If you're the father of kids who have been weaned off their mother's breast, isn't it time that you grew up and weaned yourself off cow udders? And shouldn't your whole family follow suit? On a day celebrating what fatherhood is all about, this is an excellent opportunity to rethink what kind of example you're setting and what sort of role model you want to be. Your children (if young enough) look up to you and take direction as to what men and fathers ought to be like, so take your role seriously.
Here's your chance to show that real men, for example, are secure enough in their sexuality that someone else's isn't going to threaten their own. Real men are not homophobic. Real men don't need to prove their masculinity by controlling and oppressing women. Real men aren't afraid if another person's skin isn't the same colour as their own. A real man doesn't condone cruelty and violence to any other living being. Real men don't, among other things, hunt, take part in dogfights, experiment on animals or think animals performing stupid tricks is cute, barbecue pigs or (as is now a growing trend) whole cattle, and most certainly real men don't drink milk (directly or indirectly) from a cow.
Real fathers think deeply about the maternal AND paternal bonds between various species and their offspring. While it's true that more attention is paid to the cruelty of denying mothers access to their young, real men realize that males of all species may want to grow up to be fathers. Or at least, grow up. Real feeling and thinking males want to make this world a better place for all. So start by reflecting on what values you're illustrating for your own offspring this Father's Day, and whether your kids deserve to inherit a different kind of planet and future. Be a real dad -- go vegan!
p.s. if you don't have kids yet then please read veganelder's Unfather's Day post first :)
