Most folks know, when it comes to what other humans do, just because someone does something doesn’t automatically make it an okay thing to do. For example, just because there are people out there who discriminate that doesn’t make the act of discrimination okay. Another example is rape. It doesn’t take too much of an imagination to see that rape has been around about as long as we have and yet, once again, most of us know that no matter how many acts of rape have been and will be perpetrated, the act of rape will always be morally bankrupt.
That being said, when it comes to other animals the above wisdom is generally tossed away. For example, when one is confronted with the idea that humans do not require the flesh nor bodily secretions of other animals in order to survive and thus consumption of any animal product is morally wrong, many of them inevitably will defend their action by claiming something such as “if lions can eat gazelles why can’t we eat cows”. Aside from the fact that lions are carnivores and thus eating another animal’s flesh is how they survive, there’s the wisdom that dictates just because lions eat gazelles doesn’t make the act, at least in our case where we clearly have a choice, morally acceptable.
Another defense commonly heard from the non-vegan crowd is “we’ve been eating animals forever”. While this may well be true, the same is most likely true for rape and as previously discussed that doesn’t make the action okay.
The bottom line here is that we have a choice to either perpetuate the enslavement, torture, and theft of lives from billions of other animals every year or not. And regardless of how many people are currently supporting this horror show, being that we do not need to use other animals in order to survive makes the vegan choice the only morally acceptable way to go.
Think, then Go Vegan!
Racism can be defined as “[t]he belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” Sexism can be defined as “[d]iscrimination based on gender, especially discrimination against women” and heterosexism can be defined as “a prejudiced attitude or discriminatory practices against homosexuals by heterosexuals.”
Racism, sexism and heterosexism—these are the discriminatory tools of the trade when it comes to debasing others so that injustices can be perpetrated against them and yet still be morally excepted by the masses.
Sadly, there are still many people out there that thoughtlessly pre-judge others based on the color of their skin, their gender and/or their sexual orientation. But thankfully the world for the most part is at least aware of the terms racism, sexism and heterosexism and thus these horrible tools of the trade are little by little being dismantled.
This cannot be said for another form of discrimination which leads to the massive exploitation and ultimate extermination of billions upon billions of other individuals every year.
Speciesism can be defined as “discrimination in favor of one species, usually the human species, over another, esp. in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans” and for the most part remains hidden.
Speciesism is the discriminatory tool of choice used by the masses to enslave, torture and steal the lives away from other animals without even a shred of guilt by the majority of people who inhabit this planet.
When someone beats their spouse they can end up harming themselves as well as the environment. The harm to themselves can include retribution from their spouse, bloody knuckles from the slugging, neighbor complaints about the excess noise, fines and even jail time. Environmental harm can come from having to throw away lamps and other household items broken during the “fight” as well as the repeated washing of clothing, furniture and other landing spots of hard to remove blood and other bodily fluids.
But, although the above mentioned reasons for stopping to beat one’s spouse are valid, the number one reason one should stop beating their spouse is because unnecessarily harming someone is wrong. In fact, one would hope the idea that it is wrong to beat one’s spouse would be the major topic of discussion with a spouse beater when trying to get them to stop their despicable actions.
That said, why is it that so many animal rights advocates seldom if ever mention that it is wrong to enslave, torture and steal the life away from other animals? Why is it that they talk up the health benefits of a vegan’s diet or the environmental savings a vegan’s diet will create all the while neglecting to highlight the major reason folks should stop doing what they do to other animals—because it is wrong?
Moreover, and even more disturbing, why do some animal advocates ask folks to cut down their unnecessary harm to other animals rather than simply state it is wrong and they should stop immediately? That is, I hope no one would ever suggest to a spouse beater that they should cut down their egregious behavior or do it more “humanely” rather than end it and thus I would also hope animal rights activists would do the same.
Think, then Go Vegan!
Believe it or not, we humans are just one of the many species of animals that occupy this planet. Moreover, many enlightened folks including the American Dietetic Association are rising above the propaganda and stating the fact that human animals can easily live on a 100 percent plant based diet. In fact, more and more scientists are presenting evidence that eating animals or their secretions is deadly for us.
Why is it then that we work so hard to prove we are either above other animals or even that we are not animals at all? I guess one reason is so we can justify the horrors we inflict upon them and still slumber easily at night.
Most folks know that it’s certainly not desirable to be “treated like an animal”. But why does this have to be this way? Why can’t being “treated like an animal” be a good thing? Why can’t we have respect for our fellow earthlings especially since we do not need to eat them or their secretions in order to survive?
I have asked non-vegans why they do what they do in the past and got back responses such as, “I love animals but I also love eating them, and I always will”, “…they are something delicious and nutritious that then reside in my loving tummy tum-tum and become a part of me” and “I still eat meat because I enjoy it, not because my God says I can.”
Since we do not need to use them for survival it boils down to we do what we do to them for pleasure. How sick is that? That is, we enslave, torture and steal the lives away from fellow animals simply because it’s currently legal and it feels good.
And on the legality of turning other animals into commodities that we ultimately “choose” how, when and where they live and die I suggest we remember what Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said about committing legal injustices, “Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”
Veganism, or the pursuit of abolitionists to end the legalized slavery of all animals, not just the human variety, will one day come to fruition and when it does you might want to ask yourself which side you want to be on—the slaveholders or the slaves?
Think, then Go Vegan!
Why is it that there are so many people out there bent on everyone, and I do mean everyone, having a purpose in life? I for one feel it’s great to think about what I’d like to do with my life and I’m sure there are many others who feel the same way. But, the key words here are “what I’d like to do with my life” and most certainly not what others feel I should do with my life.
I understand there are folks out there that feel their god or gods (or some other supernatural force) gave them and everyone else a purpose. To me, this screams of possible injustice. That is, if someone believes they have a purpose they must carry out that’s their choice to follow through with it or not. But, to use this same way of thinking to force others into their model of how things should be is simply unjust.
For example, a while back I was having a discussion about whether or not other animals have the same right we animals have in regards to not being commodified into things (i.e., legally thought of as property). Ultimately the person I was chatting with asked, “Well, if they’re not here for our food, clothing, etcetera, than what are they here for?”
To me, all of this rings of a pro-slavery mindset. That is, masters have their purpose and slaves have theirs and as long as everyone understands each other’s purpose and complies everything is great—for their masters that is.
Thus, here is my thinking on all this. If you have a burning desire that you’ve been given a purpose, and that purpose isn’t harmful, by all means either carry it out or not. But in regards to others’ purposes, please allow them to choose for themselves and therefore just let them be.
Think, then Go Vegan!
I believe it is the legal right of every animal, not just the human variety, to be free from the chains of forced bondage. Although some folks haven’t quite figured out that all humans deserve this right it does appear the vast majority of us finally feel this way. Unfortunately, except for a relatively small amount of people, thoughts about other animals not being considered property are still in their infancy.
Arguments abound that we humans are in some way superior to other animals, or that a supernatural force deems it okay, or that humans have always done what they’ve done to other animals and will continue to do so, et cetera, etc. But weren’t similar arguments used to justify the enslavement of various human animals and haven’t the majority of us seen the truth behind these dangerous lies?
Why then do we not see the truth behind the equally dangerous lies that continue to enslave other animals? Of course there are those who argue that we just can’t be certain other animals care about being forcefully used by us for our own pleasure. But, once again, wasn’t this argument used to enslave human animals?
I suggest we all think about our relationship to other animals. Sure, our past is littered with horrific injustices but each one of us can always opt out of this kind of behavior and take a personal stand against what will one day be looked upon as we currently look upon folks who enslave other humans.
Think, then Go Vegan!
Some people feel that asking for the regulation of animal slavery rather then calling for its abolition will eventually lead to a vegan world. Arguments are made by some vegans, for example, that they went vegetarian first and then became vegan. Good for them! But my question is what if all they had ever heard was that the only way to be humane was to “Go Vegan”? How many of these folks would have gone vegan right away or at least took less time getting there?
Other people feel breaking our current laws with either violent or non-violent actions in a world where the vast majority of people mindlessly exploit animals because “they taste good” is the way to achieve a vegan world. One must ask themselves why do people exploit other animals for pleasure and feel little or no guilt? I have personally witnessed this lack of remorse even after showing someone, for example, a slaughterhouse video.
My thinking here is that speciesism and the comforts of being in the status quo allow these people to remain convinced that they are doing nothing ethically wrong. Thus I feel, besides going vegan ourselves, we need to educate people in a non-violent manner about speciesism and let them know that the only way to be an ethical human is to Go Vegan.
Moreover, and I want to make this crystal clear, I as a peace seeking vegan abolitionist reject all forms of violence (which includes property damage) and thus reject these oppressor-like actions, just as I reject the use of speciesism, racism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, et cetera, to supposedly move us closer to a vegan world. Because, in my mind, any form of violence, aside from being morally bankrupt, only serves to retard the pursuit of acquiring the natural right for all sentient beings not to be property rather than advance it.
Think, then Go Vegan!
Over the past many years I have talked with lots of people about why I became vegan. It usually starts off with me saying, “No thank you” to someone’s offering of an animal “product”. That’s when the question of “Why?” generally comes up. It’s at that moment no matter what I’m doing or how tired I am that I put on my nonhuman animal advocate hat and try my best to explain why I am vegan. Sometimes depending on the circumstances and/or how well the person knows me things go well. Whereas, sadly, other times things go horribly wrong.
By things going well I do not necessarily mean the person I was chatting with declared they were Going Vegan right there on the spot. Although I have had that happen, more times then not things going well means they heard my story and I heard theirs and no one became “offended”. That is, the seeds of veganism as a social justice movement working towards the day when no sentient being ever has to legally be property regardless of their species, race, gender, sexual orientation, age, et cetera were planted.
By horribly wrong, although the use of “horrible” here is debatable, I mean someone became offended and thus resorted to labeling. One such label that comes to mind is the term “elitist”. Interestingly, Dictionary.com defines “elitism” as “The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources.”
I say “interestingly” here because at the core of veganism is the idea that all sentient beings are equal simply because they are sentient. Whereas the person labeling me an elitist almost always follows up their name calling with the idea that us human animals are “superior” in some way to other animals and thus suggests that justifies the horrific things they do to other animals.
This thought, that human animals are “superior” to other animals, is of course speciesist. That is, just like the racist who thinks his race is “superior” to other races and uses his racism to justify his evil deeds, the speciesist uses speciesism to justify enslaving, torturing, and stealing the life away from another sentient being. A being from a vegan’s perspective that is every bit as equal as we human animals are.
So, as the title of this essay asks, “Who’s Being Elitist?”
Think, then Go Vegan!
So there you are on Facebook, Twitter, or simply chatting with a friend at the local coffeehouse and all of a sudden the infamous “What about plants, don’t they have feelings too?” question rears its ugly head. What makes someone ask this question when they’re being confronted with the idea that all sentient beings deserve the right not to be someone’s property? Or, you merely stated “Oh no thanks, I don’t eat flesh or secretions, I’m vegan”. This has bothered me for sometime now. I usually try my best to explain the difference between an animal (human or not) and a plant but the questioner usually doesn’t seem to get it. Well, thanks to Adam Kochanowicz alerting me to the following quote by Leonardo da Vinci, maybe, just maybe, Leonardo can help answer the question a bit better:
“Though nature has given sensibility to pain to such living organisms as have the power of movement, in order thereby to preserve the members which in this movement are liable to diminish and be destroyed, the living organisms which have no power of movement do not have to encounter opposing objects, and plants consequently do not need to have a sensibility to pain, and so it comes about that if you break them they do not feel anguish in their members as do the animals.” —Leonardo da Vinci, Leonardo da Vinci’s Note-Books, Arranged and rendered into English by Edward McCurdy, 1923, p. 130
And if Leonardo da Vinci still doesn’t quite answer the question I’m fairly confident my friend Professor Gary L. Francione’s article entitled “A Frequently Asked Question: What About Plants?” should do the trick. 
Think, then Go Vegan!
Every now and then I get a person who knows I’m vegan saying “Sorry Randy!” just before they devour, for example, a cow’s secretions or flesh all the while declaring how good it tastes.
Most of us human and nonhuman animals can experience pleasure and pain, know we’re alive and have a strong desire to stay that way—as pain free as possible. That said, it makes no sense to me whatsoever given we do not need secretions nor flesh to thrive that some folks for pleasure alone choose to inflict pain and suffering upon other animals and ultimately steal their lives away.
Interestingly, their “Sorry Randy!” statement makes me wonder what they might think if they heard about someone who uttered “Sorry!” and then proceeded to crush a puppy’s head for sheer pleasure. My guess is that no matter how sincere the apology they would think the puppy killer was a monster (or at least a very sick individual). But, what makes the puppy’s killer any different from the person who pays someone else to enslave, torture and murder a cow because they like the way she tastes? From my perspective, being that they both needlessly did what they did for pleasure, they’re one of the same.
Think, then Go Vegan!
