(On facebook nowadays, everyone's opinion is thrust at you through status updates, which is basically like twitter, but for those without the urge to update every 10 minutes. You get all sorts of updates- things that you understand, messages that make no sense, and updates from people you rarely see or dislike. This is one of those situations.) One of my former "kids" from the youth orchestra I managed at NEC is really conservative...and spends a lot of time online. Earlier this year, I made sure to eliminate her from my "feed" but facebook is sketchy and it doesn't always work. I mostly was just tired of seeing her count down (daily) to the end of high school or her rants about Obama or non-Christians. But today's made me chuckle.
"How about we start treating humans better before we even start thinking about animal rights?"
Here's what I think: Well, sweetie, let's treat all beings with respect. Let's be nice to humans, even liberals, and then we can talk. I truly do not believe that humans are not necessarily "above" all other creatures on earth, therefore making it difficult for me to justify hurting those other creatures. Even if you think Buddhist and Hindu concepts of reincarnation are bollocks, one can't deny that humans tend to destroy the earth, whether that includes humans, animals, plants, or other naturally occurring live-forms. If we only focus our efforts on humans, and get rid of the desire to save endangered species, stop poor treatment of factory animals, or stop the fur trade, then we are indulging in selfishness and forgetting about the interconnectedness of all beings on earth. Most of the animals that need "rights" are endangered by us. Humans. So maybe people who advocate for the earth or for animals or for the green movement DO care about humans- they're just more interested in undoing the hundreds of years of damage that we've done through industrialization and lack of ethics. But let's stop having wars, stop gangs, stop bombing people, change our immigration policies, improve the economy, teach people to make do with less, and then we can not just be animal rights activists, but life activists. Because it's all connected. All life is special, whether it be a mosquito, a human, or a gopher.* And it's our job, as the creatures with the biggest tools, to help everyone out, whether fuzzy or human. It's the wilderness explorer way.
*(I saw a gopher today in the grass!!!!)
listening to: the top albums of '09: st vincent, grizzly bear, animal collective, dark was the night.
2 comments:
amen sister. ...and not just between me and you...we are all God's creatures. the bible says to feed your animals before you feed yourselves, and kosher laws (though many are outdated, i admit) demand we respect our animals (even the ones we eat). although i agree that we should treat people better, does that necessarily mean that we treat animals badly? or, to combat what she is implying, is there a limit on human kindness? there seems to be no limit on cruelty, so i certainly hope (i know! and believe...) that there is no limit on kindness.
i had a shitty, shitty day, and at the end of it, i was even able to show a little kindness to myself by not bingeing, by trying to sleep, by allowing myself to write. if even in our most emotionally draining/upsetting times we are able to show kindness to ourselves, imagine what we can do for other people, our animals, and our planet!
I sort of hate when people set up these false exclusivities. You also see it in terms of women's rights.
Life activists. I love it.
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