"The Three Stages of Truth: 1. Ridicule 2. Violence 3. Acceptance" ~ Earthlings
"I will take your truth and honesty without the ridicule and violence, thank you." ~Mariah Hoffman
I am put in a particularly interesting position here. I was born and raised in the dairy industry. I owe everything I have now to it, including all of those negative aspects like the exploitation the cows I grew up with. Perhaps this is why I relived so many traumatic childhood memories while watching the film Earthlings this past week. De-horning, painful abcesses, cows stressed into shortened lives, branding--- I've seen it all, and by all means, the images themselves are gut-wrenching and visceral. It has been said time and time again by my peers. Fore, example, this young lady:
*Shell123ey's video response to Earthlings. Enjoy the accent.
Where I should have been de-sensitized to these things, instead they seemed to affect me even more than when I had seen them as a child-- in person. So, I had to wait to write this blog until I could look back more objectively, and perhaps more philosophically. I can see the silver lining, the power of the whole "one at a time" aspect.
Some information on Premarin production.
This is my PMU mare (Grace) today. She, at least, has a happy ending.
However, ugliness is everywhere.
Pelito (before) in Puerto Rico- a survivor of the streets, brought in by Save-a-Sato
*Pelito today
I don't post such pictures to garner sympathy or anger. Instead, I think I'll keep this within the realm of awareness and self-reflection. Shame, guilt, and all those negative emotions are not as powerful as those that would manifest action. This is a paradigm shift. Like the XIVth Dalai Lama stated, when asked why he doesn't participate in anti-war demonstrations:
I will never do that, but as soon as you have a pro-peace rally, I'll be there.I am not against cruelty or against the meat industry so much as for the ethical treatment and lack of pain for all. I think perhaps that is something that does not change things on a large-scale, but it does change my life decisions. I grew up as part of an exploitative business. I told my father when I moved to Austin to "save the world" that I couldn't stay on the dairy and stand idly by. But looking upon it now, what kind of life are any of us entitled to? I know this seems hypocritical coming from a self-proclaimed eternal optimist, but how do you weigh the immorality of exploitation against the fact that animals in nature are likely to be killed as well, and in no less humane of a way?
By that argument, my father will attest that his cows have the same quality of life as he. He does his job, they do theirs, and the world keeps spinning round. If they don't eat, neither does he. If they're hot, he's outside in the heat with them. They are safe from predators because he has put up things that stifle them. Life is work. Life is hard-- for all involved. We shape each other--- for better or worse. Think of shepherds who can't do their jobs in the hill-country without their dogs. Think of how eating meat has changed our health as well. On the other spectrum, there are now thousands of breeds of dogs because man has chosen so. (Yet we didn't discuss the morality of selective breeding either--- though that's a separate argument altogether.) I've always been a firm believer in being in communion with nature and all that is around me. I will admit, I eat meat, but only when I go home, where I know where the animals come from and how they met their end.
Then there's my sister, who is my inspiration, who took action as a very small girl and went vegetarian.
*Cassie with her veggie pad thai. She is the reason that family dinner's are always a show.
Still, one has to consider the shock campaign of this film. The images were graphic for a reason, and yes I do believe that some of the images depicted in Earthlings were outdated, and perhaps even illegal in some places by now. At least, I hope that is the case. However, the power still lies in the fact that a photo does not lie. Those things did (and probably still do) happen.
Was I appalled? Absolutely. Did some part of me feel guilt and shame for my responsibility in all the pain inflicted? Of course.
Still, I have to agree with those who previously argued that not all labs and not all producers are heartless or disrespectful egomaniacs with some sick fascination with cruelty. It may be true that "of all creatures ever made he (man) is the most detestable. He's the only creature that inflicts pain for sport, knowing it to be pain."~ Mark Twain
But surely we are not all such creatures, are we?
My father certainly isn't. So how do I reconcile, within my own life, the things I do disagree with, however, especially when that is just "good business practice"?
Here, I say the whole institution should not be torn asunder, but things must change.
Information can only benefit. So here, I've posted a video of milking procedures. Take it for what you will. I hate the semantics of it, about maximizing profit, but in my mind, this is how humans are worked as well. I know plenty of people who lead an existence much like this. The difference, of course, here is that these cows did not have a choice in the matter. Actually, this reminds me an awful lot of my milking parlor back home.
In this case, is the mere fact that humans are the benefactors of the situational power dynamic, in and of itself, make any interaction with such animals unethical?
And what of our guilt? If we are just feeling guilty, though, and are not convinced somewhere deep inside, in a very visceral way, then this does not build some sense of morality, and everyday decisions do not change .How does one develop a sense of morality? That requires moral development.
I have to consider here human moral development. Most humans are still in conventional moral development, where we merely behave from consequence, rather than an actual sense of what is good for all or a sense of altruism.
