Separation

2065:

The reason our ‘mutual separations’ occur, over this animal question, isn’t just because of food, health and cruelty issues, it’s also about our attitude towards being judged. Value judging, the negative sort, concerns the non-vegan’s ‘contempt’ for animals. Nothing makes a vegan angrier than hearing the phrase “They’re just animals”. It implies that animals are dumb and we can do as we please with them. Vegans do passionately care about the suffering of animals. Farmed animals, laboratory animals, circus animals, etc. We want to let non-vegans know how deeply outraged we are.

But usually our arguments do no good because reasonable discussion is made almost impossible by their reading our ‘outrage’ and judgement, clothed in a show of sensitivity on the vegan’s part. They can smell the value judgment, and find it threatening. They see us as self-righteous do-gooders. We see them as dismissive. Mutual dislike. No one ever listens after they feel disliked. Thus ends any chance of communication between us.