In response to undercover videos from animal welfare groups depicting cruelty to and torture of animals in large scale farms and food processing facilities, state legislatures are passing tough new laws to crack down on individuals and employers who abuse animals.
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Ha! No, just kidding, they're passing laws making it illegal to record video of factory farms, slaughterhouses, and processors, or to apply for a job with any of those without disclosing involvement in animal rights groups. These efforts are remarkably similar to last year's effort to pass laws (most notably in Illinois) criminalizing video recording of on-duty police.
In both instances the argument that, "If you're not doing anything wrong, then you have nothing to worry about!" is conspicuous in its absence.
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I guess that applies only to the rights of individuals, not of corporations (which are people, right?) and police (who demonstrably are not).
J. Dryden says:
It is a tried and true maxim of life that whenever anyone uses the phrase "Move along–nothing to see here," he is lying.
Middle Seaman says:
In Bush's time photographing caskets of soldiers who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan was prohibited. Only is democracies information flow is free. Oligarchies are way more restrictive.
Rosalux says:
Oh yea, and also there's the fact that toxic waste from factory farms is a leading cause of river pollution and global warming. But move along – nothing to see here folks! When we've made this planet completely uninhabitable, we get a second one right?
Sean says:
Corporate Rule, Corporate Privilege. Who ever thought that of all the dystopian classics of the 20th century, it would be 'Rollerball' and 'RoboCop' that would come true. Oh, wait, that would be ME!
Sean says:
That's the 1975 version of 'ball, btw, not the dreck-tacular remake…
eau says:
Meanwhile, vegetarians like myself are bombarded with arguments and exposes about the hidden evils of soy and tofu and the like by passive-aggressive family members and acquaintances (furnished by the mainstream media, for whom "press release" and "research" have become interchangable terms).
I love the quote in the article to the effect that people are only shocked by the footage of these places in the same way they'd be shocked by footage of heart surgery. Because heart surgery often involves boiling or flensing the live patient, breaking his or her limbs to better fit the hospital bed, or keeping the patient in a cage that is actually smaller than his/her body. It's just exactly the same! Why didn't I see it before? Pass the veal, I'm convinced!
Arslan says:
Hold on a second…It's almost like you're suggesting that the state, with its legal coercive power, exists only to serve the interests of the ruling class(i.e. property owners).
LK says:
I especially liked the bit in the linked article, where they state that in order to not appear as agri-specific legislation, they are making these laws cover essentially all employers. So I'll have to disclose my Greenpeace membership to Exon when I apply for a job, or my former AFL-CIO credentials to Wal-Mart, or even being a Knicks fan when I apply for a position with the Nets.
Would journalists be covered by these rules as well? Is this not effectively a ban on any and all non-press-release investigative journalism?
c u n d gulag says:
F*CK YOU, MAYANS!!!
Oh, well…
Now, a lot of will just die slowly of something preventable, like tainted meats and veggies, before the planet, rightfully, decides to have a good enema to eliminate us, or develops a high enough fever, thanks to us, to rid itself of this human infection.
Mal Rootkit says:
W/regard to 'human infection', those who enjoy apocalyptic sci-fi stories that aren't too long might like The Last Flight of Dr. Ayn by James Tiptree, Jr. A/K/A Alice Sheldon.
BigHank53 says:
Seen many pictures of the bitumen oil spill in Arkansas? No? It's a no-fly zone now! Because taking some picture from the air would be….um….because shut up, that's why.
John says:
One might wonder where the Party of Freedom is right now, when legislation is being passed to restrict what an individual can do with their camera.
But who are we kidding? Freedom is defined as the right of the Proper people to oppress everyone else.
Matt says:
@Sean – I suspect a lot of folks in Detroit *wish* Robocop would come true. Massive new development (ED209s and all) beats demolishing all the houses, shutting off the streetlights and utilities and calling it quits…
Sarah says:
It's not the Mayans' fault that stupid people came up with and perpetrated a stupid interpretation of their calendar.
Well, mostly says:
Truth, justice and the American way…marching ahead to the tune of ALEC drafted zombie legislation.: always 180 degrees off phase.
There's no pleasant way to put animals on the dinner table. Better not do anything that makes it appear unseemly: it scares the women and horses and we'll get you.
New sources of depression abound. No wonder humans need almost as many anti-depressants as they give livestock.
Andrew Laurence says:
I've always been a bit uncomfortable with "If you're not doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to hide." I'm not ashamed of having sex with my wife, but we'd both prefer others not see or hear it. Still, as a meat eater who wants animals to be treated humanely before they're killed for my dinner plate, I think these laws are misguided.
Major Kong says:
Freedom is on the march!
Bill says:
It's economically unfeasible for "property" to be treated humanely.
Jane says:
thanks for the link. This is awful. We really do need to know, and we're being prevented from finding out.
JohnR says:
@Andrew: "I'm not ashamed of having sex with my wife, but we'd both prefer others not see or hear it."
Hmm – non-exhibitionist sex? Kinky! Are you _sure_ you're a Liberal? Disregarding the whole "cruelty to animals" bit, which is almost a red herring here, I suspect the point is more to avoid any documentation of unsafe and even dangerous practices in the process (not just to the workers, but also to the future eaters of the meat and meat by-products involved). Still, I could be wrong – it might be just the bad PR that's the issue here.
Bill says:
YEAH JUST BAD PR
Ruthie says:
Ed: I appreciate a good rant as much as anyone. That being said, let me poke a few holes in your argument–because the un-lawyered life just isn't worth living!
1. RE your comparison of secretly videotaping corporate personhood vs. secret videotaping of police: Corporations are only bound by the US Constitution to the extent provided by legislation and case law. Their corporate property is private property, and they have a right to control who goes on it. They also have the right to protect their assets–which includes their business reputation as well as the animals. Even government inspectors who show up for unscheduled visits must have procedural warrants issued for these visits. In most cases, if inspectors find violations, they must also give the owner the opportunity to cure the violation.
Police, on the other hand, are state actors. So when the police cause a dog to "alert" on pot that isn't there, or decide that they can beat up on a Hispanic just because of his presumed legal status and allegedly "resisting arrest," it is respectively an illegal search, and false imprisonment and battery under color of law. These are forms of search and seizure prohibited under the 4th Amendment.
2. The Act: Read it. The shorter version: It prohibits acts related to trespassing, such as: taking video with intent to defame, damage or destruction of property, etc., and lying on your resume. The latter is already legal grounds for termination. While I don't think people should have to reveal their political affiliations to get a job, one shouldn't be able to secure employment under false pretenses, then avail oneself of state and federal whistleblower provisions. So if the PETA people want a job killing chickens for meat, they're more than welcome. Shift starts at 4:00 a.m. Bring your own work gloves. Leave your camera at home.
Mingent Whizmaster says:
"Probable cause!? Of course we have probable cause!
We're the cops!"
Steve in the ATL says:
"Sean Says:
April 8th, 2013 at 2:40 am
That's the 1975 version of 'ball, btw, not the dreck-tacular remake…"
Needless to say. See also "Assault on Precinct 13"
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