One Man’s 30 Day Vigil For Animals Spurs National Momentum : NOLA Indymedia

It began with the simple, elegant notion that even the smallest acts of resistance can have unforeseen and reverberating consequences far beyond what the action appears to accomplish at the time.

One person, a young vegan named Derek, decided that he was tired of not speaking out, and regardless of whether anyone else would join him, he was going to speak for the animals held inside labs everywhere by holding a 30-day vigil from 11am-3pm every day in front of a Tulane University animal laboratory in downtown New Orleans. With his vigil running from November 29th to December 29th, it means he will be out there on cold winter days, on rainy days, and even on Christmas Day. Every. Single. Day.

Upon the start of his one man vigil, he was very unsure if his lone act of defiance would have any impact at all. He doesn't worry about that any longer. He has been overwhelmed by the positive responses during this first week.

Activists in 5 other cities have committed to holding protests outside of local animal experimentation facilities in solidarity with his stand, 12 people showed up to support him on his first day, and he is quickly making many friends who work in the same building as the animal lab, but who don't do research on animals.

This Friday, December 3rd, he is hosting a potluck during his vigil, from 12-1pm. He also has many other events planned to springboard his vigil into an organizing and community building opportunity for people who care about animals and think they deserve more than to be callously used in "research."

He is planning events including more potlucks, a bring your animal friend day, a sidewalk screenprinting station day to make posters, a political prisoner letter writing day, a street theater performance day, and a video showing day.

Read his personal and moving statement of why he is taking this action, follow along on his journey via funny, short accounts from his daily 4 hour stint spent outside the lab, and support him on Facebook using the links below:

Day One: So I just returned from my first day outside the Tulane Health Sciences Center, and I have to say, all in all, it was a success! About twelve people came to support throughout the day, and I exhausted all 200 of my flyers. More at: http://30daysforanimals.wordpress.com/2010/11/29/day-one-report-back/

Day Three: “So you really are going to be out here all 30 days?”
This was a question posed by a med student, before bidding me the high honor of lending her respect for my campaign. “You know, I question whether I should continue getting a PhD here and giving them money to do that,” she said, gesturing to my poster of a poor little monkey being experimented on. More at: http://30daysforanimals.wordpress.com/2010/12/02/life-is-full-o-surprises-day-three/

Website: http://30daysforanimals.wordpress.com/

Facebook Event: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/event.php?eid=177616138922016&index=1 (called "30 Days for Laboratory Animals")

And if you are in New Orleans, come hang out with Derek and spend a few hours supporting his inspirational effort.

Stay up to date with his campaign by checking in at his website often.