Thinking harmless

1261: 

Vegan’s have rules concerning animals and eating habits but some of us don’t apply it to our relations with each other.  I know I don’t always observe the rule, of comprehensive non-violence.  It’s easy to dislike uncaring people, but then that probably includes almost the whole of the human race.  My own moral judgement is a slippery slope when I'm disapproving of  the customer for spending their money in support of the very people who directly attack animals.  So the question is, am I capable of harmlessness (thinking-without-aggression) and being non-judgemental?

If I’m trying to set a standard for non-violence, I surely have to be more generous with my judgements, without being a pollyanna.  It means looking for the best in people, giving them the benefit of the doubt, whilst not necessarily okaying what they actually do.

I have to separate the deed from the person.  I have to investigate what makes people tick, and ask myself why so many people aren’t concerned about ‘the animal problem’, and why they aren’t impatient to become vegan.  I’d like to be putting my fellow humans under the microscope, to find out why they don’t protest at the routine killing of creatures, and why they are, in fact, enthusiastic supporters of it, or rather the end products of the killing.  I realise that many people have never given it much thought, I realise many people don’t know what’s really going on.  But I also realise that many people do know and won’t budge.  Towards these people it’s easy to be judgemental, so they provide the best test for vegans who are trying to do some harmlessness-thinking.