When I first went vegan, I experienced a type of bullying I'd never experienced before. It was beyond cruel, and it made my high school experience, one I'd like to forget. This year it will be 10 years since I went vegan, and my, how times have changed. I've grown to enjoy debating with bullies. If you can deconstruct a bully's argument, you'll see it's all based on fear tactics. Being a vegan represents a threat to an omnivore's lifestyle. Because I've chosen to cut all animal products out of my life, it brings out a deep rooted guilty conscience. I'm not calling omnivores bad people, (although chicks who glorify fur are another story.) It's those who choose to bash us as bad people, when we're fighting for a better world.
I've become more vocal about animal rights through my work with Fur Free LA. It gained a lot of praise, but standing up to the fur industry comes with its haters. I've heard it all. When it's online, it's even more vicious, as bullies have the safety of being behind a computer screen. However, their arguments are riddled with factual errors, and I enjoy reducing their most vile comments to that of a peanut. So when a bully says, "I love eating meat. Animals are for killing. Go eat a granola bar you idiot."You have to see through the hate and break down exactly what they're saying. There is a BIG difference between FACT and OPINION. "I love meat" is an opinion. "Animals were put here for humans" is an opinion, though that opinion is usually taken from the Bible. If you're going to quote the Bible literally, you can't just pick and choose what it says. The Bible also says homosexuality is a sin, slavery is okay, and you must kill your neighbor if he works on the Sabath. Just because something is a tradition, or has been going on throughout history, doesn't mean it's right. Look at slavery. In some parts of the world it still goes on today. Sexism, racism, and homophobia still exist today. That's because people like to view "others" as lesser beings. The same can be said for speciesism. As Jeremy Bentham said, "The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?"
If a bully ever calls you a derogatory term like an idiot, understand that this is just a fear tactic, and a slur. If you were in an actual debate, throwing in words like that completely negate a bully's argument to that of a kindergartner, and boom, you've won. I get the "go eat a granola bar, you hippie" quite often. Which I don't really see as an insult as granola is awesome, and so are hippies. They may win first prize in a DOUCHE contest, but keep that to yourself. By taking the high road, they accept that award without actually realizing it.
Morals and ethics are not the same thing. Ethics are a much larger law. Ethics will tell you, killing is wrong. Society then interprets those ethics. If killing is wrong, then war is wrong, but society creates its own morals, and excuses self defense and justifiable wars. So your own morals are how you choose to interpret the greater law of ethics. As a vegan, I agree that killing is wrong, so I chose to live my life as cruelty free as possible. There is no such thing as a perfect vegan. Accidents happen. The point being, I'm trying. There's a great quote from Shelley Williams that says:
"The difference between you and the vegan standing next to you is that while you’re both going to step on a bug tomorrow, they’ve decided to dedicate their lives to as little harm as possible, completely independent from what you do. So in no way does the protozoan life form they step on negate your responsibility for the lamb you’re paying a stranger to cut tomorrow. And falling 1% short of an unattainable goal is really good when you’re standing next to someone who won’t even try.”
If a bully is going to buy into his or her litany of misinformation, than there is a chance they'll continue to believe their own words and discredit and write you off as a "extremist hippie."Even if they choose not to listen, you've won. By standing up for yourself in a civilized, thoughtful, and factually sound argument, not only does it further validate your own vegan-ness, but in this online era of chat room arguments, you can win some new fans by taking the higher road. By relaying facts--and not "preaching"--you will gain respect from those who are not vegan, and those who are not bullies. Eloquently displayed passion can change hearts and minds.
"If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything." So don't let the bullies get to you. They come with being a vegan. They come with believing in a just cause. Passion and courage are rare in this day and age, and they're to be cherished, not discouraged. Rock on.
Great post, Amy - I agree with you on many of the points. I would never wear fur, and I know what you mean when you say that vegans can be bullied for their beliefs.
ReplyDeleteWhat I think is ironic, however, is that you say something that is pretty sexist (maybe you don't realize it) when you say "(although chicks who glorify fur are another story)," even as you mention later on that "Sexism, racism, and homophobia still exist today." I'm not saying that some women don't choose to wear fur, such as those who buy Canada Goose jackets or those who wear a full-on mink jacket. Maybe they do. But I took a course on eco-feminism, which taught something that I really believe - most women wear fur because it's a symbol of sex and status to their boyfriend or husband, who - let's be honest - have been historically the ones who buy them. The argument I read compared two advertisements - one from PETA on fur, which was completely sexist and one from an organization whose name escapes me now that targeted the fur industry specifically. In the PETA double-page ad, one side had a dead animal skin with the phrase, "Dead bitch." And the other side, had a woman wearing a fur with the phrase, "rich bitch."
In contrast, the other ad, had a couple of hunters setting a trap outdoors for the animals. Both ads are against the fur industry, but only one of them - like your comment - blames women for the wearing of fur. I just think that there is more to it than that.
Thank you for your comments. I'm not sure what you find sexist. Is it the fact that I said "chicks," that my shirt says PETA, the fact that I only mentioned women as wearing fur, or the ladder? I agree that yes, men do wear fur as well, but the fur industry largely caters to women. However, I don't find what I said to be sexist in any way. One of my current campaigns is INTERMIX, which only sells fur for women. Often times, the women who cross the picket line shout back "I love fur!" or other snide remarks. Yes, there are men that wear fur who try to bash us, but it's mostly women when it comes to fur. On the issue of being a vegan, it's typically men who bully me the most. Specifically two boys in high school who made my life hell.
ReplyDeleteIf you were offended by the fact that I said "chicks" than I'm sorry, but I don't find that offensive. If you are referring to my PETA shirt, than you should know that the only thing I don't like about the tee is the fact that it says PETA on it. I wish that they didn't put their name on everything. While I like the tee, I don't want to advertise PETA. Non vegans often assume that activists in general, or my group (Fur Free LA) is some branch of is PETA. There are a lot of amazing things PETA does, but there are also a lot of tactics I strongly disagree with. So if you're inferring that my tee shirt is somehow connected to my views on PETA's sexist ads, than you're mistaken.
Anywho, thank you for stopping by my blog :)
~Amy
It says very clearly what I found sexist and it has nothing to do with being associated with PETA or that men also wear fur. I also don't care that you said "chicks" either. I feel like you didn't actually read my comment at all.
DeleteThe point is that historically, men bought furs for women as a sign of status and because they associate them with sex appeal, which I do not (and I'm certain you don't either). When you say that women glorify the wearing of fur, you deny the historical fact that men have sexualized the wearing of fur and bought it for women. So to say that it's only women who glorify the wearing of fur is sexist.
In my previous comment, I only mentioned PETA because I was highlighting an academic article that showed these type of comments and thoughts are sexist because they blame women for wearing the fur when as I said 3 times now, it's men who have historically bought fur for women and sexualized the wearing of fur.
I hope that makes more sense to you?
"latter" ;)
ReplyDeleteThis is an awesome and informative post. I do have experienced a lot of hatred and bullying from people once they find out I'm vegan. I still do not fully understand why people are so angry and hurtful towards vegans in general, perhaps no one has corrected them. I've reported my manager numerous times for his hurtful words in front of other co-workers (the 1st time was extremely cruel, try holding back tears in front of other management and coworkers).
ReplyDelete