There are nights that for the life of me I cannot close my eyes. I am not a "worrier", at least not in the same category as my mother and sister. I do worry about things but not compulsively. I don't look for things to worry about.
I do have a tendency for "continued education" which to me is refreshing my passion for animal rights through video. There are many people that I know that cannot do it. They cannot bring themselves to watch the videos that show the plight of elephants & tigers in circuses or zoos, turkeys and chickens in factory farms, cows and pigs in slaughterhouses.
It haunts them.
It scars them.
I understand this.
But to be honest, it scars the animals a helluva lot more than it can ever scar us.
So many people that I know think I am so principled. I find that counfounding. I don't consider myself excessively principled.
I am, however, excessively haunted.
Every video stays with me. And every time I see a burger, bacon, cheese, eggs, those videos revisit me. Everytime I see the signs go up for the rodeo and the circus or the local zoo, I see the images that are burned into my consciousness.
Abuse of dependent beings is the hot button issue for me. There is no defense of it. You cannot give me a reason I will accept. Hitting children, bullhooking elephants, whipping tigers, smashing piglets onto a concrete floor, sodomizing turkeys...just not defensible.
So when I saw that yet another elephant had died in captivity in a zoo, it brought up all those images I have of "training" videos.
The gut wrenching, soul destroying "breaking" of baby elephants by being tied down and beaten bloody for days.
The screaming of captive elephants at the hands of their 'trainers".
The wild look in their eyes as a "trainer" approaches with a weapon of discipline in their hand.
Seeing the video of little Mac as he lifted his little leg at the "request" of his trainers makes my heart ache. I know what an elephant must endure in order to master that feat. He must endure screaming and beatings and relentless sadistic actions. To do something that is unnatural to an animal it takes a great deal of fear. Terror actually. The ironic part is that those in the crowd watching, see an animal - like an elephant or a dolphin - with what appears to be a smile - as if the animal is enjoying the fun game.
They do not.
I often wonder if people even think where the dolphins that jump through the rings, the tigers that hurl themselves through the fire, the elephants that mount each others' backs in a ghasty display...I wonder if anyone every thinks about where these animals come from, where they stay when they aren't performing, how they are treated.
I see videos to keep myself aware.
The dolphin round ups in the coves of Japan where the water is turned red with blood as these terrified animals are trapped in the most horrifying display you will ever witness.
The relentless bloodying of elephants to ensure they remain petrified at all times.
The greyhound dogs that are raced and then beaten, abused and neglected.
The circus ponies punched in the face for no reason.
I see what men do to animals.
From the skinning of live dogs in China for unlabeled fur trim on American coats to the ripping off of wings and legs that are caught in the cages at the slaugherhouse.
I have seen it. It is with me everyday.
Every second of everyday.
It is not hard being vegan.
As I would think it would not be hard not being a Nazi.
Or a slave owner.
Seeing and hearing how some are treated at the hands of others...it makes it easy.
Tempting? Sure.
But the guilt is not worth it.
Knowing that the piece of chocolate that will satisfy a craving for 15 seconds does not justify the hell that baby calf had to go through - being ripped from its mother, tossed into a box to become veal or ground up for 99 cent burgers.
I understand how the out of sight, out of mind theory works for most people.
I also understand how wounding a video showing what animals must go through is to most people.
My question is - how do you justify consuming animals yet not give them the respect of witnessing what they go through for you?
Mac is in a better place now. I only wish he could have lived as he was intended to live while on this earth - with a loving family, with the grass and dirt and trees around him, running for his life, learning from his family how to fend for himself and to be part of a family unit. My heart is made up of miniscule pieces, shattered endlessly by man's inhumanity yet pieced back together by those that are willing to give of themselves to make life better for the dependent beings placed in our care.
Watch Whale Wars on Animal Planet on Friday nights. It is the story of the organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society started by Paul Watson, one of the original members of Greenpeace. I have been giving to this organization on a monthly basis for close to a year now because they go and stand in between our fellow mammals of the sea and the hunters. It is so much better than the (gag) Deadliest Catch because this it is all about the sparing of life and those willing to throw themselves into harm's way for the benefit of others.
I find that to be as close to what Jesus asked us to do than almost anything else.
I do have a tendency for "continued education" which to me is refreshing my passion for animal rights through video. There are many people that I know that cannot do it. They cannot bring themselves to watch the videos that show the plight of elephants & tigers in circuses or zoos, turkeys and chickens in factory farms, cows and pigs in slaughterhouses.
It haunts them.
It scars them.
I understand this.
But to be honest, it scars the animals a helluva lot more than it can ever scar us.
So many people that I know think I am so principled. I find that counfounding. I don't consider myself excessively principled.
I am, however, excessively haunted.
Every video stays with me. And every time I see a burger, bacon, cheese, eggs, those videos revisit me. Everytime I see the signs go up for the rodeo and the circus or the local zoo, I see the images that are burned into my consciousness.
Abuse of dependent beings is the hot button issue for me. There is no defense of it. You cannot give me a reason I will accept. Hitting children, bullhooking elephants, whipping tigers, smashing piglets onto a concrete floor, sodomizing turkeys...just not defensible.
So when I saw that yet another elephant had died in captivity in a zoo, it brought up all those images I have of "training" videos.
The gut wrenching, soul destroying "breaking" of baby elephants by being tied down and beaten bloody for days.
The screaming of captive elephants at the hands of their 'trainers".
The wild look in their eyes as a "trainer" approaches with a weapon of discipline in their hand.
Seeing the video of little Mac as he lifted his little leg at the "request" of his trainers makes my heart ache. I know what an elephant must endure in order to master that feat. He must endure screaming and beatings and relentless sadistic actions. To do something that is unnatural to an animal it takes a great deal of fear. Terror actually. The ironic part is that those in the crowd watching, see an animal - like an elephant or a dolphin - with what appears to be a smile - as if the animal is enjoying the fun game.
They do not.
I often wonder if people even think where the dolphins that jump through the rings, the tigers that hurl themselves through the fire, the elephants that mount each others' backs in a ghasty display...I wonder if anyone every thinks about where these animals come from, where they stay when they aren't performing, how they are treated.
I see videos to keep myself aware.
The dolphin round ups in the coves of Japan where the water is turned red with blood as these terrified animals are trapped in the most horrifying display you will ever witness.
The relentless bloodying of elephants to ensure they remain petrified at all times.
The greyhound dogs that are raced and then beaten, abused and neglected.
The circus ponies punched in the face for no reason.
I see what men do to animals.
From the skinning of live dogs in China for unlabeled fur trim on American coats to the ripping off of wings and legs that are caught in the cages at the slaugherhouse.
I have seen it. It is with me everyday.
Every second of everyday.
It is not hard being vegan.
As I would think it would not be hard not being a Nazi.
Or a slave owner.
Seeing and hearing how some are treated at the hands of others...it makes it easy.
Tempting? Sure.
But the guilt is not worth it.
Knowing that the piece of chocolate that will satisfy a craving for 15 seconds does not justify the hell that baby calf had to go through - being ripped from its mother, tossed into a box to become veal or ground up for 99 cent burgers.
I understand how the out of sight, out of mind theory works for most people.
I also understand how wounding a video showing what animals must go through is to most people.
My question is - how do you justify consuming animals yet not give them the respect of witnessing what they go through for you?
Mac is in a better place now. I only wish he could have lived as he was intended to live while on this earth - with a loving family, with the grass and dirt and trees around him, running for his life, learning from his family how to fend for himself and to be part of a family unit. My heart is made up of miniscule pieces, shattered endlessly by man's inhumanity yet pieced back together by those that are willing to give of themselves to make life better for the dependent beings placed in our care.
Watch Whale Wars on Animal Planet on Friday nights. It is the story of the organization Sea Shepherd Conservation Society started by Paul Watson, one of the original members of Greenpeace. I have been giving to this organization on a monthly basis for close to a year now because they go and stand in between our fellow mammals of the sea and the hunters. It is so much better than the (gag) Deadliest Catch because this it is all about the sparing of life and those willing to throw themselves into harm's way for the benefit of others.
I find that to be as close to what Jesus asked us to do than almost anything else.
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