I am an abolitionist vegan & animal rights activist. I wasn’t always…in the late 80’s I became a vegetarian animal activist. The kind that wore leather dr martens & ate cheese all the while trying to educate others on animal testing, animal cruelty, exploitation etc.

yeah, I hadn’t made the connection yet. Then, in 2000, I was diagnosed with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. My then neurologist advised me to eat meat because I ‘was lacking nutrients’. I refused. As the years passed, my newly aquired illness stole my balance, the vision from my left eye, sensation in my left side, the ability to pass up a bathroom and my resolve. I couldn’t shake the ‘improper diet’ spiel the neuro dished out to me every visit. Steroid infusions, betaseron, MRIs, spinal tap, evoked potentials, blood panels, 24 HR urine catch…they scared the fuck out of me.

i started to eat ‘meat’ again, after almost 15 years. The MS isn’t an excuse, it’s a fact. I just allowed dietary monarching. You need to know that there are no perfect vegans. There are no perfect humans. If you decide to live like you give a fuck, it doesn’t matter that you haven’t been vegan for ‘x amount of years’…just stop eating animals and their by products. Stop contributing to atrocities. Think independently and make the connection that your cat or dog is also made of meat. They, too, are commodified. Killed and consumed in parts of the world. Suffering is suffering. I know that I don’t want to suffer. Therefore I don’t want others to suffer.

I went back to being a vegetarian…for 1 day. In that one afternoon I quickly educated myself on the many issues of animals for consumption. I have been vegan since. i owe a huge debt, I wanna try to make a small dent in it before I take a dirt nap.

I occupy my time painting, drawing, writing, & reading. I share space with an amazing German shepherd, Rommel (once in a life time dog), Liam [a prickly orange cat],  Puss [a rescue pigeon], Boone [dwarf/lionhead mix rabbit that came from an Amish rabbit meat farmer], & 5 ducks that will never be in anyone’s icebox.

make waves.

hyde