Good morning,
Everyone has had those days where a careless comment, criticism or action on the part of someone in the inner circle hits its mark and wounds. Sometime ago I was having such a day. Now, the people who know me will tell you that I can get very down about this sort of thing and the effects of it can last for days. But I have been working (how, is for another post-maybe!) on this in the last while and I am better at re-directing myself to something more positive.
I was in one of these moments about a month or so before Xmas. So, after a little moping, I decided that I would re-direct my energy to something that is near and dear to my heart. I found a pen and some paper, sat down with a coffee with whipped almond milk (so yummy-the first taste of the foam is absolutely luxurious)
and started to write an article about (you guessed it) veganism.
This is the very first article I have ever written about veganism and the topic is something that I have been mulling over for a very long time. The words came fast and furious and the result is a messy scrawl on lined paper. This is what it looks like.
See, I told you it was messy.
I will re-type it for you so that it is at least legible, but think that I will not edit it very much, so you can perhaps experience it the way I did.
My hope is that you will enjoy and take a moment to reflect.
Nov 7th 2013
Bleeding hearts in any cause often dilute the message and change what the advocates are trying to bring to the issue closest to their hearts. Vegans eschew any product, whether food or material created while capturing, enslaving, harming, and killing a non-human animal. It does not matter if, and this is a big if, these beings are “humanely” treated. Their purpose on this earth is not to feed us, clothes us, entertain us or give us something upon which to sit.
But I digress. If we are to effect a permanent change in our lifetime, we must be wary of glorifying our non-human companions. They can be serene, but are not saints. They have their own emotions-anger, fear, joy, sadness, love, hate, which they, like us, act upon in their daily lives.
Please, let us not think of them as angelic lest we be disappointed when they act like themselves, making us think perhaps that our efforts to save them have been misplaced. They deserve our help because they are being mistreated, because they are not allowed to make choices about their own lives, because their families are being destroyed before they are formed, because they are being murdered, because we have no right to use them.
So let us continue the fight remembering to keep (can’t read what I wrote here, gotta work on my penmanship LOL!) it (the fight)and our understanding of all non-human animals real.
The End
So, this is the uncut version and I will tinker with it a bit and update with the final version. I would love to have some positive feedback from my readers, friends and family.
GRAMMIE ANNIE’S VEGAN VIEW
Let there really be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Until next time
May all beings be happy and free
Anne
VEGANS AND BLEEDING HEARTS
I really love this post. I think we can all get sucked in to thinking that non-human animals need to be perfect or special or adorable or cuddly in order to have value. This tendency no doubt contributes to our vilification of animals like sharks, and minimal attempts to save them. In contrast baby seals and their cause in Northern Canada gets quite a bit of press and traction (and a million dollar offer from Pamela Anderson).
The truth is, that non-human animals have value simply because they exist. Because they suffer, because they feel. Thanks for starting this conversation.
Hey Allison, Thanks for adding some facts to this very important topic. I could not have said it better myself. I had no idea what was happening to sharks until I saw the movie, Sharkwater by Rob Stewart. It is heartbreaking what is happening to the sharks for the sake of their fins for Shark Fin Soup.