I HATE VEGANS
Often I hear the comment “Keep your vegan propaganda to
yourself” from non-vegans. Vegans are trying to promote compassion and empathy
for all beings. We are trying to end animal cruelty. So when you call it propaganda, does that
mean you are for animal cruelty? I should hope not. Most vegans were born to
non-vegan families. We grew up learning
it was commonplace to abuse animals for food.
Myself, I grew up in
a time when it was considered proper to take a belt and whip your children with
it. It was considered proper to slap
your child in the face. We, thankfully, no longer accept that. We looked at the
belt whippings and decided it was wrong. Now it is considered child abuse. It
took a while for that change and a lot of parents resisted it, insisting the
only way to discipline children was with a good spanking. My brother continued
to hit his children with a belt, because that is what he was taught.
I grew up in a time when smoking cigarettes was cool. We did
not know how harmful cigarettes and second-hand smoke was. Even when the truth came out, it was met with
opposition and resistance. It was a battle just to get cigarette labeled with
warnings. It was a battle to get smoker’s to stop poisoning non-smokers. Many
people my age still do not believe cigarettes and second hand smoke are
harmful.
And that’s how it is with veganism. Vegans looked at how animals in the food
industry are treated, how animals in general are treated and considered it
abuse and wrong. We see how animal agriculture is destroying our planet. We opened our eyes. Most vegans do not make
any money promoting veganism. We just
are trying to educate people, in the same way people in the past educated
parents on hitting their children, or scientists educated the public on
cigarettes. We want to end the abuse and cruelty. We want to stop global
warming and pollution. We want to give our children a healthy, peaceful planet
for their future.
The next time you think “oh, not another vegan” or “I hate
vegans” think why? Why would you hate someone who is trying to end cruelty? Why
would you hate someone who promotes compassion and empathy? Ask yourself, is it the vegan you are angry at
or is it the fact that they are making you look at your part in animal cruelty.
All vegans have faced the role they had in animal abuse, in their pre-vegan
days. It is a burden we carry. Promoting veganism is what we are doing to make
amends for our past deeds. It takes courage, strength, and conviction to change.
Ask any vegan, our only regret is that we didn’t go vegan sooner.
