you should read this if you eat

"Because one species is more clever than another, does it give it the right to imprison or torture the less clever species? Does one exceptionally clever individual have a right to exploit the less clever individuals of his own species? To say that he does is to say with the Fascists that the strong have a right to abuse and exploit the weak - might is right, and the strong and ruthless shall inherit the earth." Richard Ryder

what is:
the huge excuse not to act responsibly.

we want purpose and reason for doing something. especially if it involves some sort of sacrifice on our part. why do we seems to have the group mentality of not taking a serious issue, seriously. the jokes used to be funny to me. global warming will make winters awesome. now i cringe. the apathy is transmittable, i see it spread. we set standards for each other, tell each other what is appropriate. i DO feel like a douche saying "holy shit your so wrong we're all gunna die if we don't do something quick!" & telling my friends "don't order the meat-dish you fool. get something better for everyone in general" is hard. but why? no one else is doing it, but the expectations are low in the first place. is this a stigma? why is this frowned upon? it's an uncomfortable topic? or god said in the bible said it was cool to eat animals and that's good enough right?

.outside example.

throw one piece of litter on the ground and it doesn't "matter" in the most obvious sense. but the mindset of it does. other people seeing you do it, or seeing the litter as they walk by, does matter. i do mean that by throwing the litter once on the street, you are less likely to care if other people do it too. there is the contagiousness of it. i'm not under the illusion that everyone will literally start immediately throwing their shit all over the place. the whole city starts emptying garbages out the windows from apartment buildings. no. i'm talkin bout the attitude. the indifference. not being hard enough on each other. we aren't looking out for each other. we are letting ourselves get away with it. if you see someone about to be hit by a bus, do you say, nah i won't bother them? they may not want to be interrupted?

so tell people "ya i guess it's your choice what you eat. go ahead and order the half-cow sized steak. this is just my choice to not eat meat. don't have to listen to me." then expect them to take you seriously when you say you think being vegetarian is important or serious or not just a fucking hipster-fad. i started eating less meat, then being more vegetarian out of curiosity. what's it about? maybe i'll feel better. but meat, i miss you, i like you, i like cooking you. it's hard to give up. i'm not the guy who just doesn't like meat. please someone tell me how i can clean-consciously eat meat! i'd love to change my mind. i can't help but see that this much meat is bad for us. and for the "meat" that are animals. i hate people that can convince themselves of whatever they want. i can't be that.

.boiling down to.

how can it be ok to eat a cow or pig when you don't have to. i think the world would be better off if we were all vegetarian, or at least shifting in that direction gradually, the faster the better. it's about having the same standards across the board. imagine that is just a normal thing one day - people are respectful or at least conscious of what they're eating.

!shock!

the world would be better off with less rapists. people are pretty sure rape is bad. at least around here. now if i crack the case on an unoticed world-wide problem of tons of rapists all over the place, people wouldn't tell me to keep my views to myself or mind my own business or that it's their choice to rape or how much they rape or does a little rape matter that much here and there. i wouldn't be scared or feel unjustified saying something about it. we don't allow each other to do that kind of thing round these parts here. it's not savvy. the standard says no raping. there's no question if one rape really makes a difference in the big picture.

it's wrong no matter how you slice it. that's why i don't see a problem pointing out that eating the amount of meat we do in the world, is wrong. how can it be right? it's right just because it tastes good? we've been doing it a long time? what is there out there even. pro-eat-whatever-how-much-ever-i-want people tend to not say anything, or get defensive.

!solution!

eat less meat. the less, the better. don't tell people it won't make a difference. don't tell yourself that. every little bit matters. and every big bit matters more. challenge your neighbour or brother to be better about eating meat. if you think it's wrong, then don't be passive about it. go about it however you want, but don't cop out and be scared to rock the boat. the more vegetarians there are, the better the chances of me not having to eat some of the shitty veg food out there. the better the odds of finding something without meat on the menu that isn't an appetizer.

so is it wrong to campaign for animals who have no way to debate the subject themselves? it's not like the solution is complicated. the solution won't backfire. it's not solving AIDS in africa or child abduction in uganda. it's changing the way you eat.

*i may be doing this so that i can't turn back now. now if i eat meat, i'm a hypocrite moron. i'm stuck. . . whew!

**if you need non-animal reasons to be vegetarian, there is a slew of them. health. environmental. cost. that's another blog for another day.