Veganism is a way to see things more clearly without doing the tiresome mental gymnastics of justifying your part in the status quo. (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by thonofpy@lemmy.world to c/vegan@lemmy.world

14 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Throughout the past decade, I have gone throught the process of eating animals and feeling patronized by people saying that maybe I shouldn't, to being a vegetarian, to being a vegetarian with a strong preference for vegan options whenever possible. While this lifestyle is quite convenient, I am considering to go all the way.

The reason for this being less the numerous rational arguments that can be brought forward, but rather the realization that they are easier to understand and defend without the tiresome activity of justifying behaviour to yourself that you can't, really.

With every step I took, the wrongness of things I had been taking as 'just the way it is' became obvious to be. Suddenly, I was again able to look at an animal and see a being just like myself. I was appalled by the casual cruelty and routine dissociation from it. While I was taking part myself, I just couldn't. I thought I was seeing clearly and understanding what was happening, but I really wasn't.

While I firmly believe that people should be allowed to argue for things they don't personally follow, it is just harder to gain perspective on a problem from inside. (Not to mention the deconstructive outside demand for personal moral integrity when making demands.)

I have found that, in rediscovering my empathy towards animals, my general ability to empathize grew. I became more aware of [my role in] the suffering of factory workers and ecosystems etc.

I am tired of living in cognitive dissonance. It feels good, and empowering, to at least try.

I'd be interested in your takes on my thoughts. Note: English is not my first language.

TL;DR: It is hard to name a problem you are causing.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] lung@lemmy.world 0 points 1 year ago

Yeah, you have empathy for those people, in addition to the animals

this post was submitted on 20 Sep 2023

20 points (63.5% liked)

vegan

2605 readers

124 users here now

Please also check out vegantheoryclub.org for a great set of well-run communities for vegan news, cooking, gardening, and art. It is not federated with LW, but it is a nice, cozy, all-in-one space for vegans.

We ask that the you have an understanding on what veganism is before engaging in this community.

If you think you have been banned erroneously, please get in contact with one of the other mods for appeals.

Moderator reports may not federate properly and may delay moderator action. Please DM an active mod if an abusive comment remains after reporting it.

Welcome

Welcome to c/vegan@lemmy.world. Broadly, this community is a place to discuss veganism. Discussion on intersectional topics related to the animal rights movement are also encouraged.

What is Veganism?

'Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals ...'

— abridged definition from The Vegan Society

Rules

The rules are subject to change, especially upon community feedback.

Discrimination is not tolerated. This includes speciesism.
Topics not relating to veganism are subject to removal.
Posts are to be as accessible as practicable:
- pictures of text require alt-text;
- paywalled articles must have an accessible non-paywalled link;
- use the original source whenever possible for a news article.
Content warnings are required for triggering content.
Bad-faith carnist rhetoric & anti-veganism are not allowed, as this is not a space to debate the merits of veganism. Anyone is welcome here, however, and so good-faith efforts to ask questions about veganism may be given their own weekly stickied post in the future.
- before jumping into the community, we encourage you to read examples of common fallacies here.
- if you're asking questions about veganism, be mindful that the person on the other end is trying to be helpful by answering you and treat them with at least as much respect as they give you.
Posts and comments whose contents – text, images, etc. – are largely created by a generative AI model are subject to removal. We want you to be a part of the vegan community, not a multi-head attention layer running on a server farm.
Misinformation, particularly that which is dangerous or has malicious intent, is subject to removal.