I feel stupid sitting at this computer trying to write. What could I possibly say? My reactions feel like nothing in the face of what we were exposed to today: animal cruelty. I know that we all felt the same on some level. I saw us trying to catch each other’s eyes as we glanced around the room. I did it too—wanting to know everyone’s reaction and needing to know if they saw what I was seeing. I’m not sure I can even trust my own eyes.
I knew this wasn't how most cows lived, but I never really thought about it.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ryan_paul_brooks/520781606/
Especially because I’m not really sure how much of the documentary I actually saw. When the man held up a pistol to the pig’s heads, for example, I knew what was coming. And I definitely knew that I didn’t want to see. I would look down each time in disbelief, maybe scribble down some words which didn’t truly mean anything—anything to get away. Ear clipping in bright pink ink. In disbelief, I didn’t shake my head; instead my head shook—involuntarily—as if it were trying to shock me out of the moment and remind me that I was only sitting in Parlin 104. I wasn’t right there. I wasn’t in the slaughterhouse. But in a way, that distance frightens me even more. Where are all these atrocities occurring? How many animals were murdered—how many more suffered—while I was writing this discussion board? This paragraph? This sentence? The idea this video presented of the violence, cruelty and neglect out there was just too much to handle.
I’d heard of the suffering of animals before. I think we all have to a certain extent. Today I saw those words transformed to images. But what struck me the most—and maybe even horrified me the most—was watching the people involved. They threw gassed cats into a trash can, a live dog into a trash compactor, slit animals’ throats, shot them and enjoyed it. Who are these people? We can try to disown them—and I wanted to—but we are those people. I have the capability to act just like they did. I’m going to take the optimistic route and say that the mindset which engenders animal cruelty is a coping mechanism because I cannot stand the idea that humans would derive a pure and innate joy from harming others. I think animal cruelty has evolved from a gross representation of our needs, the need to eat, for example. I do not have a problem with people eating meat, and I think we have devalued animals’ worth in order to cope with murdering them. In order to deal with billions of mouths to feed, we have been forced to expedite the process and devalue animals even further. As empathetic beings, we cannot handle the implications of ruining billions of lives. We might, as the men did in the videos, even come to feel that you enjoy it. There’s no other way it could be done. It’s interesting and terrible how “far” we have come.
McDonald's CEO might just think of the "product" and not the animal's lives involved.
I think our class is determined to try. Alice, Maysie, Molly and I went out to Veggie Heaven today. We wanted to try vegetarianism for a while. That’s something at least—not much, but something. When I looked over the menu, I saw how much more varied it was than I thought it would be, how much tastier it looked—even how much cheaper it was than I expected. I want to keep this going. I need to, really. I can’t forget.
Vegetarian Fast Food Options
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