OH EM EFFING GEE

WWWWWWWhhhhooooooooa I haven't been on here in a long ass time.

Life has been crazy busy and I only really use this blog to vent occasionally, I apologize for anyone who might have thought my rants and raves were interesting enough to read ;)


So we'll get right into it then. The headlines this week have been demonstrating Philadelphia's varied opinions on the Eagles hiring Michael Vick. Le sigh. I'm not going to write too much about it. Gray Francione wrote a very good article about Michael Vick back in 2007, We're All Michael Vick. As for myself, I don't think I'll be watching the Eagles games this season... not to make a statement... just because.

Aside from the news, there's been a lot of talk on the Welfarist vs Abolitionist standpoints in the animal rights movement that I'd like to share my two cents on as well.

I will start out by stating that though I've been vegan since May 2000, I've not always taken the abolitionist view and I haven't always been a strict vegan. Being the only ethical vegan I'd known for close to eight years, I found it hard at time to remain strong in my convictions with lack of support. It's very easy for someone who isn't strongly educated in veganism to waiver when the world around them points to veganism as being a "personal choice" and it's "okay" if they eat products with eggs or dairy in them *occasionally*.

You get into that mentality that your being vegan really isn't a big deal and since you're vegan *most of the time* the occasional "indulgence" in ice cream and cake or something of that nature is "okay."

Really? I don't think like that any longer and I can't believe it took me this long to figure it out. Veganism isn't just a "diet". When you look at it like a "diet" it gives more of an impression that you're "sacrificing" something that you'd rather enjoy in order to do something for the animals. I don't and have never felt like I was making a sacrifice by being vegan, so why did I act that way? Social acceptance? I'd never thought of myself as someone who would do such a thing for social acceptance but as much as I'd hate to say it, that is the reason I believe I did so. I don't wish for anyone to read my blog and think that I'm "elitist" or get the impression in any way that I think I'm a better than anyone else because I most certainly am not and do not think that way.

That being said, back to the topic.

For more information on the abolitionist approach to animal rights I suggest visiting Gary Francione's site, "Abolitionist Approach". It was Gary Francione's interview with Bob & Jenna on Veganfreak Radio that introduced me to the term sometime last year. Before then I would say that I was probably a welfarist vegan.

In a word, I had felt that any "victory" in the animal rights sense was a good one and worth celebrating... now... not so much. When the "victories" we celebrate are helping the oppressors make more money, get positive press as being "animal-friendly" and neutralizes the bigger picture.

While I think it's wonderful that in some ways the animals will be treated better, I have to say... That's just not enough.

In the Welfarist vs Abolitionist argument it seems that the most I've heard argued against abolitionism is that welfarists believe that abolitionists are too elitist. Too focused on veganism and that it's not a realistic approach. In the argument against welfarism it seems the abolitionists believe that welfarists have no backbone, settle for the bare minimum and pat companies on the back even when they're continuing to torture and slaughter animals.

My personal opinion is that both of those views are right and wrong but abolitionism should be the approach taken by animal rights activists. Is it really too much to ask people to go vegan if they're going to stand for animal rights??? I think not.

I've read some blogs and articles from welfarists stating that by suggesting veganism instead of vegetarianism we are alienating people and turning them away from veganism and animal rights altogether when if they make the easier choice and go vegetarian or even just buy "happy meat" they might do more for the cause.

I highly disagree! Most of the people out there that have a distaste for animal rights (AR) in general already see AR activists as hypocrites and uneducated softies. Why would we want to encourage that? Not to say that vegetarians are uneducated softies! But that's what a lot of people think of them! Hypocrites? Well... and no offense to any vegetarian readers out there... but consider this... if you state you don't consume the flesh of an animal for animal rights reasons yet you still purchase and use animal byproducts that are coming from that same animal that's being butchered for meat, are you not being hypocritical?

I believe that by supporting the notion that suggesting veganism is "too elitist" we are in fact supporting the notion that veganism is too elite. It's that whole.. "othering"... scenario.

Bottom line is, if you are an animal rights activist -- you should be vegan. It's truly the LEAST you can do for the cause.

Living a healthy vegan lifestyle not only supports animal rights, but it also demonstrates to the nay-sayers that living a happy, healthy vegan life is POSSIBLE. It shows that we CAN survive without using animals! And we enjoy it! :D It's more effective than picketing, it's more effective than paying PETA or HSUS. Think of it this way... if we spent more time talking openly about veganism, promoting veganism, supporting vegan businesses and pushing for more vegan restaurants (as opposed to campaigning for extremely non-vegan companies to offer a few vegan crumbs) we would accomplish SO MUCH MORE for animal rights! Not only that, but the word VEGAN would no longer be this foreign word that causes people to immediately think of AR activists as terrorists. The word "vegan" would become a more accepted, more acknowledged and more common word -- which in turn would make veganism MORE accepted, more acknowledged and MORE COMMON. Results? More people living animal-free. More demand for vegan businesses. Less productivity for the animal industry.

It's the basic boycotting theory. Boycott animal products. Promote veganism.

Another point I'd like to make is that by suggesting that veganism is "too much" to ask of the average person, we're suggesting that one would have to special in order to go vegan. Like veganism is particularly difficult... It's really not! People are not as afraid of change as we assume they are. It's possible that when we go vegan we put up with so much friction from others that we assume the choice to go vegan isn't for everyone and that it takes a certain "type" of person to go vegan. This is definitely not the case. Just look at the internet, see how many people you can find from different walks of life that choose to go vegan.

People are not as afraid of change as you may think...

Well, that's enough of my ranting for now. Perhaps I'll write again sooner than seven months?

P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO EEETHAAAN! He turns seven today :)

Using MLK Day To Support My Vegan Agenda!

lol check out this article.

http://animalrights.change.org/blog/...eating_animals

by Stephanie Ernst

This is the day when we annually celebrate the life, spirit, contributions, and philosophy of Martin Luther King Jr. But I'm not going to write about MLK today. I'm going to write, just briefly, about Coretta. Those opposed to the idea of animal rights, those who consider the fight for animal rights to be distinct from and lesser than other social justice movements, and--most clearly--those who consider veganism extreme could learn something from Coretta Scott King.

For more than the last decade of her extraordinary, compassionate, and passionate life, Coretta Scott King was a vegan. Really. Not an "extremist," not a "fanatic," not a "one-note," "single-issue" zealot--just a vegan.

In addition to fighting against racial injustices, Coretta Scott King fought openly and loudly for LGBT rights. She opposed war and violence and championed peace. And for the last 15 years of her life, she improved her own health and life and saved hundreds of animals' lives by refusing to eat their bodies or what came from their bodies.

On her health, she said in Ebony in 2003, "I feel blessed that I was introduced to this lifestyle more than 12 years ago by Dexter. I prefer to eat mostly raw or 'living' foods. The benefits for me are increased energy, a slowing of the aging process, and I have none of the diseases like hypertension, heart disease and diabetes that many people my age seem to get." And Coretta and Martin Luther King's son Dexter, also a vegan and, as noted, the one who introduced his mother to the lifestyle, considers veg*nism the "logical extension" of his father's philosophy of nonviolence, reported Vegetarian Times in 1995 in the write-up of the magazine's interview with him.

Every time someone remarks or implies that vegans are nothing but animal rights "fanatics" or health-obsessed neurotics who care about nothing else, who are vegans to the exclusion of caring about or fighting against any other injustices, one of the many people who comes to mind as proving this wrong is Coretta Scott King. So today I remember and honor not only Martin Luther King Jr. but Coretta Scott King as well. If I must be an extremist or a fanatic simply because I am a vegan, then I am at least happy with the company.

Martin Luther King taught us all nonviolence. I was told to extend nonviolence to the mother and her calf.

-Dick Gregory

Power at its best is love implementing the demands of justice. Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Cowardice asks the question, "Is it safe?"
Expediency asks the question, "Is it politic?"
Vanity asks the question, "Is it popular?"
But conscience asks the question, "Is it right?"
And there comes a point when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but one must take it because one's conscience tells one that it is right.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

It's been awhile since my last post. A long while. I haven't been inspired enough to take the time out to write and I'm still pretty busy with school/work so...

I was having a conversation with my sister about how difficult it is for me to think of having a serious relationship with someone who is not vegan or even vegetarian.

It is a hard thing for me to consider... and over the past few years my passion and my lifestyle has become more and more a part of who I am when it comes to veganism. I don't just eat this way, I live this way. The mere thought of bringing meat into my home is completely offensive to me... so logically... atleast... logically to me... I would think that the object of my affection would either feel the same way or respect that and not put me in that type of position.

Now, I know, I know... You're thinking... "How can you push your beliefs on someone else" blah blah blah... but really. Wouldn't it be them pushing their beliefs on me if they bring meat into my home and expect me to be okay with it? The thought of meat repulses me, as it does most other vegans. The idea of someone who I'd be exchanging bodily fluids consuming animal parts (and animal bodily fluids) pretty much repulses me as well! Sad, but true.

Now, I've never dated a vegan. In fact, I don't even know any vegans in my own zip code and I have never even met a vegan man. Hence - I am single. I'm not exactly sitting around waiting for a vegan guy, but ideally I'd love to find someone that shares my viewpoints and shares my ideas of what a healthy happy lifestyle is so that we can have a healthy happy vegan family... is that so much to ask?

And is it too much to ask that they be hot as hell, intelligent and funny? LoL

Okay okay... maybe I am asking too much. That's enough whining from me for now, I hope you enjoyed my little uhm.. rant.. or whining session... or what have you.. noone really reads this anyways! :D

Here are some pictures of my awesomely adorable amazing vegan son.