This isn’t about writing.
I often write books about things that enrageand infuriate me, but I fear if I write one on THIS subject, it will befinished and published far too late to save lives.
Ever heard of Green Mountain College in Vermont? Neither have I—until yesterday. And when I did, my blood BOILED!
Green Mountain College has for years had two living mascots who lived on campus. They were trotted out for sports events and festivals and parties, yoked together like they were three and four centuries ago, and forced to drag around very heavy wagons and displays behind them. Mascots they are, and most of the students there adore them. PETS.
Never had an ox for a pet? Meet Lou and Bill—oxen.
Here’s the problem, though—one that pushed a MAJOR button of mine. They’ve been around too long, Lou and Bill, and have grown old and tired—too old to do the work they’ve been doing. So the President of Green Mountain College, one august and opinionated Paul J. Fonteyn, decided that they would be sent to a slaughterhouse and butchered!
For those of you who might not know, I recently became a vegan—and if you don’t know what THAT is, it means I refuse to eat, wear, or allow myself to be entertained by an animal who really doesn’t have much to say about it, one way or the other. Now, don’t get the idea I’m running all over the country blowing up circuses or fur dealers or McDonald’s or Burger King or Steak & Shake restaurants that serve hamburger—and I’m not PUSHING veganism to anyone else. (If you want to know more, ask.) Eat whatever you want.
But I know that that ALL living creatures are sentient. They have eyes to see, noses to smell, ears to hear, genitals for reproduction, feet to walk on—so why would ANYONE believe all those things work just fine but somehow refuse to think animals have a BRAIN with which they feel fear and pain and love?
Okay, enough about my eating habits. I just mention my vegan lifestyle to set the scene for this blog. Back to Lou and Bill.
There is a huge outcry about these two oxen marked for slaughter. Several animal sanctuaries have said they would take Lou and Bill and care for them, giving them a few good years of life after a long existence that wasn’t so terrific to begin with. An OX, if you didn’t know, is a CASTRATED male bovine—and they lose their crown jewels without anesthetic. Then they are fed to become big and strong and powerful so they can lug around those impossibly heavy wagons—for work, or in the case at Green Mountain, to entertain and amuse. Several sanctuaries and private persons have offered to BUY them and care for them for the rest of their lives. Sounds great, no?
NOT great. Paul J. Fonteyn—PRESIDENT Paul J. Fonteyn—has refused. He’s decided Lou and Bill will be slaughtered, and he isn’t about to change his mind—possibly because he fears his “power” and his “authority” might, in some circles, be viewed as emasculation. Of course HE knows that word, emasculation—he owns two oxen.
The slaughterhouse to whom he offered Lou and Bill have refused, saying it will make them AND the college look pretty bad, reputation-wise. Fonteyn is now searching for ANOTHER slaughterhouse who won’t be so “picky.”
Here’s the deal, though, the one that knocked my socks off. Fonteyn’s view is that when Lou and Bill are butchered, they will then be turned into hamburger AND FED TO THE STUDENTS OF GREEN MOUNTAIN COLLEGE!
Anyone out there considering cooking and serving for dinner tonight your dog or cat or parrot that you’ve had and cared for for fifteen years?
So in addition to Paul J. Fonteyn’s being merciless, insensitive and cruel—he appears to be pretty damn stupid, too. Because all the steaks and roasts and hamburgers you eat every day are always made from cattle that are slaughtered when relatively young. Otherwise the older they get, the more tough, sinewy, gamey and unappetizing their meat becomes. For ANOTHER reason, that’s why I’m very glad my offspring and grandkids don’t eat in the Green Mountain College cafeteria.
Seeing as it’s the beginning of November, I began thinking that the President of the United States—whether Republican or Democrat—always PARDONS a turkey from execution each year, right before Thanksgiving. But then again, each President of the United States, with all THEIR ”power” and “authority” awarded to them by the Constitution and a majority of Americans who bestow it on them doesn’t fear being perceived as weak, wussy, insenstive and emasculated, and isn’t nearly as important as the president of an obscure college in Vermont.
Maybe Obama and Romney have wasted this entire year running for the wrong office.
I’d LOVE to be able to write an entire novel about Lou and Bill. But firing off this blog was much more immediate—and made me feel a hell of a lot better.
Les, as one of the cofounders of the sanctuary that offered a retirement home to Bill and Lou, only to be rudely refused by Green Mountain College, I want to thank you for lending your voice to the struggle to save their lives. It’s heartening to us here, having struggled and met so much resistance for the past month, to have strong voices like yours step in to advocate for Bill and Lou.
Pattrice – Thank you, it’s good to hear from you. As a recent vegan, so much aboiut slaughter for meat disgusts and saddens me. But the refusal of that stupid, mean-spirited man from Green Mountain College to save the lives of two beautiful giants who “served” him very well enraged me so much that I spent this entire day composing a letter to Vine as well as creating this blog—a day when I SHOULD have been writing a book!
I CHEER your work for animals, all of whom desperately need saving, and I cheer your bravery, too.
Ha, I know all about writing about Bill and Lou when you’re supposed to be writing other things. I’ve got an anthology chapter now three weeks overdue because, every day, I end up writing about Bill and Lou instead. And here I am on your blog when I ought to be working on that. It’s not just that we, as the sanctuary that stepped up, feel a responsibility to follow through no matter what. It’s also that–as you say–the combination of lunacy and arrogance displayed by the school makes your brain feel like it’s going to explode. And, of course, Lou and Bill’s brains literally will explode (from the bolt gun) if the go to slaughter as President Fonteyn insists they must.
By the way, a couple of our staff members at VINE say they’ve read LOTS of your books, so having you weigh in was especially cheering to them. (I’m planing to check out your LA series myself.) And congrats on going vegan–you won’t regret it!
I have a sudden urge to buy and read many of your books.
Sara,
Thanks, I’m very happy to hear that. But I diudn’t write the blog to promote myself—only my beliefs. I appreciate your taking the time to write to me.
Bob, thanks for the congratulations. But frankly I don’t give a flying brown rat’s ass WHY Vine wanted to adopt Lou and Bill. If their cause is promoted, good for them! It’s a cause that SHOULD be promoted. I care that Lou and Bill are being treated not as sentient beings, but as THINGS, that can be disposed of without a second thought. Why, then, I wonder, is the president of Green Mountain College so virulently adamant about their being slaughtered and then served on rye bread for lunch?
There is something terribly wrong when college students take the view that a particular issue is no one’s business other than that of the institution of “higher” learning. Colleges and universities do not stand alone. They are supported by their communities with infrastructure and services. Students are supposed to study, train, apprentice so they can contribute to a broader community.
In other words, Green Mountain College faculty, admin, and students, you’re doing it wrong. Students, your academic career at Green Mountain will leave blood stains on your resumes. Who would want to hire from this pool?
Thank you, sir, for posting this blog and for being vegan.
Thank you for weighing in, Les. You may have heard they did kill Lou on Veterans Day – in the middle of the night and supposedly “euthanized” but the body was moved off site – possibly to grind into burgers for the students? This callous act by Green Mountain College is not surprising unfortunately ~ a gander at their prized “Cerridwen Farm” photo page showed a mutilated, bloodied sheep in a wheelbarrow, seniors staring with delight at sheep hanging from rafters, and an administration person (Kenneth Mulder) loading dead sheep into the back of a pick up truck and smirking… Absolutely disgusting!!
If you have time, glance at their facebook page and read the vile comments of their “student body” – who Fonteyn praised as “civil”… makes you wonder what is going on there in Vermont. Something horrific – we now have to make sure Bill is safe – left in the hands of GMC and the powers that supposedly be, that may turn out to be a daunting task.
If I were a student there that had a humane viewpoint, I would leave quickly; also, if this killer college is listed on any resumes, Steer Clear Employers!!!
Thank you, Melody—I HAD heard about it—saddened as I’d be by the death of a family member! Not sure I can gin up to actually LOOKING at the GMC pages—but as a writer, I assure you I’ll be remembering all these smirking, self-satisfied murderers as I continue writing murder mysteries about (obviously) very unpleasant people.
Your working pair of oxen and “they” are: Bill & Lou ~ you know, the oxen you paraded around at graduations, had up on your facebook page as mascots, and the numerous photos of your farm admins and students posing with Bill & Lou and showing Bill & Lou love and petting Bill & Lou. It is telling that you do not refer to them by name.
We now know that “love” and “petting” translates into: we used you, Bill & Lou, we tendered your meat by petting, and now that you are no longer of any use to us, we are going to kill you!!
GMC now has a deserving LEGACY… and the world continues to weigh in…
Bob, I hardly think Animal Rights Advocates are creating a horrible legacy for themselves by asking to take all responsibility for two animals that a small, obscure college (and its small, obscure president) has no more use for. What on earth would it had cost them to save the lives of Lou (too late now, though, ha ha) and Bill? Arrogance? Fear for their loss of PERCEIVED power? Hysterical hanging on to their “authority?” Disagree with us: fine, that’s your right. Whining and saying “Tut tut” to truths that many people believe is MORE than a bit childish, don’t you think?
I can see it now….using some of this awful situation as inspiration. Will we recognize the characters and their behaviors? I bet some of us will.
So Les; when will you come and visit VINE? We are only about 12 hours away. Seriously!
Cheryl(full time caretaker)and I are 2 of the staff members that Pattrice referred to in the first message-thank you SO much for standing up strong for Bill and Lou.
Kathy,
What with a play being produced at the end of this month based on one of my books, a deadline for finishing the next one by the first of the year, the holidays, and of course Ohio winter weather would make it difficult for us to visit VINE any time soon. We recently touched base with a local sanctuary, Happy Trails, and had a wonderful tour, learning up-close to love their horses, geese, sheep, goats, fighting roosters and pot-bellied pigs—-ALL rescued animals. Maybe we’ll think about coming east to visit you and Cheryl in the spring. By then, of course, I’ll be enmeshed in a NEW novel.
Sometimes I feel like I am in the “Twilight Zone” ~ GMC’s attempt to brand the compassionate people from all over the world as “extremists” is a typical move… Distract, distract and distract some more…. reports are that Bill is still alive but is whining in his small paddock area ~ we know why. His brother/twin that was with him for 11 years has been killed by the college that used them. Will the next excuse be that Bill was too despondent to live so he too gets carted away in the middle of the night? There is as of yet absolutely no concrete proof that Lou WAS humanely euthanized… In another attempt to extract sympathy, they announced the memorial for Lou has been canceled due to concern about extremists or some other such BS.. GMC, always trying to paint themselves as the victim… They receive numerous grants~ do the grantors want to be associated with this PR nightmare?
It’s quite fascinating to me, along with being VERY sad about Lou—he wasn’t “euthanized” at all, he was slaughtered, as intended, and will become FOOD for someone. Who euthanizes and then buries “in an undisclosed location” a half-ton ox? Sad for Bill, too—as a herd animal he will be despondent being kept unsocialized, and will very much miss his longtime friend. Makes me furious!!!
Fascinating: that Green Mountain College, of which I never HEARD until just a few days ago, is turning into a fascist Tea Party-type institution to which I would never allow my child or grandchild to attend even if they offered FREE tuition and a generous monthly allowance! To refer to an animal sanctuary like Vine as “extremists” and “terrorists” is truly revolting were it not so completely ridiculous. “Terrorists” trying to save the lives of animals that were loved as mascots and pets? Maybe GMC learned from the grotesqueries of the far right wing of the recent losing political party, which made up bizarre lies so often that many people began to believe them.
The inspiration for another book is just forming. But Paul J. Fonteyn just might become more famous than he ever dreamed—or DESERVED.
Funny, I was reading a post in our group and someone commented that the college is going “ganstah” – Here is an email the President of GMC sent out:
“From: Paul Fonteyn [mailto:fonteynp@greenmtn.edu]
Sent: Thursday, November 01, 2012 11:03 AM
To: DELETED
Subject: Employee of your company
Dear DELETED
I am writing to you because I believe the individual sending these emails to Green Mountain College is an employee of your company. I have two questions: If she is, do these uncivil and hostile emails reflect well on your company? Would you embrace this level of activity by an agent if this was occurring in Cincinnati? Please note every email has been sent during the workday hours.
Please note that the Governor of VT and the Secretary of Agriculture have publically [SIC] supported the position of the college that DELETED is so against.
Paul J. Fonteyn”
Attorney Steve Wise supplied this info and had this to say about Fonteyn’s email:
“I immediately warned President Fonteyn he should consult a lawyer before he sent emails to the employers of his critics. On Sunday, he finally took my advice. Well, part of it. He consulted a lawyer, who promptly warned me not to communicate with President Fonteyn again.
Steve Wise
P.S. How does a College President spell “publicly”?
You can’t make this stuff up.”
It appears also that Philip Ackerman-Leist has a book which was published by Chelsea Green Publishing. An internet search comes back with some seriously questionable behavior by some of the administration of GMC.
Seriously, Les, you CAN’T make this up. I hope this isn’t too long to post; if only you see it, that is great.
Les, the following from Attorney Steven Wise; it is very sad, Lou could have been saved but Fonteyn ordered him killed a day before he was to contact sponsors with serious offers:
“I have seen misleading communications from Green Mountain College administrators concerning their immoral decision to kill and eat their friends, Bill and Lou, and its aftermath. I want to provide some facts I know to be true because last week I conveyed offers to Green Mountain College President Paul J. Fonteyn to save Bill and Lou from being slaughtered and eaten. I confirmed each offer personally before I extended it.
If you read my Monday message, you know that, while Green Mountain College’s administrators was claiming they were being threatened, President Fonteyn was sending at least one email to someone he believed employed one of his numerous critics. If you haven’t seen his despicable email, please read it. It will tell you something about the man and the College.
When I contacted President Fonteyn, he falsely accused me of not keeping my word that I would not make my communication to him public if Bill and Lou were spared and sent to
a sanctuary. I ignored his false accusation and, on Thursday, November 8, put him in touch with one business owner who offered to donate $20,000 to Green Mountain College and another who offered to donate thousands of pounds of vegan food to Green Mountain College.
These donors told me that President Fonteyn promised to call them on Monday, November 12. This man who falsely accused me of not keeping my word then ordered Lou killed on Sunday, November 11. He never called the donors.
Steve Wise”
I have no words for the evil people at Green Mountain College.
Happy Thanksgiving, Les… Let’s pray for Bill… Thank you.