Rachel Ziegler

Photographer
Cat & Bird mom

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@drcrystalheath 🖤 Resonating deeply with this. Grateful for you articulating this so beautifully and for sharing it, despite valid fears and uncertainty.

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@VigilantFox We don't even know the shooter's political party yet lol

[Crystal Heath DVM @drcrystalheath]

Imagine being Rachel Ziegler (@Liberation_4all), a regular person, flooded with hate meant for Hollywood actress @RachelZegler—the latest target of a right-wing harassment campaign.

What happens when online mobs can’t spell? It is a modern story of mistaken identity, digital misfires & the innocent caught in the blast radius of misogyny, mob logic, and a culture that punishes women for speaking.

@TheAtlantic @Jezebel @WIRED @BuzzFeedNews @NBCNewsTech @TheVerge @VICE @Slate @motherboard @TheCut

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@alexanichadhain @drcrystalheath @NewYorker @waynehhsiung I relate to that feeling a lot. I did the same thing for years.

Here is a good place to start to learn more:
https://t.co/rBL8GNZi5U

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

Who suffered retaliation here? Who has been marginalized and suffered the consequences for merely making suggestions for how men in positions of power could elevate the way they conduct themselves? Simply offering a criticism of the points presented in an article is destroying a guy’s life? What happened to Brave Spaces? This response is part of why so many women stay silent.

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@kcmilani @drcrystalheath @NewYorker Unfortunately even though reports were made, nothing formal was done about it by DxE leadership. Coming forward publicly is met with extreme harassment from the AR movement which thinks that nothing else matters except the plight of animals. I'm sorry for what you went through

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@jaycaspiankang @jaycaspiankang
This is irresponsible journalism. As someone who lived with Wayne, was mentored by Wayne, and was in a felony case with him for 5 years, I can tell you that he is not the person he is portraying himself as. He is a narcissistic cult leader and a sexual predator

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@drcrystalheath @NewYorker Thank you for sharing this, Crystal. I think it's incredibly important. I'm sorry that yours and others women's experiences were completely overlooked for the sake of elevating yet another harmful male's voice in the movement.

[Crystal Heath DVM @drcrystalheath]

The day before this story was published, I received a text from a fact checker at The @NewYorker asking, “We understand he has faced various allegations that his relationships with DxE members, many of them younger women, have been inappropriate…I’m curious if you would describe it that way?”

I asked, “How did you know I am connected to this? How did you get my number?” They said Wayne told them and gave my number to them. I had no idea how he might have inoculated them against what I might say.

Even just for sharing this, I feel the looming threat of attack from him and his supporters who might target me & assassinate my character, ruining my chances for collaboration and ability to do good work for the animals. I’ve seen it happen before. But some things need to be said. My goal is to help activists make informed decisions & make our movement stronger.

What I told the fact-checker didn’t make it into the piece. I won’t share those details here. Instead, I will share my critiques of the ideas presented in the piece.

First, “safetyism” — those in positions of power frequently use it to dismiss those who challenge leaders to improve their conduct, & discourse & respect the dignity of those with less power. John Warner of Inside Higher Ed writes, “If you examine those who wield the charge of safetyism against others, they are always in positions of superior power accusing those without power of disrupting some important principle, a principle that protects the status quo.” It’s a way of dismissing those asking to be treated with dignity and respect while deflecting criticisms that threaten their power or reputation.

Brave spaces are cultivated when organizations foster Institutional Courage.

Institutional Courage is created when an organization responds proactively—apologizing for wrongdoing, protecting those who serve or are served by the institution, and putting systems in place to protect activists, employees, and volunteers in the future so they can raise concerns without retaliation. These systems can become templates that activists can use to encourage the very institutions they are trying to change to follow.

The same harmful mentality that creates discord & injustice in movements is the same mentality that leads to the systems of oppression activists are trying to change. Change comes from correcting the power imbalances that perpetuate oppression. By implementing Institutional Courage, justice naturally follows. It means abolishing the belief that those in power deserve to have their interests prioritized over others.

Leadership isn’t about dictating how those who serve us should act; it’s about cultivating an environment where people can flourish, set healthy boundaries so they may work effectively, think creatively, trust their instincts, and express their unique strengths, while freely critiquing the institution in an effort to make it stronger, better and more resilient, without threat of retaliation.

Those in leadership must acknowledge their privilege & ability to wield their bigger microphone to spin a false narrative, ostracize others, & crush their opportunities, & instead implement systems that prevent that compulsion when their power is threatened.

Institutional Courage means an organization’s leader isn’t surrounded by those who have been elevated due to their loyalty, lack of healthy boundaries, ability to withstand abuse, or skills at stroking the egos of those in power, but those committed to justice, effectiveness and respect for the inherent dignity of others, no matter their position on current dominance hierarchies.

Empowering everyone to question and challenge freely & openly allows bold new perspectives, bravery, and justice to flourish.

Institutional Courage is the blueprint activist leaders must draft in our organizations so we may build justice in places where oppression and exploitation currently stand.

@_CarolJAdams @CourageforAll @jjfreydcourage

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@heinzsight2020 Thank you for sharing, Andrea.

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@HelenaBrors @heinzsight2020 @WildThingsDwell Thank you for sharing

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@WildThingsDwell @heinzsight2020 Well said

[Crystal Heath DVM @drcrystalheath]

Hey all! Will you vote for my panel at SXSW?

The Next Member of Your Family to Go Plant-Based is… Fido.

With @feedpetaluma @garrettwymore @Rshep29 and Shannon Falconer of @BioCraftPet

Please like, share, and comment! Thanks!

#vetmed #vettwitter #onehealth #dogsoftwitter #doggos #petfood #dogfood #plantbased #vegan #animalrights #animalwelfare #slaughterfree #veterinarymedicine #vetstudent #animalscience

https://t.co/mRVkroWoJk

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

Thank you so much, Michele!

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@MicheleRSimon Thank you!

[Rachel Ziegler @Liberation_4all]

@rara_org @MicheleRSimon @DxEverywhere Thank you!

[RARA - Rights for AR Advocates @rara_org]

Support Animal Rights Activist Abandoned by Her Own Organization
https://t.co/S4pA69CeEM

[Direct Action Everywhere @DxEverywhere]

ANNOUNCING OUR 2ND ROUND OF TRAINERS FOR THE ANIMAL LIBERATION CONFERENCE!! Joining us this year will be: Fernanda García-Naranjo Ortega, David Michelson, & Rachel Ziegler!
Register within the next 24 hours & use code “workshops” to get 20% off!!
https://t.co/P9jMGwTQ6i #ALC2023

[Sonoma Rescue Trial @SonomaTrial]

At @Liberation_4all & @FrohnmayerJon preliminary hearing, the prosecution failed to provide evidence that they engaged in the alleged crimes including conspiracy and burglary. Judge Urioste nonetheless ruled that the case would proceed to trial on all charges. #SonomaRescueTrial

[Sierra Gillespie @sierragillespie]

WATCH: Drew testifies about Heard's 30th birthday, saying Depp showed up late and "obviously intoxicated." #JohnnyDepp #AmberHeard @LawCrimeNetwork