April 12th, Compassion Over Killing demonstrated outside the White House, protesting the Clinton administration's opposition to a European Community ban on the importation of fur coats made from animals caught in the wild. In addition, the demonstration called for the release of several Animal Liberation Front (ALF) members imprisoned for vandalizing property and liberating animals from research labs and factory farms. Several dozen high school and college students turned out for the event, but the protest attracted a handful of thirtysomethings and an elderly woman as well. Most of the young people there seemed to dress in a similar style; baggy pants, piercings and t-shirts advertising obscure "hard-core" rock bands adorned most of the activists. The organizers of the protest provided more than enough signs for everyone to carry. Each sign had a slogan stenciled on the cardboard in boxy black letters, including "Abolish the Fur Trade," "Fur is Murder," "Stop Promoting Vanity and Death," and "Fur is Dead- Get It In Your Head." Some of the signs displayed graphic photographs of skinned animal carcasses. In contrast to the dramatic messages they carried, most of the activists were subdued as they slowly trudged in a circle. The inclement weather seemed to dampen their spirits a bit, as for most of the three hour protest it alternated between drizzle and half-hearted rain showers. The few passersby seemed intent on getting through the rain, and quickly walked past while giving the protesters wide berth. In periods when the precipitation was less intense, the majority of people passed by with expressions of studied indifference or disgust and seemed to have a visceral reaction to the bloody, explicit posters. It is not necessarily bad to show people what you are against; no one in COK likes to look at those photographs. At the same time, it's important to try to reach people at a level where your message can resonate. Using words like "mur...
