Letters to the Editor
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She does want to know
Before I read the letters posted here, which I'm sure are a mix of vitriol and comments about factory farming, comparisons to religious zealots, self-righteousness, etc., as they generally are when veganism is mentioned on Salon (why it's such a sensational topic here is very interesting to me, but beside the point of this letter) I want to put my gut reaction out here about this LW's question.
She does want to know. I can't speak for all vegans, but as the LW points out - succinctly and directly for such a complex topic - this is about where he draws the line between his moral in-group and out-group. There's no objective right answer to that question. Evolutionary psychology's explanation for why some percentage of us are wary of out-groups and some are not, and why we have this expanding moral sphere as we evolve is a good one. But it means that it just doesn't hit some of us the way it hits others. For some people - at least for myself and some of the other vegans I know - it's a simple switch going off. You like animals and realize what's happening to the animals and you feel profoundly sad for them, you want to help them. For me, it was a sudden feeling that it wasn't my place in the world to hurt or kill another creature just so that I had another menu option. That aesthetic preference seemed such a silly and insignificant reason for the entire life of another animal - the pain they feel, the inability for them to do essentially anything they naturally want to do, and then killing them, often violently, just weighed much heavier for me than whether I ate spaghetti or a steak. The idea of taking away the entire life of an animal for the sake of my food choice just seemed preposterous. If that's how the LW's friend feels, she really doesn't understand him. And if I were in her position, I would want to. He seems intelligent and open minded, and like he has a basic grasp on the issue. "So" she's probably thinking to herself, "why doesn't he care about their lives?"
Most vegan outreach these days uses the assumption that people do care about animals. And this assumption isn't off. People love their companion animals - most people with dogs talk to their dogs, let them sleep on the bed, etc. And looking at the way children relate to animals - stories, fables, songs, movies, tv shows, it's clear that there is some empathy between (at least some) humans and animals. So for the people whose natural state is to relate to animals and want to help them, we just don't really understand where the rest of you are coming from.
The answer, it seems to me, is that LW just doesn't care about animals the same way his friend does. This is not a judgmental statment, it's just the way things are. Everyone has their preferences, and we're all wired to care about things in one way or another. Yes, it's disappointing for vegans who are trying to get others to feel the way we do - everyone wants to be around people with similar values, at least some of the time, and we want to help the animals as much as possible - but it's the truth, and any rational person would understand that. I think that's all she's looking for.
That's not to say that Cary's answer was off. It wasn't - she should accept his friendship for what it is and how it adds to both of their lives, regardless of whether he eats meat. And she wants him to be vegan. But she also wants to know. If she's anything like me, she's vegan because she wants to protect the animals. She's enlisting his help in that. When he declines, she's confused. At least in my experience, if I really hear what people say on the topic when they find out I'm vegan, I can pretty accurately predict whether they're going to go vegan eventually or they just are not. So she may very well drop the subject once she gets her explanation. The way I read LW's question, it doesn't seem like she's giving him an ultimatum - veganism or the friendship - she's just asking what his perspective is. Yes, she should respect who he is and the friendship, but what's wrong with him giving her his answer, for the sake of the friendship? What's the harm in that?
One more thing: he mentions that animals are not his "moral equal". LW, they do not have to be your moral equal for you to care about their suffering and death. It's because you're in the unique and privileged position to have a choice about what you eat and are able to lessen suffering and death that you are in a special moral position. You can be the protector if you so choose.
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Why are meat eaters so defensive? ...This is a typical right wing tactic.
OK, now stop with the *all vegans are liberal* and *all meat eaters are conservative*! what an insulting incorrect generalization!
I am as liberal as they come, call me socialist, democratic, pinko, femimist. I also love MEAT.
And Jehovah's witnesses are very conservative, but they don't eat meat.
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The Groundhog Diet
I'm a Level 5 vegan.
I don't eat anything that casts a shadow.
-- I envy us
`
Good one! This comment is not only funny, but insightful, in a Zen kind of way. Forgive me for stepping all over it, but if I could change one thing about our existence here on Earth it would be that animals could sustain themselves, by breathing alone.
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Sonofabastard,
I did not mean that you were pontificating. My post was directed at Tearose. I mentioned you specifically only because you brought up your cat, and I have no idea if Tearose has a pet.
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perhaps she does want to know
although I think more she just wants to criticize him. But assuming she really does want to know why he eats meat. SO WHAT? He still is under no obligation to explaim himself to her. Her wanting to know is not the question, the idea to get across is HIS right to live as he wants without haveing to explain.