compassionate meanderings...

I don't know what the hell I want to do with my life.

Heck, I don't even know what I want to do in two months when my Americorps term ends.
In a lot of ways, I'm okay with this not-knowing. It means that I can do anything, and I'm glad to have those options open. Especially because I feel that my life is still shifting and readjusting. I must be 24...

To try to make sense of my values and vision, so that soon I might be able to synthesize this into a five-year-plan, I'm going to explain what I know I believe in.

Compassion:
The mother of a good friend from middle school once told me that I was compassionate. At her house, my friends and I were discussing who was the "girl next door" and I figured I was. Being naive, I thought that term simply meant I was normal, unassuming and generally well-liked. But when she insisted that I wasn't a "girl-next-door", that I was such a compassionate young woman, I was confused, and touched. I guess I've carried that with me all those years. It was like a charge, a prophecy I was meant to live out. I am compassionate, and thus my life should be an example of compassion. I know I don't always live up to this trait, but I do believe in it with all of my heart. Caring about others and exercising non-judgment creates a space between us in which people can unload their worries and judgments, and then find the courage to move beyond adversity, and soar.

It is because of my commitment to compassion that I am so excited about speaking out against animal cruelty. Animal rights, human rights, women's rights, civil rights and all other forms of advocacy to marginalized groups have the same root evil: oppression. And nearly all of the acts of cruelty and oppression in this world are committed by one small group of power-hungry, greedy and violent human beings who believe they are entitled to everything in God's creation. In the past, men felt like they were entitled to women's bodies, slave labor, animal flesh and political power. But as time goes on, the human consciousness becomes aware of the immoral paradigms that define and enslave us. We are tied to our history of violence and exploitation, and strangely, we cling to it!

Across the board, those who belong to a privileged group find comfort and protection in the status quo, and even after they become enlightened to the atrocities of oppression, they can't see how the world could be any different. Women support patriarchy because, thanks to patriarchy, they live in a system in which they are sheltered, provided for and asked to do very little. But that same system makes it obligatory to sacrifice a woman's body to men's sexual desires (physical or simply visual), suffer ridicule, abuse and humiliation, and live as second-class citizens. It often takes quite a bit of nudging for women new to feminism to wash their hands of the so-called "security" of supporting masculine power. It is the same with any form of oppression.

As I wrote in my last post, it is so easy to support the status quo, because the messages that rationalize privilege are ingrained in us. But move just a smidge beyond those lies, and you will see things exceptionally clearly. It happened exactly that way when I finally understood and embraced feminism. And it is the same now, as I am uncovering the layers of ways in which we enslave, oppress and exploit non-human animals.

I've been thinking lately about how glad I am that I decided to be vegan--especially because I know I am doing something that is true to my values. I never have to feel hypocritical or compromising, at least when it comes to my food choices. It is a grand feeling to exude ethics on a daily basis. I am living in a way that is compassionate and intentional. When I talk to people about going vegan, I tell them that it was the best decision I've ever made (along with living in the mountains!). All of the initial "cons" that I imagined just melt away when I realize the impact my decisions have on ending oppression everywhere. When I choose compassion, I am fighting against racism, sexism, speciesism and any other -ism that exploits living things. Maybe I can't have anything I want a a restaurant, but by asking for those options and only eating things that align with my values, I can have a positive impact on changing this system. Someday all restaurants will have options for cruelty-free foods, and many will ONLY serve those options. Anyway, my advice is this: Once you take the plunge, you won't regret it, even if you have to say "no, thank you" to those scrumptious-looking chocolate cookies. Besides, you can make your own delicious cruelty-free cookies, and feel even better about them because you made them, and made them with compassion.

I'm writing about all of this because I'm so blown-away by my passion for it. For the last two hours I have been reading the newsletter for "Mercy For Animals," a blog about human exceptionalism, and an article about Race, Species and Dehumanization. I'm so amazed that I spent this much of my life unaware of the cruelty we demand for tasty burgers and chicken nuggets. And it's hard, having learned so much about animal rights and liberation, knowing that it's not so obvious or compelling to most people.

Yesterday, I found out that a girl who I had talked to only a couple of weeks ago about being vegan had decided to go vegan too. I know that a combination of talking to me about it, along with other positive influences and empowerment on Greta's part, helped her make that decision, and I'm thrilled. It's strange though, because already her family is outraged. ANGRY. About her wanting to live in a way that doesn't hurt others? It's insane. And that makes me more aware of the deep connection people have with their food. Even in the short time that I have been vegan, I have been pelted with arguments FOR eating meat that lack empathy, concern and true rationalism.

Most arguments against veganism are a defense mechanism, because veganism threatens to shed light on a subject about which we have been happily ignorant since before the 1950s, since before we started mutilating, torturing, drugging and violently slaughtering non-human animals for our exponentially increasing demand for meat. Most people I talk to who are rational, compassionate people in general but who eat meat admit that they "just don't think about the animals' suffering." And that's a problem. If you compare it to driving cars, accruing and throwing out excessive waste, or buying clothes made in sweatshops, you see that we are constantly turning a blind eye to the ways in which we are destroying our planet. And worse, we are participating in a system that is cruel and unmerciful. And it is senseless, ignorant, and lazy. Creating a disconnect between the pasture and plate is exactly what farm industry wants you to do. We are hypnotized by Beef commercials and tantalized by sexy women with milk mustaches on Got Milk? ads and we are made to think that if we just plug our noses and chug that we will be satisfied with this scenario. And it's not okay.

There are some amazing organizations that provide resources to help make a vegan lifestyle doable. Here are a couple of my favorites:

Vegan Outreach: http://www.veganoutreach.org/guide/

Mercy for Animals: http://www.mfablog.org/

Also, this is random, but I found a profile on Vegan Outreach of Jenna Calabrese, one of Adam's close friends. She's so great! Check her out: http://www.veganoutreach.org/enewsletter/jenna.html

I guess at this point I really feel like I care most about living compassionately, but next time I write I promise I'll include my passion for the Bitone Center, Local Economy and Bike Commuting.

this is why i'm vegan

more than three months ago, i decided to "go vegan." i think that's an awkward phrase because it makes it seem gimmicky and, in a way, temporary. "i went vegan once, but i got out of that quick." that's something that a girl selling vegan biscotti told me. i can say that i won't buy "biscotti for everybotti" ever again. if you ridicule your target consumer, you don't deserve their business. period. anyway, it's the catchphrases and cliches that really bog this issue down. looking at it from the inside out, i see how often people who are not vegan or who were never wholeheartedly vegan misunderstand and judge this compassionate choice. and it makes me think about all of these fringe groups that are so often the butt of jokes and the target of hate and discrimination.

the argument for eating meat is, to me, comparable to the argument for patriarchy. it is an age-old argument that is easily won. how can you argue against patriarchy when it is the dominant paradigm? that is what anti-feminists have been flaunting since feminism's inception. they have the points that always "make sense" because they are the generally accepted rule. but they are wrong. we know that about feminism. so what about the act of eating meat?

meat-eaters often point out to a vegan that "we have been eating meat for thousands of years. we evolved to be hunters and to have an omnivorous diet." even the beloved Michael Pollan, crusader-of-sorts for the semi-conscious eater, says that it is natural for us to eat animals. but there is nothing natural about the way that food animals are caged, drugged, and slaughtered for our "evolved" style of eating. there is no connection to the way we hunted only what we needed and held ceremonies to honor the slain animals. and there is no excuse for torturing and neglecting billions of animals. and anyway, just because we have been doing something for thousands of years does not mean that we have the right to continue doing it. in general, immorality is acceptable only as long as it can be excused by ignorance. once we reach enlightenment, every second wasted in inaction only diminishes our morality. and our humanity.

for the sake of keeping this personal, i'll stray now from ideology and paradigms (god, i love that word). it's sort of a strange thing to have become vegan and not have a big "coming out" party. is that weird? i am so proud of my decision and so glad that adam has helped me through this process so much. he is the most compassionate person i know and he is so understanding and empathic. i really feel like this solidifies my committment to peace and compassion for all things living and i'm just so damn proud of myself. so that's why it's hard when my boss makes rude comments and literally makes fun of me for not eating meat. and not eating any products that come from animals. i'm really proud of this part about me, and that makes it confusing when people think it's something weird or shameful. i make a decision every day on the side of compassion, and i'm not hurting anyone. and that makes me worthy of ridicule?

i suppose christians express this situation with the metaphor of "taking up the cross". i know that this is a difficult path that i have chosen to take but it is only difficult because of those who would try to make it difficult for me. i don't miss eating meat or cheese or eggs because i can no longer look at those things as food. they are parts of living things and that is either disgusting or disrespectful to eat.

this feeling did not develop the moment i saw an animal cruelty video. in fact, adam showed me his Fowl Play documentary and i continued to eat cheese and yogurt and butter. it's not easy to just eliminate these "normal" things from your diet. but once i gave it up and got over the cravings i had for those things, i realized how strange it was, to me, that we eat these things. "milk" is a cow's breast milk, meant for her calves. it does not flow from her constantly, which is a common misconception. dairy cows are regularly bred so that they always make milk (imagine if we had a factory where women were raped to produce milk for other people's children). eggs are a chicken's dead embryo, and therefore we are eating the result of the hen's menstruation. we wouldn't even think to consume the result of a human's menstrual cycle. and yet my boss tried, rather urgently, to tell one of my youths that she couldn't possibly live without eggs. i hope she wasn't listening very closely...

over the past three months, i have noticed a significant boost in my energy levels. i feel healthier and happier, and i have lost a little weight that was excess (i also bike commute, so that makes a difference too). i eat delicious food and find options everywhere, if limited. it is a bit expensive, but mostly because i am boycotting Wegmans, and only shop at the Abundance Food Co-op or the market. but i feel good about those decisions. i support locally owned and grown food, i boycott animal cruelty, and i live a healthy and happy life.

i thought about putting a disclaimer here, like, "i don't mean to call out the people who do eat meat" or "you can make your own choice about the food you eat" but i don't think that does this post justice. you don't have to agree with how i feel about eating cheese or eggs, but i really encourage you to consider that the argument for eating meat is archaic and based on capitalism and consumerism. it is age-old and it is heartless. eating vegan really is the most compassionate way to live your life. and that's why i'm vegan.

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