A Chicago animal activist was beaten and called gay slurs early Sunday morning on a CTA train.Daniel Hauff, 33, said he tried to quell a dispute between two men on the train when one of them, joined by two other riders, began yelling gay slurs and other taunts at him.The incident happened around 3 a.m. He "was released from a hospital around 6 a.m. He said his face, chest, back, knee and foot were in pain, but nothing was broken."
Hauff said he pressed the emergency intercom, and the conductor came. But the conductor soon left, Hauff said, and the train started moving again.
Hauff said the men beat him while the train was between the Wilson and Argyle stops. "And I never once threw a punch," Hauff said. "It's just not in my nature."
Dann, whom I've met, is the director of investigations for Chicago-based Mercy For Animals. In April I quoted him in a blog post about MFA's undercover video, which showed rotting chicken corpses in a facility run by New England's largest egg producer.
Like me, I'm sure most people in the animal-rights community are going to think of Nathan Runkle when they read about Dann's assault.
Nathan is the executive director for Mercy For Animals, the organization he founded in 1999 in Ohio. He was the victim of an assault around this time a year ago (December 2008). It occurred at a gay night club in Dayton, Ohio.
He suffered "two facial fractures, a broken nose, deviated septum, and severe facial bruising" and had to have several surgeries.
It's sad and ironic that two men who work to end violence against living beings have found themselves the victims of violence.
MFA has long worked to bridge the gap between the common prejudices which lead to oppression and abuses faced by both animals and minorities. In recent years MFA has joined gay advocates in gay pride marches by forming human rainbows preceded by banners declaring, "No one is free when others are oppressed." The organization has also been a lead opponent of gay rodeo events, citing the community's obligation to protect animals from needless violence.It's all connected. When people view others as lesser beings simply because they are different, they feel justified in mistreating them.
Please help stop violence in our society -- against both human and nonhuman animals. One simple and effective way is by eliminating animal products from your diet. Visit ChooseVeg.com for more information.
(In this April 2009 photo by Angela Rowlings via BostonHerald.com, Dann Hauff tells reporters about the suffering Mercy For Animals uncovered at a New England egg-laying facility.)
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9 comments:
Oh no. This is terrible news. What a sick irony. :(
I will send my best wishes to the folks at MFA. Thanks for informing us.
Those poor, pitiful, pathetic, troubled souls, beating up on someone who they're threatened by, who has done nothing to them, for some reason. Sometimes I wish I could use my martial arts skills, but I know an eye for an eye is not the answer. They need some serious help. I tried to comment on Daniel's Facebook post, but my Blackberry would not transmit my comment. So I am hoping Daniel will read this blog. Thanks for bringing awareness to this dispicable incident.
This is truly a tragedy. Is it common for vegans to be pacifist? I thought it was just a stereotype used when omnivores are trying to be mean ("vegan pussy," etc.). I'm a vegan, and I'm a big fan of the 2nd amendment and the right to self defense. Not that I want to have to defend myself, I hate violence as much as the next reasonable person. Am I an outlier?
PS: even though I disagree with him on self-defense, I admire Daniel for sticking with his convictions even in the face of personal harm.
David, I'm guessing more vegans are pacifists than not. Although I would think that even many pacifists would view self-defense as justifiable. (I would.)
Terrible, terrible news! I definitely agree with David, we have a right to defend ourselves, if someone outright attacks us. We can't let ourselves be bullied, whatever our gender, sexuality, etc. I don't look like much, at first glance, but if someone tried to lay a hand on me, they would be truly sorry.
He is definitely defending himself; just not physically. He and his partner have gotten the story covered by the Chicago Tribune and are seeking legal justice. These 3 men will pay for their horrible actions.
@Tracy "Although I would think that even many pacifists would view self-defense as justifiable."
What is a pacifist if not someone who refuses to commit any acts of violence, even those in self-defense? If a pacifist is merely someone who doesn't like war or fighting but will do so when the situation demands, then all but the truly sociopathic would qualify.
@Anonymous I think that even Daniel would agree that we have a right to defend ourselves, but he has waived that right for moral reasons the same way that vegans waive the right to eat animal products.
Protip: Don't be a hero. If people are fighting, it's not your job, my job, or anyone else's job (unless they're wearing a badge) to break it up.
“I am sometimes asked 'Why do you spend so much of your time and money talking about kindness to animals when there is so much cruelty to men?' I answer: 'I am working at the roots.'”—George T.Angell
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