(Posted December 30, 2015) I’m reposting my “LONG STORY SHORT” series of 13 brief, random thoughts I've jotted down over the years and/or used during Q&A sessions after my lectures.
(1) "We live in a world where the majority of people are OPPOSED to giving severely ill humans - who are in constant pain - the RIGHT TO DIE (euthanasia), and end their own lives. Yet, the majority of people are IN FAVOR OF killing and CAUSING pain to billions of cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys, fish, and other animals - who are not severely ill and do not want to die - and then mocking, excusing, denying or lying about the intentional pain and the endless acts of premeditated murder that we commit against them!"
(2) "Many people claim that animals can’t think logically or rationally. However, in an attempt to deter wolves and coyotes from killing cows and sheep, ranchers kill wolves and coyotes, and mount their dead bodies on fence posts surrounding the farm (see the photo below). Wouldn’t wolves and coyotes have to possess cognitive reasoning skills in order to understand this deterrent? Think about it this way: If you belonged to the Piraha tribal society in Brazil, didn’t speak a drop of English and for some reason moved to rural Alabama, and saw a dead Piraha body mounted on a fence post of the street you were walking on, wouldn't you get the hell off that street as quickly as possible, or at least be on guard for a violent attack? Animals respond similarly to threats of violence!"
(3) "If meat, cheese, milk and eggs were full of nutrients, why would society need to fortify food and manufacture vitamin pills? After all, 99% of people eat animal products for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and snacks, too! Aren't they already getting an abundant amount of nutrients?"
(4) "How come it's okay for hunters to murder animals and then falsely claim that those killings preserve and protect that species and the ecosystem. Yet, it's never okay for animal liberationists to retaliate and kill hunters - and other humans - and truthfully claim that those killings protect and preserve nearly every species on the planet, and the entire ecosystem?"
(5) Many people believe that animals are inferior because they don’t wipe their asses, or play instruments and write symphonies. Well, I’m quite impressed that most of us have learned to wipe, and that some of us can create beautiful, melodic sequences using ‘fake’ instruments. But why would wiping, or creating and playing music, give us the right to enslave and kill? By the way, I say ‘fake’ when referring to the music we make because birds, cats, whales, crickets and many other creatures don’t need artificial instruments made of wood, brass, steel, copper, etc. - along with years of lessons, practice and inspiration - to WRITE, CREATE and PERFORM symphonies."
(6) "Here's an ironic statement that many people use to describe how kind someone is: 'He wouldn't hurt a fly.’ This comment acknowledges that the ultimate act of kindness is not only not killing, but not killing an insect! Yet, these so-called ‘kind people’ continuously pay others to murder and dismember animals for consumption and clothing, and also support vivisection, circuses, rodeos and zoos. But thank goodness these ‘kind people’ wouldn’t hurt a fly in some aggrandized, compassionate tale!"
(7) "It is true, I want rapists and murderers to be executed. Opponents of capital punishment would rather lock these lovely folks in a cage for 30, 40, even 50 or more years, and murder innocent animals to feed the guilty rapists and murderers that they're refusing to kill. Think about this again. There are certain humans who are guilty of such horrific acts of violence that we would lock them in a cage for decades to prevent them from killing again. But cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and other animals - who don’t deserve to be caged or killed - are caged and killed to feed the people who are locked in a cage because they’ve killed! And if you wish to use the trite argument about executing an innocent person one percent of the time, let me know when society condemns executing 150 billion INNOCENT animals in the meat, dairy and egg industries 100 percent of the time!" (Check out my WHAT’S WRONG WITH VIOLENCE and MORE PROBLEMS WITH PACIFISM essays at adaptt.org.)
(8) "If Christians intentionally lie about the appearance of their Messiah – he was not a blond-haired, blue-eyed, white man who lived in the Middle East – what else have they lied about? And do religious people realize that if Jesus ever returned, He’d be crucified again! As soon as He demanded unity between Jews and Christians and Muslims, ordered everyone to stop hating homosexuals, told people to stop worshiping money and cars and clothing, to give away the bulk of their assets to help the poor, to stop killing animals and give them their inherent right to live freely, people would drive 100 mph to the nearest Home Depot – running every red light in the process – to buy some nails and wood, and build a cross as quickly as possible! That’s why HE ain’t ever coming back. If that was your fate, would you return? For the record, if religious people want Him back, they’d have to start living peacefully with the animals and each other. He’ll return when the violence ends."
(9) "Animal killers refuse to accept that it’s wrong to oppress, enslave and murder animals. They actually believe that we would be mistreating an animal if we didn’t take THEIR flesh, THEIR skin, THEIR milk, THEIR eggs and THEIR honey."
(10) "When a meat, dairy or egg-eater says 'but we’ve been eating animals for millions of years,' respond with the following: 'Thanks for acknowledging that animals have been oppressed the longest.' Of course, continue with an explanation about the absurdity of using tradition as an excuse to justify slavery and murder."
(11) "If our 'intelligence' has given us the power to rule the world, why do we choose to rule with an iron fist instead of a loving touch? Why continue with bloodshed when we could mandate equality, and engender a collective ethical conscience for the first time in history? Oh yeah, I keep forgetting. Maybe ‘intelligence’ had nothing to do with our power grab, and it was only our capacity for - and adoration of - EVIL that propelled us to power."
(12) "I was watching one of those reality prison shows the other day, and there was actually an area where bunny rabbits were locked in cages. Think about this for a second. Innocent rabbits, who will eventually be killed and consumed, were caged INSIDE a prison full of lying, conniving, violent humans. Who’s the real prisoner?"
(13) Use the following comment when talking to hunters: "If you shot horses or dogs, or flew to the Faroe Islands to kill dolphins, how would you be perceived? And I don’t mean by the vegan community. Would the MAJORITY of society still approve of your animal-killing hobby?"