New statement from Kevin, April 1st 2014.
Kevin is an animal rights activist serving a 30 month prison sentence after being arrested for “possession of burglary tools” in rural Illinois. He was accused by prosecutors of having and planning involvement in fur farm raids in the area.
by Kevin Olliff / SupportKevinAndTyler.com
In prison, you want to know that others are taking up where you left off. So when people ask me what they should do to support prisoners, I tell them to send movement news. Even in the grayest correctional bubble, word of critters scurrying from concentration camps is enough to bring a sense of freedom flooding back into any activist’s veins.
But these days, when I hear the latest, it often has the opposite effect.
So much of the news seems to be drama, divisiveness, and internet declarations. I will avoid specifics, but suffice it to say that none of it contributes to achieving our objectives – and none matters to animals on the verge of death in their cages.
I am lucky that I will never know a fraction of those animals’ hardships, but I do know that one of the hardest aspects of life in a human prison is the constant feeling of others looking over my shoulder. Guards look over my shoulder for adherence to prison regulations, inmates look over my shoulder for conformity to their culture, feds look over my shoulder to catch me slipping on recorded phone calls and visits. There is no escape.
And yet, regrettably, this problem will not end with my incarceration. That is because the talkers and dividers in my own movement love looking over the shoulders of others. I prefer my animal rights with only four guidelines, but these people have more rules than a parole officer. They insert themselves into activist’s private lives without a warrant or probable cause. And they insist on ideological rigors unrivaled by the FBI. When it comes to taking the focus off the animals, they are better cops than the cops.
Perhaps my ego isn’t big enough, but I have never been under the impression that my own ideas somehow represent the absolute key to right and wrong in the universe. So when I became involved in a modern international social movement, I suspected that I might meet an individual or two who didn’t act or believe exactly the same as me. Troubling as that may be for some, involving yourself in activism means involving yourself with a diverse bunch of people. Some of us are lawyers, some of us are felons. Some of us go running, some of us eat dessert. Some of us have photo projects of vegan runners or vegan desserts. Some of us are promiscuous, some married, some neither – and some both. I’m not defending or deriding any of these choices. To be honest, I don’t really care. Neither should you.
If you dislike someone or their opinion, feel free to simply not talk to them. It does not help to gossip, quibble, or drag the whole movement into it. The same goes for who-said-what on the internet about which ideological (read: irrelevant) position, or the inclusiveness of the editorial decision-making process for your local group’s last Facebook post. Time to spare on these trifles is a human privilege.
To me, that such things are even noticed is puzzling. But that they impact our activism is tragic. It breaks my heart that this nonsense becomes a top concern for the miniscule segment of humanity on whom the animals have to rely. And as much as it may weight upon me, for them it is a death sentence.
When your passion burns, you often light those around you with the same fire. This is what makes dramatic people so dangerous – their bitterness tends to catch on. But this is also a source of strength for the sane: Every truly dedicated activist – who holds this struggle in their heart, who refuses to be sidetracked by negativity and cliquishness – is in turn shining a light for others. Young people getting involved deserve to find out now that what really matters isn’t your politics, your popularity, or how many times you can use the word “organizer” in reference to yourself. All that counts in the end are your tangible achievement for animals.
Kevin Olliff
P.S. On that note, endless thanks to The Bunny Alliance for shining the light for the animals shipped by China Southern Airlines. Congratulations.
***
Please send Kevin a letter of support:
Kevin Johnson, M42382
Vandalia Correctional Center
P.O. Box 500
Vandalia, IL 62471
