My friend is in jail, and the world is our playground

Zoe Rosenberg made national headlines for rescuing chickens. The animal movement should keep experimenting with creative tactics.

I.   MY FRIEND IS IN JAIL

Last week, my friend Zoe Rosenberg was incarcerated. She joins the nearly two million Americans confined to jails and prisons, and the one billion animals caged within our nation’s factory farms. The government will subject her to solitary confinement for 23 hours of the day, and it is already depriving her of the proper care to treat her Type I diabetes. The saving grace is that Zoe’s jail-stay will be short: less than a month.

Zoe’s case has attracted lots of attention because it’s not just about her; it’s about humanity. Her case asks of us… how should we relate to our fellow creatures? Is it okay for our food system to treat animals like objects? And, is it okay for our government to uphold this relational status? Punishing the people who care for animals, rather than the corporations that abuse them.

Judging from the public response, a growing number of people recognize the absurdity of Zoe’s prosecution. Her incarceration, in fact, has launched her from our ten-person student club to our nation’s largest newspapers: The New York Times, The Washington Post, and USA Today, to name a few. Similarly, her social media presence has amassed over 200k followers, drawing the eyeballs of hundreds of millions of viewers.

Watching my former, student club co-organizer become a national news story is somewhat surreal. I’ve always thought famous activists like Zoe were different. More courageous, more compassionate, more crazy. These were people I admired from afar… I didn’t think I could ever be like them.

Spending time around Zoe has made me rethink all that because, well, she’s actually pretty normal. Like most undergrads, she’s a bit socially awkward and gives off an ambient, anxious energy. She has an undying love for memes, which will occasionally consume her with fits of laughter that make you slightly uncomfortable. And she has an unruly obsession with Harry Potter (she once confessed to me, during a discussion on toxic vegan purity, that the only time she broke veganism was to try “butterbeer” at Harry Potter World).

As the president of our animal rights club at UC Berkeley, Zoe’s leadership was both powerful and slightly uninspiring. On the one hand, her persistence was the sole reason our pressure campaign was at all successful (the dining hall ultimately dropped a few factory farms from its supply chain). On the other hand, Zoe had minimal rizz, and she often struggled to connect with our fellow students. Club meetings rarely grew beyond ten people.

Seeing Zoe for her whole self—her goofy, persistent, meme-loving self—it’s given me insight into the young woman who habitually risks her freedom for the animals. Yes, Zoe is a very brave and effective activist… but she doesn’t have any superpowers. Above all, she is simply persistent. When Berkeley’s dining hall cast doubt upon our animal cruelty allegations, she conducted an investigation of its factory farm suppliers. When administrators refused to meet with us, she organized disruptions to force the issue. It is this persistence that has driven Zoe to national recognition. And it this persistence that has launched our fringe social issue into the mainstream once more.

II.  THE WORLD IS OUR PLAYGROUND

Being around this relentless energy has completely expanded my conception of what’s possible. I come from a wealthy, risk-averse Asian family… like most of us, I was taught to stick to the path. I didn’t realize I could disrupt the path. I certainly didn’t realize I could carve a new path altogether.

By bringing me along for the ride, Zoe has taught me a lesson in my own power. Need proof of animal cruelty? Walk onto the farm and take photos. Need to speak with an avoidant decision-maker? Disrupt the dining hall until they agree to negotiate. We don’t have to stick to emails and petitions and traditional lobbying. We can literally just do things.

To solidify this concept, I’ve been thinking about the metaphor of a playground. On a playground, the possibilities are limitless. We can build fortresses, traverse lava landscapes, travel to far-off lands. The expectations of adulthood often stamp us of this creativity, but if we are able to hold onto our imaginative selves, the world is wholly transformed. Rather than a maze scattered with red tape, the landscape becomes an exciting and colorful playground—one that we can mold with our own hands.

I feel so grateful to have been around people like Zoe who’ve helped me form this playground perspective, and I hope to share it with everyone who crosses my path. Together, I know that we are capable of such wonderful things.

For now, my unsolicited advice to everyone reading this piece is SURROUND YOURSELF WITH BELIEVERS! It is a tragedy that our society is plagued with such fear and pessimism… that energy can really suck the life out of you. (The number of uninspiring, miserable-ass hoes who’ve told me the world will never change is actually embarrassing.) WE DON’T NEED THAT ENERGY! The world is complete with examples of well-meaning people who’ve joined forces to agitate and change-make. We are no different.

And so, while Zoe remains trapped in a cage, she has inspired me to think beyond the mental confines of my own. I hope that she does the same for you, too. Enjoy today.