1 00:00:15,305 --> 00:00:18,185 Speciesism is an arbitrary form of discrimination 2 00:00:18,185 --> 00:00:20,876 against individuals based on their species. 3 00:00:20,976 --> 00:00:24,996 We discriminate against other animals by disregarding their interests 4 00:00:25,096 --> 00:00:29,838 not to suffer, to live in freedom and to pursue happiness in their own way. 5 00:00:29,938 --> 00:00:30,960 For example, 6 00:00:31,060 --> 00:00:33,884 when we keep them in overcrowded conditions in farms, 7 00:00:33,983 --> 00:00:37,198 when we kill them to eat their bodies or use their skins, 8 00:00:37,298 --> 00:00:39,353 lock them up in zoos and aquariums, 9 00:00:39,453 --> 00:00:43,722 or force them to perform "tricks" or exercises against their will. 10 00:00:44,557 --> 00:00:48,806 However, it may be more useful to think of speciesism as a system of oppression, 11 00:00:48,906 --> 00:00:51,591 like patriarchy or white supremacy. 12 00:00:51,691 --> 00:00:54,326 But what exactly is a system of oppression? 13 00:00:54,976 --> 00:00:58,543 A system of oppression is a set of practices and beliefs 14 00:00:58,643 --> 00:01:01,821 rooted in all aspects of a society - 15 00:01:01,921 --> 00:01:04,641 economic, social, political, cultural - 16 00:01:04,741 --> 00:01:07,879 that puts certain groups at a disadvantage, 17 00:01:07,979 --> 00:01:10,084 exclusion, or marginalization. 18 00:01:11,070 --> 00:01:14,540 Those in these groups are then treated as "the other", 19 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:17,754 as opposed to what is "normal" or acceptable. 20 00:01:17,854 --> 00:01:19,954 This will reflect in their habits, 21 00:01:20,054 --> 00:01:23,756 in what is considered acceptable to do, say or think 22 00:01:23,856 --> 00:01:24,971 and what is not. 23 00:01:25,071 --> 00:01:30,653 Thus, discriminatory behaviors are not only accepted by the bulk of society, 24 00:01:30,753 --> 00:01:32,205 but become the norm, 25 00:01:32,305 --> 00:01:36,098 which makes them unchallenged and often invisible. 26 00:01:36,198 --> 00:01:38,504 It is not helpful to think of oppressions 27 00:01:38,604 --> 00:01:42,047 as discriminatory actions specific to bad people, 28 00:01:42,147 --> 00:01:45,234 since it is common for them to be perpetuated and performed 29 00:01:45,334 --> 00:01:47,624 unconsciously or unintentionally 30 00:01:47,724 --> 00:01:49,771 as a result of our privileges. 31 00:01:49,871 --> 00:01:50,598 For example, 32 00:01:50,698 --> 00:01:54,465 white people are less likely to be arrested or murdered, 33 00:01:54,565 --> 00:01:57,403 just as cis men are much less likely 34 00:01:57,503 --> 00:01:59,817 to be interrupted when they are speaking. 35 00:01:59,917 --> 00:02:00,725 In short: 36 00:02:00,825 --> 00:02:04,203 Systems of oppression are systemic mechanisms that perpetuate, 37 00:02:04,303 --> 00:02:08,454 execute, justify, and conceal the violence against certain groups 38 00:02:08,554 --> 00:02:11,153 through norms, customs, and narratives, 39 00:02:11,253 --> 00:02:14,527 which are passed on through education, media, 40 00:02:14,627 --> 00:02:16,725 laws, and culture. 41 00:02:16,825 --> 00:02:18,967 All oppressions are interconnected, 42 00:02:19,067 --> 00:02:21,109 operate by similar logics, 43 00:02:21,209 --> 00:02:23,532 generally derive from common roots, 44 00:02:23,632 --> 00:02:26,552 and interact with each other in complex ways. 45 00:02:26,652 --> 00:02:27,774 For example, 46 00:02:27,874 --> 00:02:29,925 fatphobia cannot be understood 47 00:02:30,025 --> 00:02:32,225 without taking patriarchy into account. 48 00:02:32,325 --> 00:02:35,197 And we cannot fully understand class oppresion 49 00:02:35,297 --> 00:02:40,634 if we disconnect it from issues such as race, nationality, gender, or sexual orientation. 50 00:02:45,552 --> 00:02:49,259 Speciesism derives from and is rooted in anthropocentrism, 51 00:02:49,358 --> 00:02:53,806 a worldview that sees humans as the center of the universe and reason for everything. 52 00:02:53,906 --> 00:02:57,377 This view separates the human species from other animals, 53 00:02:57,477 --> 00:02:59,896 creating a human/animal binary. 54 00:02:59,996 --> 00:03:03,255 This separation is the basis for the system of speciesist oppression, 55 00:03:03,355 --> 00:03:06,797 placing those outside of "humanity" in otherness 56 00:03:06,897 --> 00:03:10,211 and allowing all kinds of violence against them, 57 00:03:10,311 --> 00:03:13,749 without the person committing these acts realizing the injustice 58 00:03:13,849 --> 00:03:16,109 or even the existence of oppression. 59 00:03:16,933 --> 00:03:20,140 These violations can happen in many ways: 60 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:21,882 In our discourses 61 00:03:21,982 --> 00:03:25,675 by considering that non-humans animals are inferior to humans. 62 00:03:25,775 --> 00:03:27,588 treating them as machines 63 00:03:27,688 --> 00:03:30,803 that only respond to stimuli and follow a program. 64 00:03:30,903 --> 00:03:32,878 Instead of recognizing their intrinsic value, 65 00:03:32,978 --> 00:03:35,462 we give them one according to their usefulness, 66 00:03:35,562 --> 00:03:37,759 beauty or "genetic purity". 67 00:03:37,859 --> 00:03:38,650 Moreover, 68 00:03:38,750 --> 00:03:42,138 when we use or commercialize their bodies, 69 00:03:42,238 --> 00:03:45,596 we put them in the categories of product or tool. 70 00:03:45,696 --> 00:03:49,491 These violations can also occur through direct violence. 71 00:03:49,591 --> 00:03:53,999 When we inflict physical and psychological harm on other animals: 72 00:03:54,099 --> 00:03:57,637 murder, torture, slavery, deprivation of stimulation, 73 00:03:57,737 --> 00:03:59,562 whether on farms, in slaughterhouses, 74 00:03:59,662 --> 00:04:01,506 rodeos, zoos, circuses, 75 00:04:01,606 --> 00:04:03,106 aquariums or laboratories. 76 00:04:03,206 --> 00:04:04,705 Or through indirect violence. 77 00:04:04,805 --> 00:04:07,817 When we buy or use products or services 78 00:04:07,917 --> 00:04:10,253 derived from the exploitation of nonhuman animals 79 00:04:10,353 --> 00:04:14,483 or deny aid or assistance to nonhuman animals in need. 80 00:04:17,396 --> 00:04:19,400 When we speak of "humanity" 81 00:04:19,500 --> 00:04:22,577 it is not a reference to the species homo sapiens sapiens. 82 00:04:22,677 --> 00:04:25,264 But to a hegemonic idea of "human," 83 00:04:25,364 --> 00:04:28,645 which may change according to each culture and historical moment, 84 00:04:28,745 --> 00:04:31,769 but which is always in opposition to the idea of "animality." 85 00:04:32,673 --> 00:04:34,038 In our society, 86 00:04:34,138 --> 00:04:35,726 the absolute ideal of the human 87 00:04:35,826 --> 00:04:38,528 is a white, cisgender, heterosexual, 88 00:04:38,628 --> 00:04:40,759 able, fit, dominant, 89 00:04:40,859 --> 00:04:43,129 productive, educated and adult male. 90 00:04:43,730 --> 00:04:45,822 The further someone strays from this ideal, 91 00:04:45,822 --> 00:04:48,850 the closer to "animal" they will be considered. 92 00:04:48,850 --> 00:04:51,562 This does not only apply to non-human animals. 93 00:04:51,562 --> 00:04:54,078 Although the word "speciesism" may suggest 94 00:04:54,078 --> 00:04:57,707 that such a system of oppression operates only in relation to species, 95 00:04:57,707 --> 00:05:01,855 it also operates on the perception of animality attributed to certain groups. 96 00:05:03,001 --> 00:05:06,102 The same systems that subject non-human animals 97 00:05:06,202 --> 00:05:07,677 also exercise their violence 98 00:05:07,777 --> 00:05:11,354 on human communities considered to be closer to the "animal". 99 00:05:11,453 --> 00:05:14,837 For example, the treatment that indigenous people receive 100 00:05:14,937 --> 00:05:19,261 is due in part to the fact that they are considered more animal than the settlers. 101 00:05:19,361 --> 00:05:21,674 - More and more the Indian is a human being just like us. 102 00:05:22,577 --> 00:05:24,775 The idea that European colonizers 103 00:05:24,875 --> 00:05:27,476 found the Americas to be an "empty land" 104 00:05:27,576 --> 00:05:29,648 is due to the fact that indigenous people 105 00:05:29,748 --> 00:05:33,415 were not considered beings worthy of freedom, empathy and respect, 106 00:05:33,515 --> 00:05:35,027 but part of the flora and fauna; 107 00:05:35,127 --> 00:05:38,600 natural resources to use, control, classify and manage, 108 00:05:38,700 --> 00:05:41,201 which justified their enslavement and genocide. 109 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,360 This is also reflected in the way we use animality as an insult, 110 00:05:47,460 --> 00:05:50,192 especially towards marginalized groups: 111 00:05:50,292 --> 00:05:52,595 black people are compared to monkeys, 112 00:05:52,695 --> 00:05:56,001 fat people to pigs and cows, and so on. 113 00:06:00,870 --> 00:06:04,207 The dominant discourses and narratives of a society 114 00:06:04,307 --> 00:06:07,255 determine what is considered true or not. 115 00:06:07,355 --> 00:06:08,589 For example, 116 00:06:08,689 --> 00:06:11,907 it is held as an unquestionable truth that non-human animals 117 00:06:12,007 --> 00:06:15,148 do not deserve the same consideration and respect as humans, 118 00:06:15,248 --> 00:06:19,029 and that killing them for food or clothing is a necessary evil 119 00:06:19,129 --> 00:06:22,588 or a right we have because we would be on top of creation. 120 00:06:22,688 --> 00:06:26,063 These narratives determine what can be thought and said 121 00:06:26,163 --> 00:06:27,681 and what must be hidden. 122 00:06:27,781 --> 00:06:29,362 In our discourses, 123 00:06:29,462 --> 00:06:33,799 myths and beliefs establish a power dynamic between humans and non-humans 124 00:06:33,899 --> 00:06:37,974 and justify or hide the harm we inflict on other animals 125 00:06:38,074 --> 00:06:40,405 with the function of soothing our conscience. 126 00:06:40,505 --> 00:06:43,952 Like the idea that eating meat or milk is absolutely necessary, 127 00:06:44,052 --> 00:06:47,162 or that crabs don't feel pain when cooked alive, 128 00:06:47,262 --> 00:06:50,172 or that other animals are not intelligent, 129 00:06:50,272 --> 00:06:52,516 don't use language, or have no culture. 130 00:06:52,616 --> 00:06:54,182 On the psychological level, 131 00:06:54,282 --> 00:06:58,508 these mechanisms suppress the sensitive individual behind our burger 132 00:06:58,608 --> 00:07:00,058 or our rodeo ticket, 133 00:07:00,158 --> 00:07:02,447 turning him into object and product. 134 00:07:02,547 --> 00:07:03,951 On the material level: 135 00:07:04,051 --> 00:07:08,256 the physical distance and inaccessibility of the centers of speciesist exploitation 136 00:07:08,356 --> 00:07:09,879 and what happens within them. 137 00:07:09,978 --> 00:07:13,354 For example, through their remoteness from urban centers, 138 00:07:13,454 --> 00:07:17,148 the use of ambiguous signage, deterrent architecture, 139 00:07:17,248 --> 00:07:19,783 or surveillance and security measures. 140 00:07:22,763 --> 00:07:26,250 If our goal is to break the yoke that subjects non-human animals, 141 00:07:26,350 --> 00:07:28,863 it is essential that we attack the root of the problem: 142 00:07:28,963 --> 00:07:30,905 the system of speciesist oppression. 143 00:07:31,005 --> 00:07:35,619 But fighting something as abstract and imposing as a system of oppression 144 00:07:35,719 --> 00:07:39,274 is a demanding task with few short-term rewards. 145 00:07:40,072 --> 00:07:42,748 There are several ways to fight speciesism, 146 00:07:42,848 --> 00:07:44,831 both individual and collective. 147 00:07:45,721 --> 00:07:48,629 On an individual level, we can share information, 148 00:07:48,729 --> 00:07:52,195 support collectives and individuals who are involved in the struggle, 149 00:07:52,295 --> 00:07:54,773 help non-human animals in need, 150 00:07:54,873 --> 00:07:58,226 or avoid participating directly or indirectly in their exploitation 151 00:07:58,326 --> 00:08:01,273 by refusing to consume products obtained from their exploitation, 152 00:08:01,373 --> 00:08:05,051 not watching shows where non-human animals are utilized, 153 00:08:05,151 --> 00:08:07,636 and not buying them as if they were objects. 154 00:08:07,736 --> 00:08:10,564 Or we can join an antispeciesist collective 155 00:08:10,664 --> 00:08:13,484 or start one with like-minded people. 156 00:08:13,584 --> 00:08:16,991 These collectives are diverse and work on different fronts 157 00:08:17,091 --> 00:08:19,095 and with different strategies and tactics: 158 00:08:19,195 --> 00:08:21,361 pressuring capitalists and the state, 159 00:08:21,461 --> 00:08:24,107 spreading the message through all kinds of media, 160 00:08:24,207 --> 00:08:26,806 organizing lectures or workshops in schools, 161 00:08:26,906 --> 00:08:29,832 causing economic damages to speciesist businesses, 162 00:08:29,932 --> 00:08:32,525 or freeing non-human animals from their cages. 163 00:08:37,344 --> 00:08:39,866 The arrogant idea that the group to which we belong 164 00:08:39,966 --> 00:08:42,126 is somehow superior to others 165 00:08:42,226 --> 00:08:44,880 has been one of the main factors leading to wars, 166 00:08:44,980 --> 00:08:46,516 genocides, exploitation 167 00:08:46,616 --> 00:08:48,336 and destruction of other animals, 168 00:08:48,436 --> 00:08:50,259 whether human or non-human. 169 00:08:51,128 --> 00:08:56,409 The total lack of respect and empathy for the people left out of the so-called "humanity" 170 00:08:56,509 --> 00:08:59,187 has allowed the annihilation of natural environments, 171 00:08:59,287 --> 00:09:02,330 endangering not only the existence of these beings, 172 00:09:02,430 --> 00:09:04,392 but also all life on Earth. 173 00:09:05,130 --> 00:09:08,805 This idea needs to be completely destroyed, 174 00:09:08,905 --> 00:09:13,444 and replaced by a culture centered on the values of solidarity, empathy, 175 00:09:13,444 --> 00:09:15,703 and respect for other people's autonomy.