Every day should be fur free, but Fur-Free Friday is the day of protests that takes place on so-called Black Friday, the day of frenzied shopping after Thanksgiving that so many merchants count on to bring in revenue. I have always stayed home on this day; I’m not a shopper and I hate crowds and the commercialization of the holidays; well, that’s another blog post. But as I’ve become more involved with animal rights and call myself an animal activist, I had to get myself on Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and head to Union Square in San Francisco to be part of the protest with Direct Action Everywhere (DxE).
Union Square is, of course, ready for the holidays. The giant tree is up, and the crowds are big.
Santas abound, including the creepy Santa clown, Stephen King variety.
But we are here for Fur Free Friday.
I couldn’t help but notice the disconnect on the part of Macy’s with its holiday windows. The wonderful people at the San Francisco SPCA have their yearly window display featuring adoptable animals, and at the time of my viewing the had adopted out 34 already, yay!
But just a few windows away is a display promoting fur as fashion. Loving one kind of animal and killing another for its fur makes no sense to me. None. Nada. They all want to live. And no animal should suffer for fashion.
I met up with the group and we got ready to do action! And it wasn’t just human activists; we had 4-legged activists with us too.
Attire is important–it sends a message, whether in-your-face or of the more symbolic variety.
Rabbits are killed by the millions, as well as cats and dogs, for meat and fur. They deserve to live, just like us.
The amazing Priya Sawhney of DxE led us on the march, with chants, banners, signs, and a police escort.
I am continually inspired by the young activists of DxE; their passion and energy is contagious.
We ended the march with a performance of Sia’s haunting song “I’m in here”, with Sara Muniz and Jason Andreas Biz on guitar.
If you can’t get out on a protest but want to let retailers know that selling fur is wrong, you can take actions as simple as mailing a postcard such as this one, targeting Nordstrom.
A day of activism really works up on appetite; a friend and I enjoyed a vegan lunch and coffee afterward. Hopefully vegan options will continue to become more commonplace.
After making my way back home, I had to go in and sit for a while with our newest foster cat Kianna, recovering from a fractured pelvis. I am so grateful for organizations like the East Bay SPCA for giving her a chance at life.
If you feel inspired to join us, the next action is this Sunday, November 29 at Dolores Park.
I hope to see you there! We will keep protesting “until every animal is free.”
le monde de geneviève 