My 2 cents on the past 24 hours:
We live in a world where violence is normalized as a part of everyday life. For example:
>>Buying and eating body parts of mutilated animals (e.g., chicken wings)
>>Driving on the highway (e.g., seeing transport trucks carrying pigs to their deaths)
>>Playing "sports" that injure animals (e.g., fishing/bullfighting)
>>Wearing skins of tortured animals (e.g., leather)
>>Watching entertainment that glorifies tormenting animals (e.g., circuses/SeaWorld)
>>Attempting to push the boundaries of science by kidnapping, drugging and abusing animals (e.g., animal testing).
>>And the list goes on ...
Our culture is steeped in extreme violence toward animals, and there's a lack of empathy and recognition that we are the same in all the ways that matter (e.g., capacity to suffer/feel pain), but just different in how we look.
It's little wonder then that this mindset of normalized violence against other animals has psychological ramifications for violence perpetuated onto fellow humans. Look around you: we have school shootings, assassination attempts, warfare, and domestic violence all rampant in the world. These stem from aggressors thinking violence is normal, and most people feel powerless to stop this. One solution is we have to de-normalize violence as an everyday aspect of life and reclaim our humanity, our empathy, and our connectedness.
One way that we can start this social project is to end the normalization of the unthinkable that is perpetuated onto animals.
Here's an empathy exercise: Walk into a grocery store and go to the meat aisle. Ask yourself what you see beyond the surface of the packaged slabs of meat wrapped in plastic. Retrain your brain to see the individuals who these slabs of meat came from, and then realize that these individuals, like you and me, had lives, wants, needs, desires, families--all of which were violently eliminated for the profiting from the momentary activation of a human tastebud. The ability to truly see others and stand in their shoes so-to-speak is vital for building a more empathic society, and by extension for mitigating acts of violence committed onto others, humans or other animals.
We don't have to put up with everyday violence. We get a choice. What will you do with your choice? Will you take steps to build empathy? My suggestion: start with reevaluating WHO is on your plate, and build empathy from there.
Not only did he face weeks of agony, he had to watch his loved ones die in front of him 💔
Tormenting animals in tests that aren’t even required by law is inexcusable, @ajinomoto.
Take action for animals like him. https://t.co/7za7ivY6Bz
Comfort for who? 💔
Mother cows are exploited for their milk to make cheese until their bodies break down & they’re sent to slaughter.
Their girl babies suffer the same fate, while the boys are killed as calves for veal. #NationalMacAndCheeseDay