Hanging in there

966: 

This is what it comes down to:  Is a vegan strong enough to withstand the likelihood of no-change-yet.  By leaving the normal style of life behind us, we choose to lead a life dedicated to non-violence, even though we know we might never see the sort of substantial changes take place in our own lifetime.  There are still very few people around the world who are willing to defy the expectations of their society to be ‘normal’, when it comes to using animal-based food and clothing.  Those of us who are vegan take on the world, since we are the only ones who will defend the right-to-a-life for animals that have been bred into this world by our fellow humans.  We believe life is possible without abattoirs since they symbolise compliance-with-the-norm; if normality is wrong we don’t ‘do’ normal.

This is the side of normality, the shameful and violent side, is rarely spoken about.  It’s too shameful to bring up in conversation, for it condones the machinery of mass execution.  Animal abattoirs are no different to any of the worst extermination camps of Nazi Germany.  People pretend not to know what the abattoir really is (or they don’t care).  And since abattoirs are usually located well out of town – most people wouldn’t even know where the nearest one was.  Nor would they know what went on there, apart from the fact that animals are slaughtered there.

From the Industry’s point of view, it’s essential that there’s secrecy surrounding the treatment and execution of animals.  The Animal Industries are made up of the people who farm, kill and produce things out of animals.  We, the customers, cooperate.  We play along since we want to maintain the ready availability of all the items we love to eat, wear and use, and to be able to buy them at the lowest price.

Vegans, however, are on the side of the animals, and since animals can’t defend themselves, we become their advocates and protectors against the juggernaut of abusers and customers.  We hope to succeed in winning animals their ‘rights’, even though we realise that ‘rights’ seem a long way from being won.  What keeps us hanging in there is that, in our fight for animals and our avoidance of abattoir food, we at least know the food we eat is clean and that our own tastes are not as fixed as we thought.  And, in addition, we also know that having a clear conscience is certainly worth having.