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Strategic Action for Animals: A Handbook on Strategic Movement Building, Organizing, and Activism for Animal Liberation (Flashpoint)

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THANKING THE MONKEY: RETHINKING THE WAY WE TREAT ANIMALS. STRIKING AT THE ROOTS: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO ANIMAL ACTIVISM. FARM SANCTUARY: CHANGING HEARTS AND MINDS ABOUT ANIMALS AND FOOD. SKINNY BITCH...IN A BOX. With all the recent popular releases on the topic of animal advocacy, 2008 feels as though it's shaping up to be the year of the veg*n. (Even Oprah's getting into the act, y'all!)

Social psychologist Melanie Joy joins the conversation with her first book, STRATEGIC ACTION FOR ANIMALS: A HANDBOOK ON STRATEGIC MOVEMENT BUILDING, ORGANIZING, AND ACTIVISM FOR ANIMAL LIBERATION. Joy's goal is simple: to encourage fellow activists to maximize their effectiveness, by carefully weighing, analyzing, and strategizing their activism. Because the animal liberation movement will never have more money or (entrenched) power than the corporate and political forces we're fighting, the only way we can triumph is through strategy.

A "strategic movement," Joy explains, is one which thinks globally, but acts locally. Before engaging in a piece of activism, animal advocates must think about how the action will impact the animal liberation movement as a whole. Additionally, every isolated piece of activism must be considered in relation to those that precede and succeed it. Every lofty goal is comprised of a series of minute steps or tasks; instead of shooting for the stars and burning out before takeoff, animal activists must set reasonable goals and embark on a carefully mapped journey. Such meticulously crafted plans take time, dedication - and strategy, strategy, strategy!

Part of "strategic activism" involves diversity: in individual activists, in the goals and approaches of various animal liberation campaigns and organizations, in the messages employed and the demographics targeted.

Citing Bill Moyer's DOING DEMOCRACY, Joy describes the "different types of activists and organizations that work simultaneously and in different roles": the Citizen - "the upstanding member of society, the one to whom the mainstream can easily relate"; the Reformer - who "may or may not be more radical than the Citizen"..."he or she typically works in a professional opposition organization"; and the Rebel - who "is more confrontational, participating in rallies and perhaps civil disobedience". As examples of each, Joy offers up the SPCA, the PCRM and ALDF, and PETA, respectively.

Joy touches upon several controversial topics in her discussion, namely "mainstreaming" the movement, the use of violent vs. non-violent tactics, the abolition/reform divide, and coalition building, particularly in relation to intersecting or parallel oppressions. While I don't wholeheartedly agree with her perspective on the first three issues, I'm both happy and grateful for her emphasis on intersecting "isms". Too often, animal advocates must deal with speciesism in other social justice movements; yet, I've also encountered a disturbing amount of misogyny, racism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, ageism and sizeism among animal activists. Activists of all stripes must accept that these forms of oppression are all related - and in order to defeat one, you must defeat them all.

Many of the suggestions within STRATEGIC ACTION FOR ANIMALS are geared towards grassroots animal advocacy organizations rather than individual activists. For example, you'll find chapters on organizing and managing a grassroots organization, developing and waging successful campaigns, and maintaining the health of your employees, volunteers and organization. Since it's a rather slim volume, I thought the book could have covered the topics of time management, conflict resolution and leadership a bit more, rather than referring the reader to additional resources. However, for organizations, it's a useful starting point for building a successful, long-lasting animal advocacy group. If you're in a position of leadership in an animal advocacy organization (or are thinking about starting your own group), I recommend reading STRATEGIC ACTION FOR ANIMALS in conjunction with pattrice jones's AFTERSHOCK, also from Lantern Books.

Individual activists will also enjoy STRATEGIC ACTION FOR ANIMALS. If you're looking to volunteer for (or work with) an animal advocacy group, you can use the lessons in STRATEGIC ACTION FOR ANIMALS to "shop around" for the right group for you - a sustainable, strategic group with a cooperative (vs. competitive) power structure that will value both your hard work as well as your personal wellness.

For fellow activists, I recommend STRATEGIC ACTION FOR ANIMALS along with AFTERSHOCK and perhaps Mark Hawthorne's STRIKING AT THE ROOTS. Whereas STRATEGIC ACTION FOR ANIMALS concentrates on movement-building, STRIKING AT THE ROOTS offers a number of specific types of activism that the individual can engage in, either alone or as part of a group.

Melanie Joy's book Strategic Action for Animals is basically all the wisdom of the animal movement distilled into 160 pages. Joy's practical take on activism, her focus on the reality of our fight and not on the theoretical, will help both new and experienced activists find their way towards effective advocacy. She covers many of the hangups we face when organizing groups of people or campaigns and offers solutions to them. This book is not only a refreshing read, but a great resource for those who want to do all they can to help animals.

"Strategic Action for Animals" is more than a handbook, but rather a fundamental treasure that will guide any animal activist. This book articulates and outlines a crucial component to the movement - - strategy. The Animal Liberation Movement could become overwhelming, challenging and disheartening at times. However, Strategic Action provides a step-by-step "game plan" and illustrates the principles of strategy, to become more effective and efficient in the movement.

As an animal activist and lifelong animal friend, I found this book to be honest, positive and inspirational. Dr. Melanie Joy is a true inspiration to activists everywhere and has become a key player in the Animal Liberation Movement. Her work is profound and empowers even the youngest of activists to believe in oneself to achieve anything.

Strategic Action, through and through has an unforgettable positive tone that inspires the reader to become empowered by the movement to reach what Joy states as "sustainable activism." I highly recommend this book and believe that its a must for anyone that loves animals and believes in the power of their liberation.

If you are new to making change for animals, Dr Melanie Joy has complied an excellent guide for understanding what we are up against, the weaknesses that exist in the systems that support animal abuse and where the opportunities for effective advocacy for animals lie.

As someone that has been working to help animals for the past five years, I wish this book had been available earlier to help guide me in an area fraught with distractions, trauma, burn out and wastes of resources.

Essential reading for anyone interested in becoming effective in animal advocacy,

If we are actually going to make progress and continue to move forward as a movement, I recommend every animal advocate read this book and pass it around to others.