Reaction to the Liberation Display

I always react the same whenever I’m exposed to shocking images and facts such as PETA’s liberation display this morning. I feel nauseous, stare wide-eyed at the pictures and wonder if at some point even my body won’t be able to take it. I become impassioned. I feel wronged and disgusted and disgusting and know that somehow I’m going to have to do something about it. Today I felt the same. The problem is that I never seem to remember these feelings for very long.

Sometimes I wonder about the effectiveness of these shocking displays.

http://www.mad-monsters.com/images/shock.jpg

Take today for example. I ate pepperonis for lunch, an hour and a half after I saw the display! I hate to say it. How easy it would have been to reach over to the other tray at Littlefield Café this afternoon and grab a cheese slice instead? I see myself heading toward a vegetarian lifestyle—possibly in the near future—but I am still…protected, almost, by my excuses: “I have enough trouble eating right as it is,” “I like meat too much,” “I don’t have enough money or time.” And the big one: “I don’t know if going vegetarian would really do anything, except maybe appease my guilt.” I know that I can’t make excuses like this much longer. When I’m reminded of these images in the future, perhaps my transition will become easier.

I hope one day I'll become vegetarian.

http://www.vegetarians-cooking.com/media/vegetarian-food.jpg

Perhaps displays such as this one are a bit too overwhelming. I know about injustice to animals, believe me. I know that there’s a lot that needs to be done. But seeing all the issues together and the underlying and overwhelming product of human de-sensitivity made it all too much. I felt like no matter what I did or tried to do, there would be so much more left. We should be inspired to take action, not feel like no action we could take would make a difference. I think PETA does an excellent job of eliciting emotional responses, a necessary step, but I feel like more emphasis should be placed on viable or plausible solutions. Maybe there could have been petitions at the tables today which addressed animal cruelty issues. If PETA wants to reach out and inspire action from all people, they should make solutions more easily visible. I know we could have spoken with the women there to learn more, but that didn’t seem to be the project’s focus. Going vegetarian is not the only thing we can do to help lessen animal cruelty. I think other options could have been made clearer.

I think they could have had petitions or some other form of active involvement there.

http://www.wizardsofaz.com/waco/petition.jpg

I look forward to the attention we will be paying these issues in class. I think we will not only have our minds changed but will be given more of an idea of what we may actually do. Through learning about the root and importance of empathy, we can understand the importance of considering others in our lives. Additionally, I think time and reiteration of these issues will hammer them into our consciousnesses and bring these issues more to the forefront.