Wild Animals and Roses. Wild Animals are beautiful and resilient as Roses. In the ANIMALS FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE CAMPAIGN, created by Alessandra Mattanza, the wild animals become icons of justice, resilience, equality, strength, courage, and hope for a better world. So, the roses surrounding and protecting them have become a potent symbol of social justice and fearless wild nature.

“A rose does not lose its beauty because it grew amidst thorns,” believed Matshona Dhliwayo. A rose can endure beauty and spirit in the face of adversity. “He that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose,” wrote Anne Brontë. Facing hardship is necessary to achieve true beauty and justice. “The sharp thorn often produces delicate roses,” evoked Ovid. To achieve social justice, one must be willing to confront the system’s difficult challenges and “thorns” without fear.

The most beautiful and just outcomes can arise from the most challenging struggles and suffering for justice. “Where flowers bloom, so does hope,” pointed out Lady Bird Johnson. Blossoms can inspire the hopeful possibility of social progress. Flowers can be seen as symbols of hope and burgeoning positive change in society. In communities or movements working for justice, signs of hope and progress can be seen to emerge and grow. “Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature,” stressed Gérard de Nerval. Each person striving for a just world is a soul, and their efforts contribute to a collective blossoming of a better society. Inherent worth or dignity remains, regardless of societal labels or injustices. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet,” thought William Shakespeare in “Romeo and Juliet”. Regardless of labels, class distinctions, or prejudice, people are fundamentally the same and deserve equal respect and treatment. “A weed is but an unloved flower,” stressed Ella Wheeler Wilcox. Systems that create inequality often stigmatize marginalized groups, but they are, in essence, simply unloved or mistreated people who deserve to flourish.