I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 4

8/16 - 8/22

The mayor of Nanaimo and myself.
I asked him to pretend like I was someone really famous for the photo. no big deal. Also, you know someone's a good mayor when they ask you what "chick" you're trying to impress right after you get your picture with him.

I picked up a free mountain bike from a craigslist ad, and one that assured me that it still had some salvageable parts on it, only to find that every component was rusted nearly all the way through. Not having much else to do with it, I traveled to the steepest hill in the city (which is about a mile long and pretty freakin steep) and launched it ceremoniously at 3 am after I picked up Chuck from work. Ready to jump back in the car to follow it down, it made it about 20 ft and took a hard right into someones yard. Needless to say I was disappointed.
That next morning Chuck had her appointment with her psychic, and woke me up at about 9 am with a call right afterward. What I can remember of the conversation was a flurry of excitement on her end, talking about how her psychic knew all about her family situation and that she's making the right decisions etc. with me adding a sleepy and muffled "mmhmm" and "ya" in between. The conversation ended as quickly (and loudly) as it had begun and later I wondered if I had dreamt any of it. Incidentally I did not, but now Chuck is pretty certain that moving to the United States is the right decision for her. Whether this came about from her psychic reading, or maybe a combination of something else I do not know, but I'm glad that she's figured out what she wants and is taking steps to make it happen. It's good to finally be able to spend time with someone who's driven and self motivated, you know?

Drove down to Victoria a couple days ago and visited with a friend. We stopped by a pretty rad art gallery, had some decent vegan chinese food, spent way too much money at the local infoshop, and then bought a vegan gluten free pizza (with daiya cheese!) for the drive back up. Chuck has been really sick with throat ulcers, a fever and an incredibly sore back, but we still had a pretty rad day. I haven't spent much time in Victoria since I've been here and I'm looking forward to going back pretty soon for a show that I'm playing, maybe even riding the 80 miles from here to there.


The liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who's running for Prime Minister, visited our town to give a talk and have lunch at a local french restaurant downtown. Michael Ignatieff is a big supporter of the Canadian seal hunt, so we organized a demo to hopefully have a discussion with him and raise awareness about the issue. He consistently uses the argument that the seal hunt supports First Nations people, and that opposition to the commercial hunt is a threat to their way of life. In reality, the commercial seal hunt is owned and run by white, male Norwegians, Newfoundlanders, Nova Scotians, and Quebecois; it has no correlation with any traditional indigenous hunt. Though we were getting media attention at first, we weren't sure Ignatieff was paying much attention to us protesting outside at all. We only had 10 or so people, but we still managed to be loud enough to disturb the proceedings inside. Eventually he had his PR person come out and guarantee us that he would answer some of our questions once he was finished inside looking like an idiot and kissing everyone's ass (my words, not hers). But, immediately afterward she asked us: "you guys aren't going to like, throw red paint on him are you?" we all had a really good laugh at that, so she responded with "well that's just what I heard some animal rights people do" hahaha. Here is the discussion once he came outside:



Last night I shaved off my beard, cut my hair and went for a 30 mile bike ride across 4 towns. Rode from our cabin to Chuck's work, treated myself to dinner, rode back to Chuck's work again, and then rode the last 13 miles back to the cabin at 10:15 (on a saturday night*). Riding across each town was fine, but once I got into the forest the moon went behind some clouds and I was left with only my 2 small bike lights to keep me safe on that windy rode. 8 miles of terrified biking, riding as fast as I could thinking that I'm being chased by Skinwalkers, bears, aliens or drunk drivers trying to run me down. Your mind tells you some crazy things when you're scared, and riding all alone on that stretch of road in the middle of the night was as nerve-racking as it gets. Because of how horrifying most of the ride had been I made it back in about 40 minutes from when I had left Chuck's work. Maybe I'll start doing velodrome and have Sasquatch chase me across the track.
Currently still dealing with family drama here and there, and our visit to the farm this morning was as shocking as it gets. Stanley (the ex-racehorse) had been wearing a fly jacket when we arrived and was kicking and shaking his head in a bizarre way. When Chuck removed the jacket she noticed that the chord had left an incredibly painful looking rope burn across his chest, and in seeing it immediately burst into tears. It was incredibly gruesome, and we spent some time afterward putting ointment on his cut and feeding him blackberries. Apparently his jacket had been on for several days, and Keres blames Chuck for "not taking care" of her horses, even though as of recently we've only been designated (and allowed) to come to the farm 3 days of the week. Set aside the fact that Keres was the one who put the jacket on him, which serves nearly no purpose.

We're still in the process of finding Stanley a new home. After all he's been through he doesn't deserve to be mistreated and neglected any further then he already has. It's hard to imagine that this incident wasn't intentional, and while running into Chuck's mom again while leaving lead to another argument and literally no empathy on her end. Animals deserve love and respect, and Stanley is receiving neither of those from Keres. Oh, how laws protect animal abusers... if we only lived in a world where people could actually be held accountable for the way that they treat other sentient beings.

Love always,
Mike XVX

*I will high five you if you can name the band that wrote this song.

A Song For Stanley

A Song For Stanley from mike xvx on Vimeo.

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 3

8/7 - 8/15

I don't know how this comes about, but often enough I'll be staying with a friend and manage to be there at some of their most vulnerable and life changing moments. Somehow my stays are queued in with some huge family drama, or to watch someone have to sacrifice what was once a huge part of their lives, or listen to elaborate and desperate plans to flee the country and start a new life, to realize later that they're convictions are sincere and they're actually going through with it. Not one, but all of these things have happened here in this past week, and it's going to take a minute to explain it all so try and be patient.

Chuck has lived on her family farm with her sister Keres* for the past few years, both of them together taking on the duties to care for the many animals they've rescued. Chuck being the oldest, and taking on most of the responsibilities, always felt that her sister lacked the drive and compassion to properly care for the animals she loves. There had been a lot of factors that slowly deteriorated their relationship and led Chuck to believe that the animals were no longer safe in Keres' care, but one incident in particular was enough for Chuck to feel she needed to re-home as many of the animals as she could. While away on a trip for the weekend, one of the chickens had developed an infection in it's cloaca**, and when Chuck returned she discovered that it had gone untreated by Keres even though she had full knowledge of the chicken's discomfort; her only suggestion was to just put the chicken down. What is the point of adopting a battery hen if you're just going to let it suffer and die from a treatable infection? It was at that point that Chuck made arrangements to move off of the farm and into the cabin on the beach where we both currently reside.

I thought that the space would help deescalate the growing tension between Chuck and Keres, but things only got worse from here....
There are 3 cats that live in the basement in isolation from the rest of the house (they have a peeing problem), "Dougie" and "Ron and Ginnie Weasley". Ron and Ginnie are brother and sister, and Ginnie absolutely refuses to associate with any humyns. She simply just wants to hang out up on her shelf and be left alone. But Keres always talked about how much she hated them and was trying to convince Chuck to re-home the Weasleys at the new cabin. Not wanting to take them away from Dougie, who they were very attached to, she intitially refused to break up their family since the three of them were all each other had. This didn't suit Keres, so she threw a temper tantrum where she threatened to report Chuck to the police and assured her she would "fuck her over so badly" if she didn't do as she said in regards to the cats. Keres was once a legit activist, so of course we were all taken aback by the way she handled that situation and the threat of legal action she made against a member of her own family. So (almost literally) with a gun in our backs we took the Weasley's away from Dougie and brought them to the new cabin where they are still getting adjusted. It was shitty enough to have to separate them, but having to see Dougie's reaction to it was a whole other level. We had no way to tell him it wasn't our fault that he had to live in the basement by himself and that Keres is just a fucking asshole.

The great finish to this is that Chuck's parents have sided with Keres in the disagreement, and fully support her in her own personal decision to ban Chuck from the farmhouse entirely (which probably means that I'm banned for associating with her as well). Their parents recognize Chuck as a very capable person, so they felt it necessary to support Keres regardless of the situation at hand. The only purpose Chuck has for visiting the farm now is feeding the animals that still live there and during this time is looking into new, safe homes for a few of them.

So after all this, Chuck realized there wasn't a whole lot here for her anymore now that she's been blacklisted from the family farm and far past a point of making a compromise with Keres. (But, if I were Chuck I wouldn't have compromised with her either... the day a fellow activist threatens to call the cops on you over a petty disagreement is the day that relationship is over in my mind.) Now Chuck is looking into plans to move off of the island, and potentially could be coming back with me to the states if she's able to get a work permit in the next few months. Her strength and convictions are a big inspiration to me, I don't know how many people I know that could handle the immense anxiety and loss that she's felt. It's hard enough to watch this all from the side, I can't comprehend how hard it must be to have to separate and say goodbye to so many loving and brave animals that had been in her care.

During this time we've been filling our days with snorkeling at the river and beach, reading, hanging out in town and attempting to make the Weasleys a little more comfortable in their new home. Days have been passing regularly here, and though I've felt I've gotten to know Chuck incredibly well, I feel these past 3 weeks have blown by with hardly a notice. Trying my hardest to keep my spirits up and stay positive for Chuck, though things have been pretty rough around here. I am very thankful to have her as a friend, and I hope I can be as strong a person as she has been for herself and for her animals.

Snitches get stitches,
Mike XVX

*Keres is a female greek name meaning "evil spirits". I chose a fake name for this womyn that I felt suited her actions very well, as you will read later.

**meaning chicken bum. Yes, chickens lay eggs out of the same whole they defecate from and humyns eat them. disgusting.

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 2

7/31 - 8/6

A lots been happening this week and I haven't had much time for updates, so I'll sum up everything the best I can. I may talk about things out of chronological order and I apologize if it's confusing. This is just how my brain works most of the time.

Been spending some time with the animals on the farm, getting to know all of them and connecting with Stanley, the ex-racehorse, in particular. Stanley was kept out of races because of his crooked legs and was rescued by Chuck a few years ago. Since then he's been living on the farm with the other two horses, Timber and Romeo, and terrorizing the neighbor horses in the next yard. Apparently he would climb up their fence, grab one of the show horses from next door by their jackets, and lift them up off the ground bum first. So funny! The neighbors had a fit about it and eventually installed an electric fence to keep him away. He's such a badass.
Anyway, recently I wrote a song about Stanley... I have yet to record it but I'll post the lyrics here so you can check it out:

"the first horse i'd ever had the chance to get to know
you are gentle, you are strong and you are brave
and even if your scars are cut so deep they always show
you're a warrior, my friend, and now you're safe

stanley, stanley
you deserved a better life, it's true
stanley, stanley
I can't believe the things they did to you

they burned 6 numbers in your skin
and those numbers still remain
how could animals ever trust us again?
they would have run you to your death
a forced march till your dying day
humyns must look like nazis to them

stanley, stanley
the racetrack burned a number in your neck
stanley, stanley
a symbol that we'll never forget

sadistic gambling perverts, drunk and screaming in their seats
the scum of the earth in my eyes
horses forced to run until their heart ceases to beat
but it's all just torture in disguise

our anger begs for action
though I know you never would
we're just thankful that you are ok
we love to see you happy
there's every reason that we should
your presence just brightens our day

stanley, stanley
you deserved a better life, it's true
stanley stanley
we are all so very proud of you
yes, we are all so very proud of you"

On Justin and Shawna's last day with us we went to a flea market where Chuck was sexually harassed by an older guy asking her if she wanted to play "doctor and nurse". Fuck that fool. After Chuck embarrassed him in front of a bunch of his customers he complained to one of them that he "had no trouble with the lasses" when he was a "young lad". Yeah, maybe if you had some fucking respect for other people they would show you an equal amount. Either way, Chuck is a maniac and would have knocked him out. For some reason a lot of liberal/left-ish people in the US glorify Canada and paint this picture of a tolerant, respectful, open-minded place with socialized healthcare and low murder rates. After nearly 2 weeks here I've almost got into 3 fist fights with people for calling them out on their shitty behavior, so pardon me for not agreeing with that sentiment. One of the times was at Chuck's bar when a drunk asshole was making racist and homophobic comments. He was upset that I wasn't laughing along with him when he talked about how satisfying it was to have "a little black guy making you drinks" on the beach in the Caribbean. Our conversation:

"So, uh, what DO YOU think is funny then, eh?"
"Um, jokes that aren't racist and homophobic"
"whoa whoa, I'm not homophobic! what about comedians? they say racist and homophobic things all the time and you laugh at them!"
"I don't fucking laugh at racist jokes!"
"Well I know a lot of gay guys that make homophobic jokes all the time and I don't see you yelling at them!"
"Maybe they have the right to laugh about it because they have to deal with homophobia on a daily basis!"

and from there the yelling became so incoherent on his end that I eventually gave up and just sat there quietly. A womyn he was with tried to get him to apologize to me on his way out the door, and I just stared at him and didn't react. So he threw his hands up in the air and yelled that he didn't have to be friends with everyone and stormed out. This entire time Chuck standing behind the bar with the most awkward look on her face. Sorry homie. Comically, another patron commented that they must be American; and that would explain their behavior. Chuck shot me a look and I snickered. Sorry to break it to everyone: racism, sexism, heterosexism and specieism are everywhere. Challenge it every chance you get!

A couple days later, Chuck and I got to work big time on clearing everything out of her old room on the farm and moving it out to the new cabin a few miles away. The process was painstaking, labor intensive, and it was pretty freakin hot out that day but we got it all done in pretty decent time. Her new place is absolutely unbelievable, a tiny one room log cabin overlooking the ocean set in a small, quiet community. It looked totally wrecked when we first started moving all her stuff in, but now it's super quaint and cozy - wood burning stove and all. (I'm staying with Chuck now full time here instead of at the farm which has been seriously amazing!) The only downside to this house is that the tap water is absolutely DISGUSTING! NO EXAGGERATION! The water comes from a local well, and apparently this is the worst time of year for it because the water is so low that it smells horribly of sulfur. Literally EVERY TIME we turn on the tap it stinks up the whole cabin! I refuse to shower in it; the ocean is a 5 minute walk away. enough said.

Did some chores for one of Chuck's neighbors to make some extra money while I'm here, and got to spend some time with her listening to music and chatting. Listened to her stories about how she rescued her dog from a beach in Mexico and loving her undying hatred for the police. According to her, she gives them the finger every time she heads into town. I published a zine about my tour across Europe recently and I gave her one of those, I think she liked it. Well, I hope she liked it.

Initially I was only going to stay in Canada till mid/late August, but things have been going so well here for me that I want to extend my trip as long as I can. For those of you that don't know, I was arrested at an animal rights demo a few weeks ago and our first court date is in September. I had to have special permission from the court to come to Canada, and they allowed me to stay for a month. As I was preparing to call them I was becoming increasingly nervous about what I was going to say, how I would say it and their answer. This was my conversation with the release officer:

"Hey, this is Michael ****. I originally requested a month's stay in Canada? Anyway I wanted to stay longer because I've been offered a ride down and I won't have to do a bike tour back to Portland and.....
"Whoa, whoa, does it conflict with your court dates?"
"No, it doesn't"
"Then I don't care"
*CLICK*

Score one for Mike!


Yesterday Chuck hid me in the back of her pickup so I wouldn't have to pay for the ferry across to Vancouver, BC. I laid huddled in the backseat with a blanket draped over me while we went through the gates. There was an incredibly hilarious story to follow (ask me about it sometime!) that I'm a little too embarrassed to write about here... but I assure you it's a good one, haha. Later that day we attended a demonstration against a fur shop, leafletted, and then had a delicious meal at an all Vegan Buddhist Chinese restaurant here in town. It was super super good, but some of the names of the dishes made my stomach turn. In fact, Chuck ordered me "Crispy Baby Pig" that had no indication that it was Vegan other than it was being served in a Vegan restaurant. Little bit gross, not gunna lie.

Ran some errands today and tried to relax as much as I could. A bunch of people went down south to a benefit for Sea Shepherd (www.seashepherd.org) so I'm kicking it by myself tonight at a friend's place here on the mainland. Heading back to the island tomorrow and have some awesome plans that include: video montages of the farm animals, first-time-since-in-Canada movie watching, and Thai food. Tomorrows going to be a good day!

Love always,
Mike XVX

P.S. this morning I had the best tofu scramble OF MY LIFE! Check out my friend Tara's website and food blog: http://www.caringcook.com/

I Am So Proud of You: working with rescued animals in British Columbia PT. 1

This trip and these journal entries are dedicated to all the non-humyn animals who have managed to escape and survive slaughterhouses, dairy farms, vivisection labs, rodeos and circuses. Every rescued animal that I've met in the past few years has such an amazing story to tell about the life that they had led up to that point, and I am so fucking amazed by their strength and bravery. I've chosen to help out a friend in Canada on her farm for the month of August to give her a hand with all of her "kids", as she affectionately calls them. These animals, and every animal deserves a chance at a good life; one that's free of unnecessary suffering, pain and anguish. One that's far from the reach of humyn greed and capitalism. Animals in sanctuaries manage to forgive humyns after all that our species has done to them, and that's something I'm not sure I could do. I am so proud of them for what they've made it through, and I am so proud of the humyns that dedicate their lives to helping and providing for them. Support animal sanctuaries!

7/26

it was a full moon the night before I left Portland. Some friends and I had a fire going in their front yard, and every time I leave here it gets more and more difficult. I gave going back to a relatively stable life a fair go, but either I did it wrong or I was rejected.. either way I felt like I needed to leave. So, with a broken heart and trying to fight feelings of resentment, I left with Justin and Shawna on their way up to Canada. I made some plans to spend time with a friend on her farm on Vancouver Island, helping her take care of the animals she's rescued and spending the month in BC taking some time off for myself.

Our first day was spent driving up the Olympic Peninsula, stopping to check out 4 of the worlds largest trees; one of them being the worlds largest Western Red Cedar and also the worlds largest Sitka Spruce. As well as the Kalaloch Cedar, one of the most evil trees that I have ever seen in my life. Trees are amazing (if you didn't already know).

After our tree stops we spent some time on the coast, and while I was peeing amongst some driftwood I heard Justin yelling and I saw the most unbelievable thing: A bald eagle carrying a dead Cormorant in it's talons flying about 5 feet off of the sand down the beach. We all started yelling and Shawna managed to snap off a couple photos. We ran down the beach to get a closer look (but not too close) and while we were watching the eagle devour this bird we saw a fisherman run up, throw a rock and chase him off. It was fucked up. Shawna confronted him but there was a language barrier so after some awkward moments he just packed up and left. We kept our distance from the bird and watched as the eagle came back to finish after a bit, while having to fight off other scavenger birds that were trying to get at his prey.

That night we drove up to a campground called Heart O' the Hills, which we kept jokingly asking if it was anywhere near "Land O' Lakes". haha, so dumb. Anyways, we didn't have exact change for the campground, and we decided to just not pay unless the ranger came by and harassed us (yes, asking us to pay for things is harassment). It started to get dark, and still no sign of the ranger, so I went into the wood shed next to our campsite and grabbed a stack of wood for the fire. FYI everyone, the honor system about paying for things is not very appealing when it benefits the bullshit forest service that sells off millions of trees every year to logging companies that don't give a fuck about the environment and the devastation they leave in their wake. but yeah, we were also just psyched to save $17.

7/27


Went for a 4 hour hike at an amazing place called Hurricane Ridge on the Olympic Peninsula. Had a beautiful view of Mt. Olympus and the Olympic Range all day, and were there early enough to avoid having to deal with all the asshole tourists and their loud, inane conversations. Watched some people trample the protected meadows for a photo op, and witnessed morons leaving litter in their wake. Sorry, but I lose more and more hope in the humyn race every time I encounter people on a hiking trail. Saw a baby bear and it's mama crossing the road on the way up as well, and were able to snap a couple of shots of them before they disappeared into the woods. That totally made our day.
Afterward we drove to the ferry crossing in Port Angeles, and a short boat ride later arrived in Victoria, BC. We were pulled over for some "extra questions" and were held there for at least 45 minutes, the entire time being completely positive they weren't going to let us in. They finally came over and gave us permission to enter after we were found out as being dishonest about our arrest records. I was amazed that we got through. Shit's crazy.

Drove a couple hours to our friend Chuck's farm, though she was at work by the time we got there. I gave her permission to wake me up at 2 am to go to the river to swim, but exhausted from the day of hiking I just read to her out of a horrifying book I recently picked up called "Communion" by Whitley Strieber that's about his alien abduction experience. Leaving us both feeling terrified we headed off to bed and somehow managed to drag ourselves up the next morning for our next day of activities.

7/28


Went to a beautiful private river spot where a friend of Chuck's lives and had an awesome time splashing around and floating on inner tubes. I had been eyeing a cliff that had a drop off into the river when we got there, and Chuck's friend assured me that she had jumped off before and the water was deep enough to be (relatively) safe. We walked up the side of the cliff together, and looking down I asked how high it was. She said she'd tell me after I did it. So I did it and fell for what seemed like forever, the whole time the roar of the wind going past my ears and my vision blurring. I landed as straight as I could, arms at my side, and rectum clenched (that's how you do it, not even kidding. sorry for the vulgarity). After I surfaced I looked up and she shouted down that it was 50 ft. My feet freakin hurt so bad.

Spent the rest of the day goofing off, making food from the garden, and taking care of the animals that live on Chuck's farm. All of them have such funny personalities, and I will give a brief description of all the ones I have met so far:

Natalie Portman is a turkey that was destined for slaughter before Chuck got to him. He's super friendly, and apparently likes when I play my guitar because he gobbles loudly after each song.

Stanley is an ex-racehorse that still bears a cold branded number on his neck just like the numbers the Nazi's tattooed on the Jews. He's 7 years old and loves to be scratched.

Romeo and Timber are the 2 older horses here, and they both got into some hay in the barn that they weren't supposed to eat and soon after I witnessed chuck chasing them away with a broom. So freakin funny.

Mikey, Reggie, Dougie and the 2 twin cats I can't remember the name of are a mix of semi-feral/domesticated cats that live here at the house. Dougie does a really funny bag trick
(that you can see here), and Reggie and Mikey are the kind of cats that don't want you to do anything except keep them on your lap all day.

There are also a bunch of other bunnies and chickens that live here that are too many to name.

Slept on the deck that night and watched the bats fly over my head for who knows how long. Got only a fraction of sleep last night, and woke up at one point to Justin saying to me through the screendoor: "So you're sleeping out there, huh? ...cool." Then stood there for about 3 seconds just staring at me. CREEPER.

7/29

Packed up our gear and drove out to Tofino to possibly go whale watching and camp out. Unfortunately all the boat trips were done for the day, so we drove a good deal back south and found a secluded, free camping spot alongside a lake. We blocked off the trail that led to our site with Chuck's truck, set up our tent, built a fire and just kicked it. I read some more chapters out of Communion for everyone and we all got super freaked out that night and were accidentally scaring each other over and over again in our tent. Talking about my Skinwalker experience didn't help matters either.

Oh, and we saw 2 bears 2 seperate times on the drive, one of them eating berries right next to the road. it was effing awesome!

7/30

After breakfast at the lake, we drove back down to the farm and got all our gear put away. We were greeted by Natalie gobbling at us near the driveway, and hung out with the cats. Tonight we're making some food and I'm going to try and focus on some projects I've been putting off.


I'm trying to set up some shows while I'm up here, but I'd be satisfied in just helping Chuck out at the farm and hanging around for the month. This place is beautiful, the animals are amazing and Chuck so far has been the sweetest and most accommodating host. Maybe I won't come home?*

Love Always,
Mike XVX

*Kidding, I have to come back for court. You can read more about that here: http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2010/06/400664.shtml

UPDATES!

So, I've been done with official tours now for over 2 months and it's nice to have some time off. I spent a week on the east coast for a show, and had one other in Southern California but other than that I've been taking it easy with music stuff. Though, I do have some updates for you all:

*Working on a zine about the European tour. It will mostly just be the entries from the blog, but also a little bit more explanation about certain entries because I realize now some of it can be confusing and hard to understand if you weren't present.

*Only have a few shows scheduled for this summer, but in the Fall planning to do another West (Best) Coast/partial Canada tour (though this includes Montana, Utah etc.) so get excited for that!

*Also been working on a zine for NFW! about contributions to the animal rights movement. Interviews, articles and some other stuff. Check out the blog! www.nofuckingwhey.blogspot.com

*Attempting to write some new music, I have a couple new songs that I think very few people have heard so far. I'm pretty psyched on them though, I hope you all will be too.

*Made a ton of new designs and printed a whole mess of stickers. Possibly making shirts again soon but I still have a few leftover from this last tour that I want to get rid of first. Come to a show if you want them! or if you live too far email me your address and we can work it out:
mikexvx [at] gmail.com

Other than that my life has been immersed in AR activities and events, bike rides, river swimming, forest walking, friend hugging, sunshine loving and vegan junk food eating (not such a good idea).

Anyway, Go out and enjoy your summer already!

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

Stand Up, Fight Back (Euro tour with xTrue Naturex): Wrap-up

so i was going to wait until i got home to do the tour wrap-up, but since i've had so much time to myself here in Holland i feel i should write it now.

This tour was unbelievable. I'll start with that. Some incredible turnouts for our shows, both in numbers and in enthusiasm. I constantly question my contributions to the animal liberation movement, and whether what I'm doing makes a difference in peoples lives... but this trip has offered a lot of reassurance that there are some out there that appreciate my honesty and what I feel I have to share. These past 2 months have been exhausting, FREEZING, stressful, crazy, dangerous, exciting, revealing, affirming, hilarious and educational. I could fit a lot more in there, but I think that'll do for now.

Anyways, to break down my thoughts on this trip into a more palatable format I've separated them into sections.

Veganism + the struggle for animal liberation.
One thing I will never waver on is the emphasis of a strict vegan diet. For anyone exposed to the horrors of a slaughterhouse, dairy farm or vivisection lab, for anyone educated to the ecological impact that a meat eating diet has on the planet, and for anyone interested in maintaining a healthy diet and mental balance the choice is obvious. Humyns do not need to kill animals to survive, and anything less than a diet abstaining from all animal byproducts is complicity in the cycle of violence and systematic murder of other sentient beings. Change comes from within us, and if we ethically or financially support such institutions then we are no better than the ones sliding the blade across a cows throat, or tearing a baby calf away from it's mother, or ripping open a living dog to study the side effects of a household cleaning product. GO VEGAN.

I admit changing your diet isn't the ultimate answer for animal liberation, but the fight begins on a personal level of involvement. what's the point of going to an anti-rodeo demo if you're wearing leather shoes? protesting a vivisection lab if you're smoking out in front? fighting for animal liberation if you consume the disrespected and mutilated carcasses of other creatures? Dumpstered meat and dairy is still a product of rape and murder, how can you turn your back on the animals that suffered just so you can try to put a "progressive" spin on your meat-eating diet?

But to get down to the point, the AR movement in Europe is amazing. So much enthusiasm, creativity and perseverance. We've felt welcomed in every city we've traveled to, treated like we were family and got a glimpse of how strong the global movement for animal liberation is. Going home with some new ideas, and reinstating some old ones.


Travel.
I absolutely love to travel. I really do. I find it incredibly difficult to stay in one place for more than a month and even as I write this now I'm planning another adventure. I've seen some pretty awesome and inspiring sights on this trip, ones I was expecting and lot that I wasn't, and there are even more to come in the next few months. Very glad to be traveling with such positive and easy going people as well, it's rough spending 2 months in a small car on a stressful trip with only a few inches of room for yourself, but all in all I think things went really well.

I feel very fortunate for the opportunities that I have, and considering the way that I grew up I'm glad I've been able to make the best of my life with the hand that I was dealt. Though, I should say I recognize I'm a very physically capable person from one of the wealthiest countries in the world... aside from me being male-bodied and white skinned. so maybe overcoming a rough childhood and financial hurdles isn't that impressive; but I think it's important to be proud of ourselves sometimes. Regardless, it doesn't take much to get out there and see the things you want to see, and if you want to make it happen it will. If an opportunity presents itself (and they always do): take it. That's it.

Relationships within my community and self-accountability.
I've discovered that for anyone being direct and honest about things can leave that person in a vulnerable position to others who want to take advantage of that. And these past few months have been a pretty consistent reminder that not everyone is willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, or are looking out for your best interest. Don't get me wrong, I want to be part of a community where people are held accountable for their actions, by themselves and others. It's just disappointing to be part of a society where you have to be deceptive and strategic with your emotions, and when others on the sideline are just waiting for you to show a sign of 'weakness' so they can take a stab. BUT, I believe we can live in an honest, compassionate and trusting world, and I won't let the actions of a few deter me from reaching that goal. Be direct! be honest! and show some fucking compassion!


End note.
It's been going really well for me these past couple months, though my head is still a bit torrential. Trying to get past this last year, and looking forward to the future. Had to cut some people out of my life, made new friends, saw some incredible things and had even more incredible experiences. Life is worth living, and the animals and the earth are worth fighting for. I can't lose sight of what's important.

MDG has driven this whole tour, and very well I might add. His home and his work ethic are definitely a big inspiration to me. In fact as I write this he's doing a massive clean-up job in the kitchen that I need to help with once I finish this. He's opened his home to us, and everyone in his life has been so helpful and courteous. To him, and to then I am very very grateful.

Chonga has been a constant source of positivity and fun for this trip. Always laughing and down to party. Ready for adventure at any time. He's definitely a reminder that you can still run a distro and live a relatively comfortable life while spending most of it out on the road. Oh, and we both love Saves the Day more than life itself.

Keegan booked 90% of this tour and has done a ton of work keeping it together and getting us organized. While at the same time having enough energy to rock out every night, and goof off with the rest of us. Always supportive, always willing to give constructive criticism and compliments. It's been awesome to have someone along where I can agree and stand behind nearly everything he says during his set. I got his back and he's got mine.

Endless thank you's to everyone who booked a show, gave us a place to sleep, fed us, kept us warm, argued with us, gave us criticism, sang along and just generally rocked out. If it wasn't for everyones gracious hospitality this tour wouldn't have been possible, though I fail to think of anything that could be possible without the support of your friends and comrades. Hope to see you all again and keep up the fight!

For Love and Liberation,
Mike XVX

p.s. for those of you that hadn't guessed: I've intentionally changed the names of a lot of people written about in this blog, as well as omitted certain events, conversations or whatever else. For my protection and theirs. Practice good security culture!