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Privilege of domination
The socially-sanctioned and often even legally-protected prerogative of one group to exert arbitrary control over members of another group, often in the context of some widespread form of exploitation. This term helps distinguish those forms of domination that are socially deviant, such as kidnapping and confining another citizen, from those that receive broad support. For example, during the era of human slavery in the US, especially in slaveholding states, the utter domination of enslaved people was considered "normal" and was protected under the law. Similarly, the use and killing of animals for many purposes is now legally protected and for the most part socially-accepted, making this situation one of inherent privilege for those in the dominant group. In many cases, the privilege of domination is the gateway to financial gain through exploitation of those being dominated, as in the case of human exploitation of nonhuman animals.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Given that we domesticated these animals, doesn’t that give us the right to use them?
What about indigenous people who kill and eat animals, but do so in a way that respects the animal's spirit?
My religious tradition doesn't forbid killing and eating animals, so that makes it okay, doesn’t it?
Glossary
Abolition
Commodification
Conscience
Conscientious objection
Disillusionment
Non-participation
Non-violent social change
Path of conscience
Privilege of domination
Speciesism
Values-based activism
Vegan
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