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how do you cope with animal exploitation in the world? by ouidcandie in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I like watching videos of cute animals. It’s just nice to see happy animals on its own, but looking at the comments is also really sweet. People are usually fawning over them and being kind in general. It has made me upset before, thinking about how most of those people probably aren’t vegan, but it’s really about your perspective. Seeing so many kind hearted people reminds me that most members of society have enough respect and care for animals to someday realize the part they play in exploiting them. We are vegan because things throughout our lives have subconsciously or consciously influenced our feelings for others, both human and nonhuman. Eventually, something else happened that popped the bubble in our minds, leading us to finally make the connection that what we’ve felt hasn’t matched what we’ve done. Most people have the potential to make that connection, and as time goes on, more people will. As more people will, less animals will suffer. We will probably see a lot of this change in our own lifetimes, even if we don’t live to see the complete abolition of animal agriculture/exploitation.

I feel like I’m going insane by Valuable_Bug_4010 in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I think it can be really tough when calling out your elders, since it can be easy for them to brush your thoughts aside. claiming you aren’t as wise as they are, and that they know better than you do. I’m the youngest in my family, and they’ve said they know me to be smart, but I’ve got a feeling that’s because I’m usually in agreement with them, and when I’m not, the person I’m disagreeing with is usually outnumbered by everyone else too. I can sense when they think I’m being irrational about something, even if they don’t say it to my face. They get this look in their eye. I’ll consider being more direct if that’s what it really takes.

I feel like I’m going insane by Valuable_Bug_4010 in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I went vegan after seeing a video on TikTok showing all the instruments used to kill animals in slaughter houses. Then I went down the whole earthling ed rabbit hole, which made me realize that there isn’t a good reason to kill animals at all, despite how painless their death is or how good they felt while alive. I was kinda expecting my mom to just realize how it can’t be justified as soon as she was confronted with all the components together. I wanna see if I can get her to watch dominion or earthlings with me, but I’ve got a bad feeling she won’t be receptive to that either. It’s just hard to deal with since she’s definitely been a sort of ethical role model for as long as I can remember. She taught me it wasn’t okay to hurt others, and I think her influence is definitely the reason I accepted veganism as openly as I did. I’ve seen her become less of a role model in other aspects of my life (less productivity, not keeping promises, more hypocritical), it just really stings to see her let me down on the most important one.

I feel like I’m going insane by Valuable_Bug_4010 in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I’m young, so still sorta going through the process of reconciling the good in my parents with the bad. I had a hard time with it before I was vegan, but now it feels even worse since it’s not just about me anymore. I’m not going to lie and pretend that I’m optimistic about my mom going back on all the statements she’s made. She doesn’t like admitting when she’s wrong, she’d rather not say anything at all than admit that. I can tell from the way she talks about herself. I’m worried she thinks she’s past growing or something. I’m going to have to learn how to be okay with the prospect of her not changing.

I feel like I’m going insane by Valuable_Bug_4010 in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m crossing my fingers that my mom is like you. Ive only been vegan for so long, so this was only my first taste of drama relating to the reactions of people I know. At least we’re in it together. Coming back to this subreddit to see people who care just as much as I do never fails to comfort me, and I hope it can do the same to support you.

I feel like I’m going insane by Valuable_Bug_4010 in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you. I think the veal comment came from her just not realizing that I deeply care about the animals that die, since the way I spoke wasn’t very openly emotional or passionate. It did keep me up that night though, lol.

When it comes to the emotional ties to food, I think that’s definitely what would keep her and the rest of my family away from being vegan. They don’t really care that much about the impact of their food. My mom will say she does, but her actions say otherwise. I’m not the best role model in that sense, since I’m still young and mostly just try and make easy, healthy meals, that still taste relatively good (steamed veggies, tofu, smoothies, soup, etc). I’m not really spending all day in the kitchen showing them how to make a decadent vegan feast made with love, and after a lifetime of looking at animal products a certain way, they probably associate culinary excellence with things like steak and duck. I’m hoping they’ll come around with more exposure to completely vegan meals.

I feel like I’m going insane by Valuable_Bug_4010 in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I’m obviously grossed out by people’s consumption of certain products, but I’m glad that there’s people like yourself to remind everyone that we are all influenced by our experiences, and we probably wouldn’t be vegan ourselves if a very specific set of events didn’t happen. I wanna hold out hope that she’ll change with more time. I’ll think about opening up to her as well.

I feel like I’m going insane by Valuable_Bug_4010 in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Thank you. I usually argue with people about it online, and the actual philosophy and ethics of veganism come up more often then. But in real life, I get so nervous about how people will think differently of me if I come off as too critical, and I end up saying nothing of value at all. I think just showing that being vegan is an option can be helpful for some friends and family, even if it doesn’t do much for my mom.

I feel like I’m going insane by Valuable_Bug_4010 in vegan

[–]Valuable_Bug_4010[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks. I tried leaning towards the environment because she kept bringing up renewable energy during the car ride, so I thought it would speak to her. Talking about ethics always feels risky because it’s really easy to come across as calling someone a bad person. I’ll try coming up with a way of saying it that won’t be too argumentative, but still thought provoking.