“We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the devil in human form.” — William Ralph Inge
thank you for writing such an excellent & timely post. just this week at work i overheard 2 co-workers discussing the price of eggs and one told the other that she was told that the huge increase is due to avian flu because they had to kill so many chickens. it took everything i had to not jump in & try to help enlighten them but it likey would not have done any good. the casual way they spoke about the killing of chickens was disgusting to me. these same people consider themselves "animal lovers" because they care about dogs & cats. very sadly, the vast majority of humans are so programmed & brainwashed by our culture & society that it is extremely doubtful that they could even function outside the matrix and nor would they ever wish to. ignorance really is truly bliss.
Appreciate that and I feel you, getting people to come out of the matrix is one of the toughest things and it can burn us out if we put too much effort into it. If people want to be gullible unquestioning normies then they can waste their lives away as such. Ignorance can be bliss for sure, but it can have major consequences too. Many ignorant people will at some point suffer severe health consequences due to their ignorant and selfish actions and there's definitely nothing blissful about that. I choose to not feel as bad for people as I used to and I find it very liberating.
the most frustrating part for me is their inability/refusal to make the connections. at my former job my co-workers were all unhealthy & claimed they were forced to keep working for the health ins-meanwhile i have not been to a dr in 22 years. yet when i provided them info & evidence they still refused to make changes.
i can certainly relate to burnout too as after doing vegan education for over 15 years i became discouraged & lost my passion for outreach as i only attended one event in 2022.
Ugh I think part of it is people not wanting to admit they were ever wrong about something they participated in for so long. It's a huge sign of being a weak person on their part. They deserve to have deteriorating health, it's their own fault. Hopefully you can find another way that's more effective and fulfilling to advocate for the animals besides outreach (if you want).
thanks-i agree that ego is a big part of it along with social conformity. after interacting with thousands of people doing outreach i have also come to the conclusion that the vast majority of humans (95%+) are uninterested in anything beyond their own immediate gratification. they very often claim otherwise but their actions prove otherwise.
I understand and share your frustration, but there is everything to lose when we stand there and say nothing instead of politely speaking up on behalf of the chickens or other defenseless victims. It's a missed opportunity and when we complain about how "tired" we are, we cease to be advocates. "Oh dear, poor ME." Instead of wasting energy holding back, it is better used by jumping in. If WE don't seize such opportunities, who will?
the problem is that people are ALWAYS talking about food & eating so speaking up would be a very frequent occurence and likely would jeopardize employment. i did so often at my previous job where i was well established but after many discussions over years it never really went anywhere even when i provided them with literature & video's. they would go on eating as they always did and then complain about the cost of medication & doctors the very next day after we talked about diet & health. i recall one time at lunch when speaking to a co-worker about veganism & AR, she stated that 2 things she could not stand are people who hurt children & people who hurt animals-all the while she was eating a sandwich made from pig flesh.
Congratulations for recognizing the truth about human nature, even though it is a real downer, and thank you for being courageous enough to speak it. "Know the truth and the truth shall set you free," as they say. And the truth is that there is a perfectly reasonable, logical, and compelling case to be made for misanthropy. At a more granular level, however, the truth is that while 90+% of our species are the selfish bastards you describe, something like 5-10% represents the evolutionary pinnacle of altruism in the natural world. An altruism that transcends species lines and embraces all sentient life-forms. In effect, our species, Homo sapiens, is culturally distinguishable as two very distinct species: Homo empathicus and Homo vastens. And the ethical imperative becomes to raise and exult the former while crushing the latter.
Vladimir Lenin, for all his manifest faults, at least organized the Bolshevik Party along some rational lines: every party member was entitled to dignity and respect from his comrades within the Party; anyone outside the Party was considered either an enemy or, at best, a useful idiot. Anything that advanced the interests of the Party was considered, by default, good while that which impeded it was the opposite. And that's how members of the empathicus party should conduct themselves. The party-line should be that the current trajectory of humanity is immoral and unsustainable; and anything (and everything!) that can be done to destroy, impede, or frustrate it is, by definition, Good. All people subscribing to that doctrine are to be treated as our brothers and sisters irrespective of race, religion, background, etc. All individuals falling outside the party are so much disposable trash.
At least one personal benefit of such a worldview is that it frees one from any ethical obligations to advance, help, or succor non-party members. It does, however, oblige every party member to work for the violent overthrow of humanity's tyrannical reign. 10% against 90% does not sound like winning odds in the long run but at least it guarantees you a place in heaven.
That's very interesting that you bring up that our species is culturally distinguishable as two very distinct species because I've been bringing this up with multiple people lately. I do consider myself a different species than most other humans and it feels nice to hear a total stranger validate this in the comments. It's just too bad we can exist on separate planets.
As harsh as the following sounds I do agree with it and I feel this every day: "And that's how members of the empathicus party should conduct themselves. The party-line should be that the current trajectory of humanity is immoral and unsustainable; and anything (and everything!) that can be done to destroy, impede, or frustrate it is, by definition, Good. All people subscribing to that doctrine are to be treated as our brothers and sisters irrespective of race, religion, background, etc. All individuals falling outside the party are so much disposable trash." The truth hurts.
Thank you for the very intriguing comment that continued to acknowledge how horrible most humans are and hat threw in some rarely ever heard moral obligations we ought to have.
Excellent analysis of the grim and ghastly reality shaped by our species and inflicted on the rest of the living world. Seeing how people think and behave, with few exceptions where other creatures are concerned, I believe we must forge ahead on behalf of animals in spite of the bleak reality and the reasonable prospects for a bleaker future, as if life for our victims could be any bleaker than it already is. Our obligation as animal rights/liberation activists is to Keep Faith with those we have pledged to fight for, win or lose. Keep Fighting!
Looking at the facts, we see that most people do not even care in any rational manner about their own health and wellbeing. Yes, the preference for horrible eating habits and related obscenities is cultivated by the Agribyssmal industries and their affiliates, but contrary to claims that people are the helpless victims of these industries, commercial advertising and so on, we are also responsible for the choices we make about what - WHO- we put in our mouths. Go to any supermarket or Big Box outlet and the amount of healthful animal-free food is huge. Take all the junk out of the shopping carts and replace it with the wealth of animal-free affordable choices.
I emphasize diet in this comment because conventional diets are responsible for the most misery on Earth, and because diet is something that almost every individual has control over. Why do we reinforce the notion that people are nothing but victims of the government and corporations while condemning promotion of personal autonomy as "blaming the victim" instead of what it is: Empowering the Victim to stop being a Victim and a facilitator of bad government/corporations. What incentive do these amoral, immoral entities have to change if we continue buying their stuff?
To conclude, thank you Unparalleled Suffering for saying what needs to be said instead of echoing platitudes. Let this be a call to nonstop, relentless Action for Animals and for all good things.
Thank you for reading and commenting Karen. Every time I'm alerted that you left a comment somewhere I get a hit of dopamine because your comments are always such beautiful reads. I concur with all you said here. I will keep fighting and I recommend that everyone else who is in the fight keep fighting too, but don't be afraid to take a break every now and then if that's what you want or need. As you said, people do need to take more responsibility for their own health and what they support and purchase in general. McDonalds doesn't make people sick and fat, it's going to McDonalds, ordering that food, and eating it that does. Nearly all stores and definitely farmers markets have food that is healthy and guards us against getting the most common health pitfalls people fall into such as autoimmune issues, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and heart disease. I told my parents from the day I went vegan that I'd never eat with them again unless each time we ate it was all plant-based. Luckily they were okay with that and after seeing how amazing plant-based food can be and how they can still eat all of their favorite things in an animal-free version they eat mostly plant-based now. I focused somewhat on eggs in this article, everyone who eats eggs also knows about the existence of things like oatmeal. Instead of complaining about the cost of eggs they could easily make something else instead such as oatmeal, which is much healthier, more humane, and about as cheap (or perhaps cheaper) than traditional eggs. We have alternatives and better more compassionate ways of living all around us. I'll keep inspiring social evolution and I know you will too. Thanks so much for all the incredible work you do.
Of course, media coverage reinforces people's belief that eggs are a necessary dietary "staple."
And whenever the mass-extermination of birds and pigs is mentioned, the term used is "euthanized." So most people are enveloped in this worldview. Lengthy Washington Post article, Jan 10:
I wish so bad they're publish your LTE. We need more voices injecting common sense and decency into the mainstream. There are so many alternatives to eggs for baking and as meal centerpieces. We can make egg-like products from mung beans, chickpeas, tofu, and so forth. It's really a no-brainer, but people are lazy and so resistant to change.
Another excellent post. It's unreal how humans will continue to do the most backwards things, paying no mind to all the harm it causes, when we have so many alternatives!
I've often thought the same thing - if a plant based food company caused some sort of mass outbreak, there would be NO leniency and they'd likely never be able to come back from it, yet these industries exploiting animals can get away with pretty much anything.
Thank you. I think there was a recent example of this where people were complaining about mold found at a Beyond Meat facility. We all know how dirty these animal "farms" and killing factories are, yet people want to bitch about mold at a BM facility? Give me a break...
So well written and really highlights the apathy and disregard humans have towards others which includes members of their own species. People would rather deal with pandemic after pandemic whether it comes from animal “farming” or animal research instead of simply just being decent. And it is quite simple to be decent, it doesn’t take much effort at all. But humans place so much value on convenience, far more value than they place on basic decency. Such is life, I guess.
Ahimsa42, I get your point about the unfeasibility of intervening in an endless run of frequent discussions in the same location day after day, so in this regard, we agree. It would be like, each time I'm in the checkout line at the supermarket, I would call out the people in line with me about the contents of their shopping cart. I do, nevertheless, speak up on some such occasions but would soon be a basket case if each time I went to buy food I felt I must say something to each customer.
That said, there remain many occasions when we can and should say something or politely put a brochure or a card (like our "Dying for Dinner" card showing and briefly describing a former slaughterer's description of the FEAR in each chicken's eyes as they hang upside down on the slaughter line) in a person's hands without getting into a dispute with them, but just saying, "please look at this when you have a chance. Thank you."
The one thing I cannot agree with is the idea that being an advocate (which necessarily means speaking or acting out in the public domain) is a waste of time and a hopeless cause. Many people use that excuse because they are timid about approaching a stranger or a friend or relative. We cannot control what other people are going to do with our information, but we have complete control over our own activist behavior. Moreover, many people have become animal advocates and vegetarians/vegans because someone put a thought in their ear, a brochure in their hand: even if they did not respond immediately, eventually, they did.
When opportunities arise, the anxiety of speaking up lasts one or two minutes or less. And we feel good afterward. When we forego feasible opportunities, the burden of guilt lasts a lifetime. This, anyway, has been my experience. -- Karen Davis, United Poultry Concerns. www.upc-online.org
“We have enslaved the rest of the animal creation, and have treated our distant cousins in fur and feathers so badly that beyond doubt, if they were able to formulate a religion, they would depict the devil in human form.” — William Ralph Inge
An absolutely timeless quote there.
thank you for writing such an excellent & timely post. just this week at work i overheard 2 co-workers discussing the price of eggs and one told the other that she was told that the huge increase is due to avian flu because they had to kill so many chickens. it took everything i had to not jump in & try to help enlighten them but it likey would not have done any good. the casual way they spoke about the killing of chickens was disgusting to me. these same people consider themselves "animal lovers" because they care about dogs & cats. very sadly, the vast majority of humans are so programmed & brainwashed by our culture & society that it is extremely doubtful that they could even function outside the matrix and nor would they ever wish to. ignorance really is truly bliss.
Appreciate that and I feel you, getting people to come out of the matrix is one of the toughest things and it can burn us out if we put too much effort into it. If people want to be gullible unquestioning normies then they can waste their lives away as such. Ignorance can be bliss for sure, but it can have major consequences too. Many ignorant people will at some point suffer severe health consequences due to their ignorant and selfish actions and there's definitely nothing blissful about that. I choose to not feel as bad for people as I used to and I find it very liberating.
the most frustrating part for me is their inability/refusal to make the connections. at my former job my co-workers were all unhealthy & claimed they were forced to keep working for the health ins-meanwhile i have not been to a dr in 22 years. yet when i provided them info & evidence they still refused to make changes.
i can certainly relate to burnout too as after doing vegan education for over 15 years i became discouraged & lost my passion for outreach as i only attended one event in 2022.
Ugh I think part of it is people not wanting to admit they were ever wrong about something they participated in for so long. It's a huge sign of being a weak person on their part. They deserve to have deteriorating health, it's their own fault. Hopefully you can find another way that's more effective and fulfilling to advocate for the animals besides outreach (if you want).
thanks-i agree that ego is a big part of it along with social conformity. after interacting with thousands of people doing outreach i have also come to the conclusion that the vast majority of humans (95%+) are uninterested in anything beyond their own immediate gratification. they very often claim otherwise but their actions prove otherwise.
I understand and share your frustration, but there is everything to lose when we stand there and say nothing instead of politely speaking up on behalf of the chickens or other defenseless victims. It's a missed opportunity and when we complain about how "tired" we are, we cease to be advocates. "Oh dear, poor ME." Instead of wasting energy holding back, it is better used by jumping in. If WE don't seize such opportunities, who will?
i both agree & disagree Karen.
the problem is that people are ALWAYS talking about food & eating so speaking up would be a very frequent occurence and likely would jeopardize employment. i did so often at my previous job where i was well established but after many discussions over years it never really went anywhere even when i provided them with literature & video's. they would go on eating as they always did and then complain about the cost of medication & doctors the very next day after we talked about diet & health. i recall one time at lunch when speaking to a co-worker about veganism & AR, she stated that 2 things she could not stand are people who hurt children & people who hurt animals-all the while she was eating a sandwich made from pig flesh.
Congratulations for recognizing the truth about human nature, even though it is a real downer, and thank you for being courageous enough to speak it. "Know the truth and the truth shall set you free," as they say. And the truth is that there is a perfectly reasonable, logical, and compelling case to be made for misanthropy. At a more granular level, however, the truth is that while 90+% of our species are the selfish bastards you describe, something like 5-10% represents the evolutionary pinnacle of altruism in the natural world. An altruism that transcends species lines and embraces all sentient life-forms. In effect, our species, Homo sapiens, is culturally distinguishable as two very distinct species: Homo empathicus and Homo vastens. And the ethical imperative becomes to raise and exult the former while crushing the latter.
Vladimir Lenin, for all his manifest faults, at least organized the Bolshevik Party along some rational lines: every party member was entitled to dignity and respect from his comrades within the Party; anyone outside the Party was considered either an enemy or, at best, a useful idiot. Anything that advanced the interests of the Party was considered, by default, good while that which impeded it was the opposite. And that's how members of the empathicus party should conduct themselves. The party-line should be that the current trajectory of humanity is immoral and unsustainable; and anything (and everything!) that can be done to destroy, impede, or frustrate it is, by definition, Good. All people subscribing to that doctrine are to be treated as our brothers and sisters irrespective of race, religion, background, etc. All individuals falling outside the party are so much disposable trash.
At least one personal benefit of such a worldview is that it frees one from any ethical obligations to advance, help, or succor non-party members. It does, however, oblige every party member to work for the violent overthrow of humanity's tyrannical reign. 10% against 90% does not sound like winning odds in the long run but at least it guarantees you a place in heaven.
That's very interesting that you bring up that our species is culturally distinguishable as two very distinct species because I've been bringing this up with multiple people lately. I do consider myself a different species than most other humans and it feels nice to hear a total stranger validate this in the comments. It's just too bad we can exist on separate planets.
As harsh as the following sounds I do agree with it and I feel this every day: "And that's how members of the empathicus party should conduct themselves. The party-line should be that the current trajectory of humanity is immoral and unsustainable; and anything (and everything!) that can be done to destroy, impede, or frustrate it is, by definition, Good. All people subscribing to that doctrine are to be treated as our brothers and sisters irrespective of race, religion, background, etc. All individuals falling outside the party are so much disposable trash." The truth hurts.
Thank you for the very intriguing comment that continued to acknowledge how horrible most humans are and hat threw in some rarely ever heard moral obligations we ought to have.
Excellent analysis of the grim and ghastly reality shaped by our species and inflicted on the rest of the living world. Seeing how people think and behave, with few exceptions where other creatures are concerned, I believe we must forge ahead on behalf of animals in spite of the bleak reality and the reasonable prospects for a bleaker future, as if life for our victims could be any bleaker than it already is. Our obligation as animal rights/liberation activists is to Keep Faith with those we have pledged to fight for, win or lose. Keep Fighting!
Looking at the facts, we see that most people do not even care in any rational manner about their own health and wellbeing. Yes, the preference for horrible eating habits and related obscenities is cultivated by the Agribyssmal industries and their affiliates, but contrary to claims that people are the helpless victims of these industries, commercial advertising and so on, we are also responsible for the choices we make about what - WHO- we put in our mouths. Go to any supermarket or Big Box outlet and the amount of healthful animal-free food is huge. Take all the junk out of the shopping carts and replace it with the wealth of animal-free affordable choices.
I emphasize diet in this comment because conventional diets are responsible for the most misery on Earth, and because diet is something that almost every individual has control over. Why do we reinforce the notion that people are nothing but victims of the government and corporations while condemning promotion of personal autonomy as "blaming the victim" instead of what it is: Empowering the Victim to stop being a Victim and a facilitator of bad government/corporations. What incentive do these amoral, immoral entities have to change if we continue buying their stuff?
To conclude, thank you Unparalleled Suffering for saying what needs to be said instead of echoing platitudes. Let this be a call to nonstop, relentless Action for Animals and for all good things.
Karen Davis, PhD, President, United Poultry Concerns. http://www.upc-online.org
Thank you for reading and commenting Karen. Every time I'm alerted that you left a comment somewhere I get a hit of dopamine because your comments are always such beautiful reads. I concur with all you said here. I will keep fighting and I recommend that everyone else who is in the fight keep fighting too, but don't be afraid to take a break every now and then if that's what you want or need. As you said, people do need to take more responsibility for their own health and what they support and purchase in general. McDonalds doesn't make people sick and fat, it's going to McDonalds, ordering that food, and eating it that does. Nearly all stores and definitely farmers markets have food that is healthy and guards us against getting the most common health pitfalls people fall into such as autoimmune issues, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cancer, and heart disease. I told my parents from the day I went vegan that I'd never eat with them again unless each time we ate it was all plant-based. Luckily they were okay with that and after seeing how amazing plant-based food can be and how they can still eat all of their favorite things in an animal-free version they eat mostly plant-based now. I focused somewhat on eggs in this article, everyone who eats eggs also knows about the existence of things like oatmeal. Instead of complaining about the cost of eggs they could easily make something else instead such as oatmeal, which is much healthier, more humane, and about as cheap (or perhaps cheaper) than traditional eggs. We have alternatives and better more compassionate ways of living all around us. I'll keep inspiring social evolution and I know you will too. Thanks so much for all the incredible work you do.
Of course, media coverage reinforces people's belief that eggs are a necessary dietary "staple."
And whenever the mass-extermination of birds and pigs is mentioned, the term used is "euthanized." So most people are enveloped in this worldview. Lengthy Washington Post article, Jan 10:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/01/10/egg-prices-avian-flu-inflation/ (Kim Bellware, “Egg Prices Haven’t Come Down with Inflation . . .” Jan. 10, 2023.)
“We’re never going to get away from eggs or design a menu without eggs,” he [a restaurant owner] said.
----------------------------
I wrote a short Letter to the Editor but by now it's not likely to be published.
I wish so bad they're publish your LTE. We need more voices injecting common sense and decency into the mainstream. There are so many alternatives to eggs for baking and as meal centerpieces. We can make egg-like products from mung beans, chickpeas, tofu, and so forth. It's really a no-brainer, but people are lazy and so resistant to change.
Another excellent post. It's unreal how humans will continue to do the most backwards things, paying no mind to all the harm it causes, when we have so many alternatives!
I've often thought the same thing - if a plant based food company caused some sort of mass outbreak, there would be NO leniency and they'd likely never be able to come back from it, yet these industries exploiting animals can get away with pretty much anything.
Thank you. I think there was a recent example of this where people were complaining about mold found at a Beyond Meat facility. We all know how dirty these animal "farms" and killing factories are, yet people want to bitch about mold at a BM facility? Give me a break...
So well written and really highlights the apathy and disregard humans have towards others which includes members of their own species. People would rather deal with pandemic after pandemic whether it comes from animal “farming” or animal research instead of simply just being decent. And it is quite simple to be decent, it doesn’t take much effort at all. But humans place so much value on convenience, far more value than they place on basic decency. Such is life, I guess.
Thank you. It really is so upsetting and depressing how convenience is more valued to most people than decency is. Speaks volumes about our species.
Ahimsa42, I get your point about the unfeasibility of intervening in an endless run of frequent discussions in the same location day after day, so in this regard, we agree. It would be like, each time I'm in the checkout line at the supermarket, I would call out the people in line with me about the contents of their shopping cart. I do, nevertheless, speak up on some such occasions but would soon be a basket case if each time I went to buy food I felt I must say something to each customer.
That said, there remain many occasions when we can and should say something or politely put a brochure or a card (like our "Dying for Dinner" card showing and briefly describing a former slaughterer's description of the FEAR in each chicken's eyes as they hang upside down on the slaughter line) in a person's hands without getting into a dispute with them, but just saying, "please look at this when you have a chance. Thank you."
The one thing I cannot agree with is the idea that being an advocate (which necessarily means speaking or acting out in the public domain) is a waste of time and a hopeless cause. Many people use that excuse because they are timid about approaching a stranger or a friend or relative. We cannot control what other people are going to do with our information, but we have complete control over our own activist behavior. Moreover, many people have become animal advocates and vegetarians/vegans because someone put a thought in their ear, a brochure in their hand: even if they did not respond immediately, eventually, they did.
When opportunities arise, the anxiety of speaking up lasts one or two minutes or less. And we feel good afterward. When we forego feasible opportunities, the burden of guilt lasts a lifetime. This, anyway, has been my experience. -- Karen Davis, United Poultry Concerns. www.upc-online.org
Please read.
https://substack.com/@curiosityunlocked/note/c-69076124?r=yn8c0&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action