Letters to the Editor
DurianJoe
Published Letters: 1494 Editor's Choice: 69
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Response to Kevin
[Read the article: I'm so vegan it hurts]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Kevin,
I and many other vegetarians do in fact interact with animals on a daily basis. I interact every day with my cats, and I have vegan friends who interact with their dogs and rabbits on a daily basis. All three of those species are eaten by people. Furthermore, those vegetarians and vegans who work at sanctuaries for rescued farm animals, such as at Farm Sanctuary, interact with "farm" animals on a daily basis. It's that interaction that affirms for us that nonhuman animals do also think and feel and are thus deserving of our compassion, not our cruelty.
To answer your question about where all the livestock will go (which has been asked by others): as wonderful as it might be, the world will not go vegetarian overnight. As more people go vegetarian (which is the trend now) and the demand for meat falls, fewer cows and other farm animals will be artificially inseminated or otherwise made pregnant. Eventually, one hopes, demand will dwindle to insignificance, along with supply. The remaining farm animals will live out their lives and die. The end.
On your last point: we are pro-choice regarding diet, as I wrote to CosmicMojo below, but we'll stop speaking out on behalf of animals when people like you stop killing them and eating their remains.
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Response to Mr. Meat
[Read the article: I'm so vegan it hurts]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]If you're saying that progess takes time, you're absolutely right, For example, human slavery dates back to at least the 18th century BC, and pockets of it still exist in countries to this day. I have no doubt that animal rights, which is one of the causes I support, has a long road ahead of it.
Progress takes time, thanks in no small part to people like you.
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What point is that, CosmicMojo?
[Read the article: I'm so vegan it hurts]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Despite the fact that I wrote these words, "No one on my side of the issue is going to try to force you to be a vegetarian,"
you responded, "...vegetarians have the egotistical belief that they have the right to force other people to follow their dietary beliefs.
So what point am I proving, except perhaps the implicit point that you see only what you want to see?
You take the same position as someone who, for example, buys sweatshop products or Hummers: "You do what you want to do, and I'll do what I want to do, so leave me alone." Sorry CosmicMojo, but you can't shut us up. As long as people like you continue to abuse animals (and whether you slit their throats or pay others to slit their throats, abuse is what you do to the animals you eat -- unless slitting an animal's throat is somehow not abusive), other people like me will continue to speak out against that abuse. Besides, your meat-eating diet is destroying my environment, so I have further reason to speak out against it.
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Don't have kids
[Read the article: To breed or not to breed]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]The last thing this planet needs is more people. If you feel the need to raise a kid or two, then you should adopt them. There are plenty of orphans around, due to the violent and irresponsible nature of our species. The overall goal should be negative population growth.
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Advice for Night Soiled
[Read the article: Can I kill a cat if it poops in my yard?]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Night Soiled:
The animal pooping in your yard could be a cat. It might also be a raccoon, or a fox, or an oppossum, or perhaps some other critter that has learned to co-exist with people. In any event, you should not take that animal's life. Sure, some measures might be inconvenient or cost a little money, but when weighed against that which is most precious to the animal -- its life -- the ethical thing to do is spare the animal's life.
Let's assume it's a cat. I like the motion-detector sprinkler method. Cats learn very quickly to avoid places that bother them, and getting drenched a few times is sure to do the trick. Also, if that cat is someone's pet, you would devastate them (and perhaps their children) if you disappeared their cat. I can tell you, as a cat owner, it would be terrible if I found my cat dead, but for my cat to disappear would be a nightmare. I would worry all the time if he was starving or otherwise suffering. So please, do not do that.
If it is a cat, and if that cat has a home, then the owners are being extremely negligent. Cats belong indoors. It is far too dangerous out there, and as you demonstrate, they could also be a nuisance. If you ascertain it is a cat, then -- if you don't know the owners -- either take a photo or get a description and put flyers around the neighborhood asking them to get in touch with you. It is their responsibility, and they should know the peril in which they are putting their pet.
In the end, though, the ethical and moral thing to do is to let this animal live, whatever it may be. Try the above suggestions, but also teach your kids to avoid the poop until you find a way to stop it. Your act of kindness and compassion to this animal will be a valuable lesson to your children.
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Why he picks on women, but not blacks...
[Read the article: It's a man's world]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I agree with Elisabeth's terrific letter, below, that this manly-man, anti-pc shtick has gotten old and tired, and that the guys who are into it are mostly middle-class white collar white guys without much real world experience (hence the obssession with so-called political correctness).
Maddox blows a lot of hot air on why he makes fun of women, but not blacks, but I think the real reason is because he's afraid that he'll get beaten up if me makes fun of black people.
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The right way to treat women
[Read the article: It's a man's world]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]CW wrote: "The only outlet is to act like what they have been taught for 30 years is correct, that we are ignorant, brutish, animals who simply want beer, bikinis, and football to be happy."
With all due respect, CW, there is a better outlet to any perceived injustices which you believe men have suffered as a result of the feminist movement: carry yourself in a dignified manner, and treat women with respect. Women will return the favor.