Grabbing what’s on offer

582:

Has anyone ever asked the animals their permission, for taking things from them? Their secretions and, for heaven’s sake, their very lives?

            No animal has indicated in any way, that we may steal from them, and yet we do, and all the while we think it’s essential and (for we humans at least) efficacious. This is fundamentally why vegans get so angry and judgemental about the casual way omnivores conduct themselves in this respect.

            Now, if we really want omnivores to start thinking about ‘permission’ we need to see them as potential learners rather than blind consumers. They need to see us as teachers rather than condemners.

If we can’t stop our habit of judging them, then the bigger our raging the smaller our voice, and the more likely no one will take notice of what we’re trying to tell them. One of my main criticisms of the animal rights movement is that we only ever judge and condemn. We say the same things over and over again, hoping something will stick and hoping the penny will drop. We fail to see how this tactic never actually works.

Often we’re not very original in what we say. And if what we say is stale it might mean that we aren’t that interested in talking through the subject.

If we don’t really want to talk ethics with people, then what DO we want to talk about? Usually we don’t get much past health and cruelty issues, using a few well worn slogans and topping it off with a few moral judgements.

Wouldn’t it be better to simply give out useful information, without feeling a compulsion to show our feelings of disgust. Our feelings will be obvious anyway, without having to show them. They are life-grabbers we are talking to. They are used to grabbing whatever they want that’s on sale. Our job is to get them to grab us instead, and wring information from us. That is our real value.