29/07/2023
What are the Incognito Animal Rights Protests?
Inspired by a confluence of animal rights groups, events and public figures (such as Anonymous for the Voiceless, Canada Abuses Animals, The Smiths and Jeremy The Ape), the Incognito Animal Rights Protests are a streamlined form of activism, differing from the conventional protest style of the AR (animal rights) community. Using a blend of signs featuring objective truths (non-graphic citations of legal, standard industry practice in Canada) and thought-provoking questions (as pictured in the page's cover photo during the inaugural Incognito Protest held in Montreal, Quebec), we will challenge passersby to personally confront their conditioned beliefs and choices, without interaction with activists.
I chose for these protests to be done incognito and in silence so as not to incite defensiveness and to lessen the power struggle between “us” and “them” (vegans and carnists), while remaining as compelling as possible (with a somewhat anarchic edge). The vision for these protests is to evoke a distinct psychological experience for the onlooker, wherein while reading the signage in its intended chronology, the individual will have to internally answer to the increasingly difficult questions (crafted in a way that aims to circumvent "personal attacks"), starting from the first: "Do you know how animals die?" (meant to draw in the individual) until the final question: "What is the price of life?" (meant to be the most abstract). The questions become harder to answer, as a new one is asked in sequence to each piece of legislation, wherein the onlooker is becoming simultaneously more informed of the plight at stake. (Note that the order of the legislative signs is more intuitive than strategic.) During these protests, there are also no pamphlets to distribute, nor specific website that folks can direct themselves to for more information (just the sources of the legislation cited on the signs). The appeal of this demonstration is to remain “enigmatic” so as to increase the level of intrigue from passersby and let the content of the signs speak for themselves.
As this is a newly-emerging form of activism, and another city in Canada has expressed interest in replicating this type of event, I will be working on creating a standard briefing/structuring protocol to make this type of protest more universal and uploading files for digital downloads of the signage I created for those who wish to use it. I will update this page as needed when that is done. If you are located outside of Canada and are interested in hosting an Incognito Protest, please message me so that I can try to help you replicate this type of event seamlessly. I am, within Montreal, also working on different ideas for the various locations of these protests (which makes it so that the content of the signage is subject to certain changes). (Changes in general are inevitable as I continue to operate this type of work.)
•••
More about the inspiration behind the Incognito Animal Rights Protests:
As animal rights activists, one of the biggest challenges we face in effectively disseminating the message of veganism is public perception and credibility. Unfortunately, activists are often ridiculed depending on the style, tone and degree of confrontation from which they speak out, perform demonstrations, or “disrupt” places of ‘false peace’ (e.g: carnistic restaurants) - and, of course, due to the media bias that is inherently anti-vegan, which influences public perception. This causes the message of veganism to become diluted, and shifts the focus off of the victims and the recognition of the role that those who practice carnism play in their plight.
Moreover, when it comes to animal rights activism, some are torn between wanting to speak for the animals but being conflicted due to a lack of resonance with existing outreach protocols in animal rights groups or styles of speaking out. I was inspired to create the Incognito Protests due to my own lack of resonance with certain discourse or obtrusiveness in other existing protests/demos.
While participating in an Anonymous for the Voiceless march last year (2022) in Montreal, I saw how anonymity, silence and uniformity captured the attention of onlookers in an unparalleled way, evoking fascination and respect (which inspired the aesthetic of the Incognito Protests). I was also inspired to explore more of the official Canadian legislation for animals after attending the inaugural Parliament Hill protest against legal and systemic animal abuse in Canada held by Canada Abuses Animals in 2022 (which inspired the content of the legislation). Jeremy The Ape's peaceful activism style, drawing people into outreach with questions rooted in relational literacy, inspired some of the questions I decided to use for the signage. Last (but certainly not least), I was inspired by the harrowingly-sung lyric in The Smith's song, "Meat Is Murder" (Do you know how animals die?) which lingered with me since the day I heard it - and knew I had to include this in the signage as well. (Please note that in order not to be confused with the existing Anonymous for the Voiceless chapter in Montreal, I decided to use standard plain paper mache masks (not affiliated with the animal rights group Earthlings Experience) for these protests. Please also note that the Incognito Animal Rights Protests are not affiliated with any of the aforementioned groups, events or public figures.)
Thank you for reading, and please message this page with any questions you may have!
-Stamatina (Tina) D.
(Est. June 2023 in Montreal, Quebec)
