real ending…. It’s just the place where you stop the story.
Of late, there have been more and more posts on social media, namely Facebook, relating to cruelty to animals, our environment and social justice. I guess the question is this.. Most of you just hit the “like” button because we really don’t give a shit and just want to keep the peace?
A generalisation you might say? Somehow I don’t think so! We tend to go with the flow… hit ‘like’ and hope that we won’t get another post like this… If we do, we tend to either hide it, block it or, if the person continues, we just ‘get rid of them, even unfriend them!! With the advent of social media, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc, more than ever before, the plight of human & animal cruelty, animal welfare, indigenous rights, the environment and a thousand other pressing issues that have been around for many many years are now being thrust in our faces on a daily basis.
Over the years, I have been involved in a number of causes… I have been an advocate for individual rights, animal cruelty and environmental issues. In my own way, I have been active, talking about these concerns in the public arena via Talk Radio. I have not stood out or up to be counted, just plodded along in my own little way. It would be fair to say that I somewhat lost interest. Like a lot of other people, I believed I was just banging my head against a brick wall!. I no longer had the energy to continue and the powers that be, decided that there was too much content around this and I needed to focus on topical issues on the radio. I conformed and like everyone else and became another puppet, doing as I was told! Most of what I was passionate about did not stop…the cruel treatment of animals continued, treatment of fellow human beings disgusted me.It got worse, racism increased, the corporates like Monsanto, drug companies like Pfizer became more and more powerful The combined profits for the ten drug companies in the Fortune 500, 2002, totaled $35.9 billion – this was more than the profits for all the other 490 businesses put together that totaled – $33.7 billion –
It becomes a little scary when we think about it! Social Media has been around for a long time…Long before Al Gore claimed “he took the initiative in creating it”. In fact, the Internet – and its predecessors – were a focal point for social interactivity. Granted, computer networking was in its infancy, but it was a great forum for discussing mutual topics of interest, and perhaps even meeting or renewing acquaintances with other humans. In the 1970s, that process began in earnest.
Today, it is right in our face..There is nothing that is sacred. I am not going to dwell on the negativity that is thrust upon us on a daily, no, hourly basis.. I want to focus on some of the good that social media can do.. It lets us champion a cause, like the recent plight of the treatment of Bobby Calves in NZ. That created a storm and many many people took to social media slamming the organisation SAFE (Save Animals From Exploitation) This is New Zealand’s leading animal advocacy organisation. They were founded in 1932, so I think they might know a thing or two…The point here is, I have highlighted one example that made my blood boil.. It spurred be into action once again.. I must thank Ian Wishart for his brilliant piece screened on NZ television to raise public awareness of the plight of these hour old Bobby Calves. It was a distressing but accurate report which inspired a call to action not only by myself, but hundreds of others..I began some research into some other incidents and outcomes… Learned about ‘glued meat’ processed sausage, caged animals and loads more… Not that I was not already aware, but like many others had my head somewhat planted firmly in the sand..I’m not Vegan, not Vegetarian, but I have become aware, more aware of what is happening around me.. I look at the way whales, one of the most beautiful creatures on this planet, are being slaughtered, wildlife being killed for sport, forests destroyed… All of Mother Nature’s cures being driven more and more by corporate greed and profit. I recall the Mel Gibson movie “Apocalypto”about the Mayan kingdom in the height of its opulence and power and how the foundations of the empire began to crumble. Yes it was a movie, but they were a people that live in harmony with nature….until civilised man came along…The underlying point here is simple..Will you speak out? Stand up for the atrocities that are being carried out all around the world? Sure, I know we can’t right the world, but we can highlight through social media, the damage that is being done to the environment, the way animals are being hunted and killed by the rich, so they can get their rocks off.. The slaughter and treatment of the beautiful Minke whales. The treatment of our indigenous peoples around the globe and right here at home.. The homeless, destitute and those with depression and drug dependency…the list is long and most of us simply cant be bothered… Well, let my challenge to you in 2016 be to simply post a something that tugs at your heart…If everyone did so, just once…you know what? it might just make a little difference…So will you stand up and be counted ?
as Frank Herbert said….
“There is no real ending…. It’s just the place where you stop the story. ”
