Are We Even Human?

I believe that life is better, on even a personal level, when we extend our morality – and how we treat others around us – to include all sentient life… accepting that, despite our differences, we are each still worthy of equal moral consideration.

 

How can we hug the one, yet hurt the other?

This is personal development for introverts, atheists, LGBTQ+ and vegans…

This is The Public Server…

Murder Games

“They must look at us like we are devils”

A line spoken by someone who sounds an awful lot like Gary Yourofsky, at around the three-minute mark, breaks the angst-fuelled hard-rock ballad-of-the-beasts sung by Badflower in their track appropriately named Murder Games; an emotional battle-cry for the voiceless majority around the world and a powerful reminder about the atrocities we commit against them.

After a brief, but necessary, description of the cruelty we inflict on the innocent victims of our selfish greed and, right before the song launches into a violent conclusion with seventeen verses of its chorus, we are left with the apt yet ominous remark:

“… What humans do to animals is completely evil”.

When I first heard this song, I didn’t think much of it… but when I began my journey down the rabbit-hole into the hell that is animal agriculture, I couldn’t get it out of my head and played it on repeat until I became completely numb.

At one time in our history it may have been necessary but, in this day and age, the pain and suffering we inflict on animals is nothing short of a sick and twisted game… a game in which the most innocent and defenceless amongst us are being murdered, in the trillions, to satisfy our selfish pleasures.

We really are just playing murder games…, forcibly taking the lives of those who don’t want to die — you can just see it in their eyes — but the food industry is paying billions in marketing to have us believe we need every last drop of the blood that they’re selling.

And so, we happily eat the bullshit they feed us, utterly convinced that these animals are bred for the slaughter; that their sacrifice is necessary for our very survival. We are so separated from the process, it’s easy to overlook the fact that they’re being exploited and tortured for no good reason.

We ingest the infected flesh, injected with disease and scarred with years of abuse… And as they rot and decay from within us, we scoff at those who dare protest and violently defend the industry making us sick.

Diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disorders and auto-immune disease; all preventable, yet all so ubiquitous… does it not make you wonder?

And when the pain we’ve digested turns to cancer in our bodies, we needn’t worry… Big Pharma will gladly sell us the medicine designed to keep us alive long enough to get us crawling back for both the disease and the cure.

So, the next time we dig into our steak or have to pop a pill for the privilege… we should take a moment to ponder the death on our plates and think about the companies profiting at the expense of humanity.

Meat is not healthy… meat is murder… and we’re paying for it with our fucking lives!

See No Evil 🙈 / Hear No Evil 🙉

But we don’t care to know; we actively avoid the reality of our choices.

‘Don’t show me that, I don’t want to see it… don’t ruin my meal, I don’t want to hear it’.

But we can only deny the facts for so long and, sooner or later, the demons of our decisions will rear their ugly heads, forcing us to confront the consequences of our passive participation.

The turning point for me was the documentary Dominion; and, if you only watch one documentary this year, this should be it:

Please be advised that this video is a graphic depiction of what happens to animals in factory farms. At least 80% of all meat we buy is factory farmed and what you are about to witness is not the exception, it’s the industry norm:

Just because we bury our heads in the sand doesn’t mean the pain disappears.

Only when we stop paying for the problem will it actually go away.

Hypocrite, Know Thyself

And before we scream bloody murder when we see our neighbour slapping his dog, perhaps we should first put down our double bacon cheeseburger and consult the nearest mirror.

We cannot claim to be against animal cruelty and then proceed to indirectly cause it… well, we can, but then we must address the cognitive dissonance we are experiencing and accept the hypocrisy of our behaviour.

At least the person who kills and eats anything and everything is consistent, but is she more morally depraved?

What is the trait that gives our pet moral worth but not the lamb, chicken, pig or cow?

I argue that the only thing separating the two is context; arbitrary differentiators that one could easily use to justify almost anything.

This is discrimination of the highest order, perpetuating a holocaust for nothing more than our sensory pleasure.

Slicing the throat of a cow because we like the way it tastes is morally NO DIFFERENT from kicking a cat to death because we like the way it sounds.

I couldn’t more highly recommend you check out this video by CosmicSkeptic on Cognitive Dissonance below.

Delusions, Fallacies and Outright Lies (Because Ignorance is Bliss)

I will go into more detail on many of the points made in this article in other posts, on social media or via The Public Server newsletter.

However, let’s just briefly discuss some of the disgusting arguments people use to justify the consumption of animal flesh, shall we?

We have a superiority complex and believe that animals have been placed on earth for us, to use and abuse as we so wish. Nobody more so believes in this ‘might makes right’ bullshit than the religious zealot, making the unsubstantiated claim that some god put these sentient-machines here for our benefit; that, whereas we have a soul, animals do not!

Wild animals eat each other in nature — it’s the food chain; the circle of life — I mean lions don’t concern themselves with the wellbeing of a gazelle when they viscously attack and eat it alive.

Maybe you think your puny canines confirm that you’re a carnivorous creature, so I challenge you to rip into the raw remains of a rabbit that you tore apart with your bear claws (see what I did there?). Does the thought of it make you hungry, does it make you drool? Perhaps you derive your morality from lions in the wild, but I think we’re better than that. And, whereas they are obligate carnivores, you can’t even call yourself an omnivore. As humans, we need to recognise that animals have moral worth, despite not having moral agency as we do.

Perchance the answer lies in the protein; only animals have what we need to survive! Ignore the science, and all the doctors, all the happy, healthy vegans over 70, 80, 90, what have you. Sacrilege, heresy, it’s blasphemy I say! How dare you take away my meat, my blood, my protein… I mean, do you even lift, bro?

And speaking of survival, did you know that rape was evolutionarily significant? So, let’s talk tradition and culture, since nature has already been addressed… we use all these excuses to justify the enslavement, rape, torture and murder of animals, so why not humans too? Well, that’s different, don’t be absurd! How could you even suggest such a thing? Well, my dear friend, people have historically, traditionally and culturally been discriminated against, victimised and abused, yet civilised society was able to grow out of that nonsense, no? We no longer allow rape to justify the evolutionary survival of humans because, guess what, there are other ways to survive.

So, you like the way animals taste, you say? What if I argued that I like the way rape feels? Or the way it sounds when I torture a baby? Those are choices which involve sensory pleasure, too. They also involve a victim. I guess the type of sense and the reason for the action and the species of the victim and the context of the crime… I guess it all depends, right?

“But”, you will cry, in one final palliation for the massacre you demand, “it’s my personal choice so leave me alone! I respect your decisions, just as you should mine!” Ah, but you forget, my veganism is of the variety ‘extreme’… so I cannot live and let live, I’m sure you understand. There are many choices in life, some good and some bad, some acceptable and others abhorrent; into which category do you suppose your choice lies?

This could go on and on… we could talk about humane slaughter and health and animals aren’t human and vegans kill animals too and, and, and…

Just search your morality and draw a line… because I draw mine at sentience and at trying my best to minimise any suffering that leads back to me.

We can’t prevent all manner of cruelty, but we also don’t need to be responsible for the maximum amount of unnecessary harm!

Plants, Insects and The Controversy of Sentience

Can we please put this all to rest, once and for all?

The science has found no evidence of plant sentience. Without a brain, they can have no consciousness; without a central nervous system, they can feel no pain.

Plants do not have subjective experiences, wants, desires or preferences.

Insects are a different story, however. Biology is pretty much settled on the fact that most — if not all — vertebrates are sentient, or, at the very least, feel pain and can suffer like we do.

Invertebrates are tricky, as it is generally accepted that they cannot feel pain in the same way as vertebrates do.

The vegan argument, however, doesn’t rest exclusively on sentience — even though it is a strong and persuasive one.

All veganism is selling is the idea that we can live perfectly fine — better, even — without having to exploit animals for our benefit. That’s it! That’s all it is.

We can put animals through horrific conditions in order to eat them, but we don’t have to.

We can boil lobsters alive, but we don’t need to.

Can we not give all creatures the benefit of the doubt enough to just leave them alone for the most part?

I’m certain if you killed a bear in self-defence or smashed a spider because you are severely arachnophobic and one made the unfortunate mistake of crawling on your face, you’d be forgiven.

But the shit we are putting animals through for food, fashion and fun is simply fucking twisted!

Evil Things Are Happening To Humans

So, why should we focus on animals?

The vegan cause is irrelevant since human atrocities still exist. We need to take care of our own species, the human problem, before we turn our attention to the animals.

Yet no longer is the slavery, rape, torture and death of humans institutionalised.

The last time this sort of treatment was being inflicted on humans on such a large scale (as far as I’m aware) was in Nazi Germany.

This is genocide, a holocaust, just not against humans.

Nobody would ever condone this sort of treatment towards humans in the twenty-first.

There are laws in place to protect us against this.

Yes, there are likely criminal organisations inflicting similar treatment on humans (human trafficking and the snuff film industry — if you can even call it an industry — just off the top of my head).

So, yes, human atrocities occur; but good, moral people living in a civilised society don’t actively or intentionally pay organisations or people so that they can enjoy the ‘pleasurable’ outcomes of their exploitation.

Government entities are tasked with bringing this sort of criminal behaviour to an end and those who haven’t been caught yet are forced to operate underground until they are.

Outside activism, and some organisations set up in opposition to animal cruelty, factory farmed animals have nothing and no one on their side.

The law is a human construct developed to govern and protect humans, so it provides limited (if any) protection to animals.

People actively support the abuse when they buy the end-product of their suffering.

Activists are speaking out against human atrocities, but there is not much ordinary people in their day-to-day lives can do to help bring these atrocities to an end.

They can speak out against it and rally the world to sanction countries that allow these atrocities to take place, but because our lives don’t necessitate the abuse and exploitation of other people, all we can do is live in accordance with our own moral code and the laws of our country.

On the other hand, otherwise good and moral people are, through supply and demand, supporting industries that directly and undeniably cause unnecessary harm and suffering to (certain) animals on a daily basis.

We can immediately start helping these creatures by not buying animals products and by starting to buy plant-based alternatives instead.

As the demand for animal products goes down and plant-based products go up, we are actively shaping the world through our purchasing behaviour.

Unfortunately, we can’t bring an end to all suffering (as with human atrocities, there will always be people exploiting and harming other creatures for their own selfish ends).

Others may exploit, rape, torture and kill, but (hopefully) our morals prevent us from doing the same.

We can’t always stop bad people from committing awful acts, but we have a moral imperative to not participate in or support such abhorrent behaviour ourselves.

Likewise, we can’t always prevent animal cruelty across the board, in places and at times to us unknown, but we can make the simple decision to refuse to support the industries operating under our nose, in the light of day, and funded by us (as the consumer).

When you consume animal products, you can guarantee (with 100% certainty) and beyond a shadow of a doubt, that an animal had to suffer and die as a result.

But, regarding other items from other companies using human labour, we can only know whether they operate unethically when they are exposed, indicted and held accountable.

Vegans are not suggesting humanity screech to a halt, so we don’t cause any harm. Just by existing, we are going to cause some harm. It’s inevitable and unavoidable.

“Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” — The Vegan Society¹

We have to weigh things up, make honest comparisons and reach reasonable conclusions.

The risk of fatality from driving a car is significant, but it wouldn’t be feasible to get rid of all transportation. However, laws and safety mechanisms are put in place to mitigate harm as much as possible.

But when we cause animals the maximum amount of harm for a few momentary fleeting pleasures — which can easily be procured from other sources — there is no justification or exception.

How can we justify torture? Life is better, on a personal level, when we extend our morality to include all sentient life. pic.twitter.com/DEDMn7Ts8W

— The Public Server (@pubservblog) February 18, 2021

If you live in a civilised society, human rights are always a priority. However, all around the world, animals are put into categories and those who don’t make the cut get killed and eaten.

In a civilised society, some will nevertheless purposefully act against the rights of others, against the law and against public opinion, and we can only hope they are discovered and held accountable for their actions.

Yet still, in a civilised society, otherwise moral people are forking out funds, hand over fist, to an industry whose entire business model is predicated on the exploitation and slaughter of innocent life, stretching into the trillions every year.

Killing animals is the status quo and, if we don’t speak on their behalf, who will?

As consumers, we allow animals to suffer because our money fuels the industry.

Human exploitation is more isolated, and it is often difficult to know which companies, we are buying from, are acting unethically.

As stated, the vegan’s goal is to minimise unnecessary suffering to the best of our ability, and the least we can do for animals is stop eating them, stop wearing their skin and stop exploiting them for our selfish gain.

A Final Reality Check!

If I didn’t laugh, I’d actually fucking cry!

I can’t begin to tell you the number of times I’ve received so-called ‘health’ advice from people so ill-equipped to provide any opinion on nutrition that they could, in all honesty, believe I would seriously consider anything they’d care to share on the topic.

How disgraceful!?

That we live in a society which can confidently assert that raising children in a home free from animal products is akin to child abuse while, simultaneously, pumping their developing bodies with all manner of crap… like bacon — a known carcinogen.

And, as obesity and diabetes soar to levels never before seen in the world; where we gorge ourselves on anything and everything — I’m inclined to believe we’d even eat shit if it tasted good and was beautifully packaged — and fail to exchange much more sage words of wisdom than ‘perhaps we should include more fruits, veg and whole-foods in our diet‘, yet have the audacity to throw a fit when someone suggests we remove the flesh, eggs and dairy from the menu completely; I’m sorry to say that humanity is completely fucked if we continue to entertain this sort of double-standard, hypocritical, cognitive dissonance bullshit.

Veganism is not a diet, it’s an ethic. I cannot stress this enough and I genuinely couldn’t care less if a ‘vegan diet‘ wasn’t the most healthy eating program one could follow.

As long as it is healthy, and we could live long, prosperous lives without animal products — which we can and the results are conclusive that eliminating animal products and increasing our plant consumption is the BETTER option — then the only thing we are left with is taste.

So, please forgive me when I say that I value your tastebuds far less than the suffering and death experienced by sentient creatures as they make their way onto your plate.

God forbid you’d have to forgo a few fleeting delights as you transition away from the cruelty and pain you’ve been supporting your whole life.

Notwithstanding the fact that plant-based alternatives can be just as tasty and fulfilling – if not more so – than what you’re currently eating.

We are frugivores, for fuck sakes (as I’ll explain in a future post in more detail) as we are most attracted to the colour and sweetness of fruit; not to mention the fact that it’s an entire food group we can, and would prefer to, eat raw. Animal flesh, on the other hand, entirely turns us off in its raw state (unless we’re a psychopath), so we cook it and season it with plants to the point where it is completely removed from the animal from whom we stole it.

We turn our heads away and hide behind our shame, ignorance or excuses, as though their suffering disappears when we simply refuse to acknowledge it.

I recommend you read my article on morality, if you care at all about sentient creatures.

You cannot, sincerely, claim to love animals – or, at the very least, assert that you are against animal abuse – if you are not vegan. This is semantically impossible.

By all means, go ahead and perpetuate the cruelty towards which you so fervently profess disagreement and disgust, but please spare us the assault on our intelligence by being dishonest and failing to acknowledge the moral depravity inherent in your actions.

To be perfectly frank, I don’t like all animals at all times, but I don’t go around kicking small dogs in the face because their incessant yapping annoys the living shit out of me. In much the same way as the godawful shrieks of small children, unleashing the fury of their lungs in my presence simply because ‘mommy wouldn’t buy them an ice-cream‘, doesn’t at all justify me promptly launching them into oncoming traffic.

You say eating meat is your choice, but so is murder and rape, and when a victim is involved, unfortunately your pleasure doesn’t supersede their pain.

This is a moral catastrophe and your money is fuelling the flames.

Look inward and put yourself in their situation; ask yourself, is this actually okay?

Certainly, as a single individual, you’ll hardly make a dent in the fight against animal agriculture, but, together, we can all vote with our wallet and influence what the market supplies by demanding something else instead. Put your money where your mouth is, as it were; be the change you’d like to see in the world.

It’s not about what everyone else is doing… act in accordance with your own morality.

Just because there are people in this world funding the trafficking of underage sex-slaves, does that mean you should also hop on board? I mean, it’s happening anyway, so might as well, right?

… I can only hope you hold yourself to higher standards than that.

This has been a public service announcement

Whew, we made it!

Hey there, it’s Brad again.

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1. Notice that veganism doesn’t
   advocate for the impossible goal of eliminating all harm; just that we ought to live our lives in such a way that doesn’t perpetuate unnecessary violence. https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism ↩