Last Locations:
Barcelona, Spain: August 26 – December 19, 2012
Geneva, Switzerland: December 19 – December 20, 2012
Chamonix & Les Houches, France: December 20 – December 22, 2012
Present Location: Washington, DC
Arrival Date: December 22, 2012
Departure Date: Undetermined
Next Location: Pagosa Springs, Colorado
Arrival Date: January 6, 2012*
Departure Date: January 13, 2012*
I
just arrived back in DC. There haven’t been sufficient spare seconds to
write since I returned from my trip to Madrid and Granada ten days ago.
Since then, I have taken my last law school exam ever and have skied
the Alps. Some of these stories will have to be reserved for pictures
and for conversations that we will have days or months from now when I
see you in person and we catch up over good food and inspiration. For
now, I want to comment on the International Animal Rights Day footage that I sent out in my last update.
If
you watch the clip you can see that I was holding a small dead chick.
There are 399 other activists around me, each holding the body of an
individual whose experience with humanity lead to its premature death.
Some, like mine, had been suffocated under the weight of hundreds of
other baby chickens, discarded at the beginning of their lives for being
born male; others had been abandoned, experimented upon, fished and
tossed aside, died while awaiting death by anal electrocution before
being skinned for their fur, or fed so much that their organs rupture—as
is the case with foie gras.
I didn’t think I was going to cry.
I learned how to emotionally detach myself from depictions of animal
suffering years ago when it became clear that allowing myself to give in
to the full force of empathy that accompanied such profound suffering
crippled me emotionally and rendered me incapable of being an effective
advocate.
And this action didn’t even depict suffering. Only the
quietly collected and respectfully cleaned remnants thereof. And death
itself has never bothered me much.
But it was neither death nor the evidence of cruelty that caused my eyes to precipitate.
The
first time I cried, it was for the advocates. Not for the small
lifeless creature in my hands whose placement there represented the
suffering of countless others just like him. But for the fact that my
standing there along with 400 people like me represented the power to
change the fate of countless more.
The second time I cried, it
was for the people watching. The demonstration caught the eye of a small
well-dressed elderly man and he approached us, as if out of an instinct
to save the animals we were holding. Upon realizing the futility, his
face broke into the saddest expression and he reached out to gently
stroke the head of the dog that an activist in the first row was
holding. He smiled with a melancholy sympathy as his eyes, like mine,
began to glisten with moisture. And it occurred to me that our actions
as advocates benefit not only the animals who we represent, but also the
people whose lives are enhanced by coming to know what it means to feel
compassion for others.
You can learn more about International Animal Rights Day and Igualdad Animal here: www.animalequality.net.
Love,
Melissa
My Random Travel Updates are a collection of emails that I send out regularly to family, friends and fellow travelers detailing my whereabouts and describing my most recent experiences. They are a tool for me to keep in touch with the people I care most about and to encourage my family, friends and acquaintances to reciprocate by sharing their stories with me. If you would like to be added to the email list or to send me an update of your own, write me at a.melissa.meyer@gmail.com.
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Random Travel Update 42
Last Locations:
Madrid, Spain: December 7 – December 10, 2012
Granada, Spain: December 10 – December 11, 2012
Málaga, Spain: December 11, 2012
Present Location: Barcelona, Spain
Arrival Date: August 26, 2012
Departure Date: December 19, 2012
Next Location: Washington, DC
Arrival Date: December 19, 2012
Departure Date: Undetermined
I wrote this late last night on the plane ride home from one of the most profound weekends of my life. My head and heart were still buzzing. Both from the experiences, and from eating a few too many Triskys and Choco-Palomitas—corn-snacks which I had discovered in the bus station in Málaga. Triskys and Choco-Palomitas are vegan, gluten free, and delicious, but not in the least bit healthy.
My weekend started with a 400-person demonstration in the streets of Madrid for International Animal Rights Day: http://vimeo.com/55311006
And ended with a trip to see Alhambra in Granada: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra
And the moments in between were even better.
Spain has officially captured my heart.
Photos and a description of International Animal Rights Day to come.
Love,
Melissa
Madrid, Spain: December 7 – December 10, 2012
Granada, Spain: December 10 – December 11, 2012
Málaga, Spain: December 11, 2012
Present Location: Barcelona, Spain
Arrival Date: August 26, 2012
Departure Date: December 19, 2012
Next Location: Washington, DC
Arrival Date: December 19, 2012
Departure Date: Undetermined
I wrote this late last night on the plane ride home from one of the most profound weekends of my life. My head and heart were still buzzing. Both from the experiences, and from eating a few too many Triskys and Choco-Palomitas—corn-snacks which I had discovered in the bus station in Málaga. Triskys and Choco-Palomitas are vegan, gluten free, and delicious, but not in the least bit healthy.
My weekend started with a 400-person demonstration in the streets of Madrid for International Animal Rights Day: http://vimeo.com/55311006
And ended with a trip to see Alhambra in Granada: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra
And the moments in between were even better.
Spain has officially captured my heart.
Photos and a description of International Animal Rights Day to come.
Love,
Melissa
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