Have Gone Vegan

the biggest threat to humanity right now?

If you rightly think it could be any of the following:

• climate change
• natural (or man-made) disasters
• war (especially the nuclear kind)
• another and-even-worse global pandemic
• economic inequality
• (read and weep at how much richer the richest 1% of the population became)
• the erosion of social support networks to help people deal with poverty, etc., 
• fill in the blank with anything I erronously forgot

you would actually be quite wrong, because according to too many folk the biggest threat to humanity right now is the miniscule portion of the population (less than 1%) who would like to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.

Alternatively (complementarily?), it could also be the "woke mind virus" that saviour DeSantis (alternative name DeSadist) is determined to stamp out. Both in Florida, and if enough [insert noun here as any of mine would be both snarky and rude] vote the "right" way, the entire United States of America.

So, whatever issue you picked from the list above (you silly nincompoop), you obviously don't see what will REALLY be humanity's demise.

p.s. I'm working on a longer post, but thought I'd publish this right away to give you time to reconsider the actual cause of the upcoming doom and prepare accordingly. ;)

words that'll trigger the "anti-woke" crowd

Disclaimer: even before going vegan my politics leaned about as far left as left can go, so undoubtedly my "leftist" bias will be showing in my possibly LONGEST post to date.

Also, congratulations to the many Americans (younger ones especially!) NOT voting for election-deniers, conspiracy theorists or extremists during November's mid-terms. Canadians applaud you. (But boo to Floridians and Texans who re-elected Republicans hell-bent on implementing anti-abortion, anti-gay, and anti-transgender legislation.*) 

Note: this post was begun in late October, but the recent Club Q shooting (and subsequent response by those who helped stoke hostility towards LBGTQ+ members), only reinforce some of the reasons I give later on for writing it in the first place.

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Alright, let's start with the one word that has helped trigger an almost world-wide (okay, UK, USA, Australia and Canada at least) moral panic (trans panic to be specific) that in my opinion could even be viewed as a social contagion of sorts given how it has spread: 

WOKE

And just in case you haven't come across this term yet, count your lucky stars as it seems to have become ubiquitous both online and in media print. While the term "woke" (and "stay woke") originated in the States among black activists years ago to mean being aware of racial injustice and discrimination, it is now more often used as a pejorative insult against people, institutions and ideas perceived as too progressive, in particular when it comes to issues concerning race and gender inclusion. 

Which means we now have woke as an adjective describing almost anything and everything (plus there are so many derivatives of the word, like wokeness and wokified, it's hard to keep count), and I've even seen Wokes used as a noun to refer to people. Say what? 

And it wouldn't even be so bad except that you have anti-woke sites popping up everywhere (e.g., Vote Against Woke – deleted as it violated election laws, Stop Woke Activism, and the especially insidious Blueprint for Canada – sorry, I wasn’t going to amplify these sites by linking, but the Blueprint site is just so ridiculously off the mark that I couldn’t resist adding a few links at the bottom of this post**), and worse, a concerted effort during municipal elections to stack school boards with regressive anti-woke trustees. Thankfully, most of them DIDN'T get elected, but they sure tried. (Sadly, anti-woke school election candidates in the US did have more success.)

(To be clear, "wokeism" isn't only decried by those on the political right, as there's a segment on the political left – in higher education and publishing particularly – also strongly denouncing "woke culture" as illiberal.)

So, in no particular order, let the partial list (I'm sure I've missed a bunch) of knuckle-clenching words for the woke-fearing (ha, made up my own woke word) begin:

• left or leftist (but notice how you don't really see "rightist" too much) 
• progressive 
• politically correct (remember when this precursor term to woke was in vogue?)
• trigger warning
• victim 
• Antifa (because being anti-fascist and anti-racist is a bad thing?)
• diversity
• inclusion
• identity politics (as if white, straight, Christian, etc., aren't identities used in politics as well)
• oppression
• intersectionality (tsk, tsk, as if one identity/oppression wasn't already too much)
• gender theory
• gender expression
• gender identity (yes, Virginia, there IS such a thing as gender and it IS distinct from biological sex)
• gender affirmation (and gender-affirmation care)
• transgender 
• trans women (saying "trans women are women" will really set them off)
• cis or cisgender (also irrationally loathed)
• okay, basically anything containing the word gender (except for gender-critical)
• genderqueer, genderfluid, nonbinary (because heaven help us if we can't classify folk into neat confining little boxes like male, female, feminine, masculine)
• pronouns (amazing how itty bitty words like he/she/they can irrationally irritate a woke-fearing person like almost nothing else)
• trans-exclusionary radical feminism (TERF for short, but there is nothing radical or feminist about it, which is maybe why they prefer to sugarcoat it by using the term gender-critical instead – also, in a twisted way, the acronym TERF is considered by most who practice it not only to be a slur, but actual hate speech, even though hate is exactly the effect of what they’re promoting)
• social justice 
• social justice warrior (usually SJW for short)
• equity (equality of opportunity is MAYBE okay, but NOT equity of outcome)
• inequity (because that implies that some benefit from unequal outcomes)
• racism (believe it or not, but this term is actually viewed by some as an anti-white slur)
• racist (some people consider being CALLED a racist more outrageous than someone actually BEING a racist—I know, it boggles the mind)
• anti-racism (again, a big no no, because while not being racist is one thing, actively trying to dismantle racism seems to be beyond the pale) 
• systemic racism (this notion is considered especially offensive—not that it exists, but that some have the nerve to suggest it exists)
• critical race theory (or CRT for short, is SO explosive for some that apparently the only way they can deal with the notion of trying to explain racism is to denounce the theory itself as racist)
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion initiatives or DEI for short (some prefer strategies like The Theory of Racelessness which argues that there is no such thing as race, and to think so is racist, reminding me of those who claim to be colourblind when it comes to race and who will quote MLK as if he was saying to ignore the colour of someone's skin instead of not judging a person by it)
• privilege (white privilege especially, and this may be because many of us have had the luxury of not even having to think of our skin colour while growing up)
• white fragility (say those two words together and you'll really see some people get defensive, like the professor I'll be mentioning in the why-I-wrote-this-post section below)

So there you have it: the two main topics and related words (race, gender identity) that will send the anti-woke into a frenzy these days. Use them sparingly or liberally, as you see fit. ;)

Some other terms you'll often see bandied about by these folk include the by now often-misused term freedom, freedom of speech (a borrowed American term actually, as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms refers to freedom of expression rather than freedom of speech, which, by the way, should not incorporate hate speech under the guise of "free" speech), parental rights (in conjunction with education), anti-mandate, government overreach, tyranny, global elite, global cabal, gatekeepers (a favourite term of Pierre Poilievre's), grooming, indoctrination, virtue signalling, cancel culture, and on, and on.  

TERFs in particular (if you're a radical feminist who is also trans-exclusionary I WILL call you by that name no matter how strongly you consider it to be a slur) who have become obsessed with the imaginary evils and threats posed by transgender women (yes, they ARE women) are equally obsessed with terms like biological sex (essentially positing biological determinism or essentialism arguments that feminists like myself have railed against for years), sex-based rights, and one of the more ridiculous terms, adult human female. 

It can be confusing, for sure, as one of the tenets of feminism is to reject gender stereotypes, but that doesn't mean that gender, along with sex, doesn't exist. And whether gender is more socially constructed or biologically based (my take on the 'is gender based on biology or merely a social construct' debate is that it's likely a variable combination of the two with other factors thrown in that differ for everyone), every person should have the right to express their gender identity as it feels comfortable to them.

Meaning that a cisgender woman should be able to present herself in more traditionally masculine ways if she wants, a transgender woman should be able to present herself in more traditionally feminine ways if that feels right for her, and ALL women should be able to present themselves any damn way they want. In short, there's no room for anti-trans sentiment if you consider yourself to be feminist, as anti-trans IS anti-feminist. And frankly, so-called feminists picking on the most vulnerable group of women as their main (and in some cases only) target of feminist activism (including the all-the-more-reprehensible for misusing her large platform, highly privileged and powerful J.K. Rowling), is disgusting. Using feminism as a cover to exclude trans people and justify transphobia is wrong on every level.

Now you may wonder why I've gone on at length about anti-wokeness (and gender issues in particular), on this vegan blog, so let me (at length again, I'm afraid), explain. I wrote about all of this stuff because:

• I'm tired of seeing the word "woke" everywhere, especially when used as a negative signifier
• while words change over time (e.g., gay no longer just means lighthearted and carefree), it bothers me when words or slogans (e.g., My Body My Choice) get co-opted 
• or worse, used to mean something entirely false, e.g., equating "grooming" with gender-affirming care for trans youth, rather than the actual process of manipulation by abusers
• and it's not just words, but anti-woke politicians actively trying to implement not only what can be taught in schools concerning race and gender, but anti-LGBTQ+ legislation that has real and devastating effects
• in fact, rather than youth wanting to transition because of social contagion as claimed, I'd argue that perhaps the real social contagion is the  “trans panic” that seems to have arisen among folk who are just repackaging all the anti-gay hatred and serving it onto the transgender community instead
• the folk objecting to woke also tend to be anti-mask, anti-vaccine, anti-mandate, skeptical of climate change, prone to conspiracy theories about things like "The Great Reset," obsessed with freedom that they falsely believe has been taken away, confused about what "free speech" does and does not include, and worst of all, convinced that their rights are being taken away while actively trying to ensure that the rights of groups THEY don't like are taken away
• I'm tired of seeing these symbols in my small Ontario town on a regular basis: huge Canadian flags on (usually) black pickup trucks, F___ Trudeau flags and bumper stickers (I even saw a Confederate flag once, and a bumper sticker saying "Jesus is my saviour, Trump is my President" for Pete's sake), and the fringe freedom fighters STILL congregating downtown every Saturday with their flags and picket signs
• man-child Elon Musk (remind you of anyone?) pandering to the anti-woke crowd on Twitter ensuring it becomes even more of a cesspool than it already is
• people with real clout and institutional power whining about "cancel culture" while using free speech that actually has the potential to cancel those with much less power simply for being who they are (I'm thinking here, for example, of toxic misogynist and weirdly-afraid-of-pronouns Jordan Peterson, J.K. Rowling once again, and even Margaret Atwood, whom I'd admired, retweeting anti-trans articles and signing, along with other privileged individuals, Harper's letter lamenting their concern that they're not free to say whatever the hell they want without social backlash or consequence. In other words, their speech should be free, but heaven forbid that anyone else complain about what THEY say. Again, this from people with big enough platforms that unlike others, they'll likely never encounter the danger of being cancelled, either figuratively or literally.) 
• speaking of powerful individuals, I had a fruitless email exchange with an Wilfred Laurier University professor and author of DIE and Respect are Bad (in part questioning his definitions taken from discredited self-proclaimed CRT expert/disinformation and conspiracy peddler/leading populizer of the term "groomer" as an LGBTQ+ pejorative, James Lindsay), who is also a member of an Academic Freedom Executive Committee (comprised of all male, probably white, middle-aged, straight, cis members) despising anything they claim to be woke, because boy, do they want to hold onto their power and privilege at all cost. Looking at his Twitter feed after, I realized I shouldn't have bothered.
• I'm tired of all the nonsense that gets normalized by Donald-types in the US trickling up north, and then leaving the fringes to become more mainstream
• I get scared, and sad, watching social conservative values, policies and legislation being touted and implemented across the world, and find it disheartening to see so many right-wing (some of them being very far-right) politicians being elected
• closer to home, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Pierre Poilievre as federal Opposition Leader, yikes
• misinformation and disinformation hurts everyone
• if I thought fighting on behalf of other species was difficult enough, the taking away of rights of human beings belonging to minority groups will only mean that trying to make life better for ALL beings is even more of an uphill battle
• as vegans who believe that power is at the root of all oppression, and that various types of oppression are interlinked, intersectionality isn't just a buzzword
• as intersectional vegans, we can't just say that our focus is only on animals
• finally, as vegans, the sentiment of "stop trying to force your ideology down everyone's throats" is a familiar one, and no matter what group receives that message, it's usually sent by those not liking a dominant narrative challenged

Where do we go from here? I don't know. But I'd suggest that if you're not quite sure where you stand on certain issues, it might help to see who your ideological bedfellows are. For example, if you're an anti-vax vegan (why?) parroting all sorts of alt-right nonsense (again, why?), ask yourself why you'd align yourself with individuals or groups who otherwise have very suspect views on almost everything else. How could they then be completely in the right on this particular issue?

With any issue really, ask yourself, who are the enthusiastic supporters and promoters? Who are the detractors? Who would you rather listen to? In the case, for example, of people pushing anti-trans views, would you rather listen to and respect the opinions of trans folk directly affected, or someone like J.K. Rowling who doesn’t have any skin in the game?  Parse out what is fact, and what are speculation, conjecture, and fear-mongering, from reputable sources. In short, do your homework.

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* The updated Texas Republican Party platform defines homosexuality as an "abnormal lifestyle choice" and opposes "all efforts to validate transgender identity." State Attorney General Ken Paxton tried to classify transition-related care for minors as child abuse, and Governor Gregg Abbott called on people to report parents of transgender minors if it was suspected they were receiving gender-affirming care. Meanwhile, Florida Governor DeSantis signed legislation limiting the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) and discussions of gender identity and sexuality in schools. It should scare the heck out of everyone that someone who proudly asserts that "Florida is where woke goes to die," may be running for President in 2024.

** couldn’t resist these links as they’re too bizarre for words:

https://blueprintforcanada.ca/the_cult_dynamics_of_wokeness.html

one which shows how CRT is misunderstood, misrepresented, twisted and distorted: 

https://blueprintforcanada.ca/what_anti_racism_in_CRT_really_means.html And I can say that having read a number of the books/authors they're particularly critical of.

and this “taxonomy” of woke religion which would actually be funny if its adherents didn’t think it was the gospel truth and it didn’t contain so many blatant untruths:

https://blueprintforcanada.ca/woke_religion_a_taxonomy.html

if you want, here's a Twitter thread debunking this entire Blueprint website: https://mobile.twitter.com/DrArendt/status/1565702149039947776

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A lot to read, I know, so hopefully you made yourself a cup of tea to go along with it!

p.s. I now realize that according to the anti-woke I’m likely even woker than woke—though not exactly sure what the term for that would be, snort, and that to them I've probably swallowed the woke Kool-Aid whole, but hey...

truth and reconciliation - every child matters

September 30 is National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, and Orange Shirt Day. It's a day to honour the survivors of Canada's Indian residential schools, and the thousands of children who never returned. It's a day to recognize the trauma and inter-generational impacts suffered by families and communities.  It's a day for Indigenous people to try and help each other heal, and for non-Indigenous people to reflect on the roles our government, churches, institutions and individuals played in stripping vulnerable children of their culture, their traditions, their language, their spirituality, their family relationships, and the right not to be emotionally, physically, and sexually abused. It's a day for all of us to contemplate this truly horrific chapter in our country's history, and its long-reaching effects.

It's a day to really let the numbers sink in. That over a span of about 150 years (between 1831 and the late 1990s(!) when the last federally supported residential schools closed) 150,000 or more First Nations, Inuit and Métis Nation children were taken with the goal of assimilating them. That more than 2000 unmarked graves have been found. That over 4000 children is estimated to have died in government-funded, church-run schools. 

It's a day (but not just a day, week, or year) of acknowledging and recognizing the truth of what happened, and a day of starting or continuing the process of reconciliation. It's a day of understanding both intellectually and emotionally that every child matters indeed. 

I wish the notion that all children are important was actually true in terms of individual and societal actions. Because it wasn't true for the ones ripped from their families and sent to those schools. Still isn't true today if you count something like access to clean drinking water as just one example of many. 

It wasn't true for the working-class kids sent to Ontario Training Schools either. And while not comparable in terms of cultural genocide, lasting trauma from severe abuse meted out by unqualified or plain sadistic adults also haunts its survivors to this day. 

It still isn't true if you consider the number of children currently living in poverty, going hungry, or being abused in any number of ways. We need to do more than pay lip service, more than small gestures like wearing an orange shirt. We need to genuinely honour, listen to survivors, and make reconciliation more than just a goal. 

On Friday, please reflect on the children who never made it home, and the ones who did, but not unscathed. Listen, learn, support, share, amplify, challenge stereotypes, respect, celebrate, attend an event - just do something to help make things better.

Some of the information I used in this post comes from Missing Children of Indian Residential Schools, a comprehensive resource of text, photos and recommended documents, compiled by the University of Windsor. And here's a good article for those wondering what they can do to better understand history, and what they can do now: Why the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation isn't just another stat holiday.

still vegan after all these years

I sometimes wonder if I should change the title of this blog already. Have Gone Vegan makes it sound as if I've just transitioned, whereas this is my 13th! year since giving up consuming sentient beings. So, thirteen years have flown by and I'm still alive, which according to this ex-vegan is quite miraculous as they "Do not consider any version of a vegan diet to be acceptable, safe, healthy or remotely appropriate for human beings.... I think veganism is dangerous and nutritionally defective. Failure is the only possible outcome of that defecient [sic] diet." Well! 

They also cite the Faunalytics' Study of Current and Former Vegetarians and Vegans saying that 84% of folk will abandon vegetarianism/veganism, but then throw in a time frame of within the first five years that I don't see listed in the study. And as a former researcher myself, I seriously question aspects of the study even though I support the organization and am a monthly donor. For example, grouping vegetarians and vegans together is like saying that apples and oranges are the same kind of fruit. No, they share similarities, but shouldn't be conflated.

As an illustration here's a statistic from their full report: Interestingly, while 86% of lapsed vegetarians abandon their diet, a smaller proportion (70%) of lapsed vegans do so, suggesting that while people are far less likely to adopt a vegan diet, vegans are also less apt to start opting for meat. I think 16% is a fairly big difference, and that's just one example.  Also, if you look at the actual numbers of the study sample (N= 11,399), you'll see that of the total number of 1,166 former vegans and vegetarians, 129 were vegan. Yep, you read that right. Percentage wise they indicate that of the 10.2% (1,166) vegans and vegetarians grouped together, 1.1% (129) were vegan and 9.1% (1,037) were vegetarian.

But stats can be deceiving (as one who used to manipulate them for a living I know), because another way you could look at this is to see that of the 1,166 former veg folk, 11% were vegan and thus 89% were vegetarian. In other words, this could be viewed as more of a study of former vegetarians than vegans.  If you then add in that the study definition of vegan/vegetarian was based on dietary inclusion only, and given that most vegans don't even consider veganism to be a diet, motivation would appear to be a key factor in how many vegans lapse as opposed to vegetarians. Hmmm... 

At any rate, IF veg folk DO abandon their "diet" within the first five years as claimed by the ex-vegan turned enthusiastic fisherwoman and licensed hunter quoted up above, then I should have ditched my principles 2.6 times already. But even in my dreams I consistently identify as vegan, so that's not likely to happen.

And while I don't get how former vegans (some might argue they were more plant-based than vegan) can turn their backs on animals, I do certainly understand turning down the dial on activism as being vegan is hard. Not in terms of food, in my opinion, but the emotional toil of witnessing animal suffering and death, the indifference and denial of others if not downright hostility, and the incremental pace at which change often seems to occur. Being a vegan and seeing real progress is a long-term prospect, and not for the faint-of-heart. 

So I would argue that being vegan is sometimes all you can do given other life circumstances. Full-on or even part-time activism is great if you have the time, energy and inclination, but please don't feel you're not doing enough, because just by not consuming other sentient beings you're already saving lives and making a difference.

And if you do feel you can contribute a bit more, consider what I think of as being more passive forms of activism: wear t-shirts with slogans, put stickers on your car* and around the community, have individual conversations face-to-face when appropriate (my best interactions with folk have been in grocery stores, for example, instead of anything posted online), chalk animal-rights messages, and other smaller actions that feel doable. Anything is better than nothing as they say, so don't feel it doesn't count if you're not up to doing bigger things like protests. Just being vegan and setting an example is activism in its own way, and all of our actions DO add up. :)

* like this! Was tickled pink/red? when I saw this vehicle in my rural small town. Had a lovely chat as well with the owner who wasn't sure what my reaction would be as I asked if this was their car, until I gave them a big smile and a huge thumbs-up when they said yes.

the post that's gotten the most flak

I've written a number of posts over the years (257 to be exact), but there's one I wrote over three years ago that still receives the most views (next in line to the not-kept-up-to-date Vegan Slogans page), and the occasional snarky comment. 

Any idea which one it is? I'll give you a clue: It has the word carnist in its title.

Yep, it's the top ten carnist phrases/excuses that drive me crazy post, and apparently it drives some readers bonkers as well. Which surprises me a bit as it's not a long post and I don't go into detail other than listing my top ten most annoying excuses, but I guess it's enough to rankle those among its ranks. I mean, I'm assuming that those offended by the post are also the ones using phrases 1-10.

And while I'm not exactly proud of how I responded to at least two of the last three comments, I also don't believe in editing my first reactions. I don't moderate my blog, which means that any viewer can say whatever they want before I'll notice their comment, but I also reserve the right to be pissed off and respond accordingly. That said, as vegans we do have more of a responsibility to react reasonably and politely to any venom spewed our way. 

I must say that I find the reaction of meat-eaters to that post most interesting. Seems like it hit a nerve more than anything else I've written, and that's fine too, but let's hope at least one offended reader actually thinks about what they're doing (and why) after they've gotten some of the anger off their chest.

Now, to round off this not-quite-Thursday-yet-so-can't-really-call-it-a-TBT-post, here's the one that followed the "who knew 10 phrases would get such a reaction?" post and still one of my faves to date: top ten reasons to go vegan. Hell yeah!

p.s. please don't feel you need to respond to any of the jerky comments left on the carnist phrases post as hopefully I've got it covered... ;)

a vegan obituary

No no, not mine (at least, not yet, snort) or anyone we know, or even of this blog (although I can't blame you for wondering where I've been -- this post was first drafted nearly a month ago!), so let me explain.

Not to sound morose or anything, but this concept has actually gotten me quite excited. I mentioned obituaries in my last post and how when you reach a certain age you both read and understand their appeal a bit more. I've even had to write one myself a few years ago (for my step-dad), but when I read the one published for my own dad this past summer I was disappointed at how generic and bland it was. This is it?, I wondered. A couple of lines indicating age and relatives left behind are all you get for having lived almost 88 years? It seemed unnecessarily sparse, and gave no indication as to who and what this man was all about.

But it got me thinking as to how I want my own life represented once I leave this earth for good. (And hopefully I will have left Earth a bit better then when I arrived.) I want it to capture not so much what I have done, but an idea of who I was. I would love for it to read something like; our sister/partner/friend (depending on who does the writing) was smart, funny, creative, kind and generous. She was also sassy, strong-willed, opinionated, and could be a real pain in the ass. And she would completely agree with this assessment if she were able to read it! More importantly though, I would want it to mention what I was most passionate about -- veganism. 

In fact, I want it to be more than just a mention. What I really envision my eventual obituary being is a public statement and declaration of my vegan beliefs. Wouldn't it be great to have the last written words about you (unless you're famous I would imagine these would be the last) be a testimony about what was most important to you, and an appeal for others to go vegan as well? So, being a bit of a control freak, I intend to draft at least the vegan portion of my obit and indicate in my personal effects containing my will that I want this included. My last wish, if you will. 

And why not? In other obituaries you see requests for donations to certain charities (why not request that they go to your favourite vegan/animal rights organization?), Bible quotes (why not an animal rights quote that has great meaning for you?) or work, sports, and other extracurricular activities. So why not a powerful statement about what you stood for, and what you hope future generations may achieve that so far we have not? Yes, make your obit count! Let's start a new trend and let your vegan voice speak from beyond the grave, boo haha. 

p.s. I waffle between thinking there may or may not be life after our bodies give up the fight (what happens to that all former energy otherwise?), but IF my dad still exists somehow on some plane or another, I could see him shaking his head and uttering one of his favourite Dutch proverbs Doe maar normaal, dan doe je al gek genoeg, which roughly translated means, "Just act normal, that's crazy enough" -- sorry Dad, no can do! ;)

vegan vilification

Because I've got far more time on my hands than I know what to do with (um, NOT), and because I tend to procrastinate when I've said what I'll be writing about next (I hate being told what to do even if I'm the one doing the telling, snort), I thought it'd be fun (not sure why but let's go with it) to compile a list of all the names and adjectives used to describe vegans that are supposed to be insulting. I'm sure I've missed a bunch, so please add yours in the comments. Ready, set, go! 

• self-righteous
• smug
• radical
• extremist
• illogical
• Nazi (seriously?)
• annoying (okay, maybe, sometimes, LOL)
• unreasonable
• unhealthy
• skinny
• pale
• weak
• vile
• eco-terrorist
• domestic terrorist
• animal worshipper (not making that one up)
• crazy
• unrealistic
• irrational
• imperfect
• hippies
• hypocrites
• lefties
• anarchists
• misguided
• guilty of anthropomorphism
• guilty of acting morally superior
• guilty of not being at least 110% vegan 
• idiots
• freaks
• weirdos
• criminals
• stupid
• brainwashed (what was that about a black kettle and pot? )

Ha, I knew I'd missed a few! From the comments below, here are some more:

• sissy (contributed by veganelder)
• loon (Bea)
• agenda-driven (Bea) -- as if the meat industries don't have one!
• idealistic (Tom)
• sad, hungry, angry (Tom)
• pushy (Krissa)
• which reminded me of preachy -- thanks everyone! :)

But in their defense, many folk are genuinely baffled when it comes to vegans. Why do we consider animals to be as or more important than people? Why are we not fighting as hard for the unborn? (Some vegans are pro-life by the way.) Those are two questions I see asked a fair bit. And I'm sure they're just as frustrated by us as we are by them. Both vegans and nonvegans genuinely believe that they have the right take on things, and that if only the "other" side would use their heads/open their hearts/see clearly then the question of animal use would be resolved. I have no answer of course, but I do find it interesting that some of the complaints we have about each other are not always all that different. And what did I just do in this paragraph? I us/we'd them, tsk, tsk. ;) 

p.s. now how in the hell did I forget humourless? Snort.

why aren't more Christians vegan?

A good question indeed and the title of New Vegan Age's essay challenging Christians to consider going vegan. Now, we actually discussed this piece while it was being written, and there were a few things I would have liked to see in it which do not appear, and a couple of things that I actually disagree with. So, closer to Easter, I'll be giving you my own take on why more Christians aren't vegan, but please do read Tom's essay here. 

In the meantime, I'm also working on: an expansion of a discussion I had with veganelder about finding a new category for animals in the property vs. person debate (for those of you who don't read the comments, tsk tsk -- you know who you are -- that's where some of the interesting stuff really happens), a resurrection of sorts (eek, bad Easter joke) of the paradox of being vegan series, white privilege, human privilege, and all sorts of privilege (also originating from a comment), the deceptively titled "one thing you can do to help veganism", and the most striking sentence I read last year.

Whew! I'm gonna be busy, but luckily I have much less time on my hands these days, which oddly enough has resulted in my being that much more focused. So, stay tuned!

happy father's day

Because I'm a lazy? busy? tired? vegan believer of recycling, and because I quite liked the post I wrote for Father's Day last year, feel free to check it out or re-read it again! :)

"you're in here for life"

This cartoon amused me greatly as I happened to be finishing my sociology degree a little over a quarter century ago (why does that sound a lot longer than 25 years?), and it has graced more than one refrigerator. At the time I didn't give much thought to the quite literal prison sentences served by sentient beings in zoos, circuses, laboratories (I hadn't even heard of the term factory farms yet) and all other manner of places, although I could relate to questioning the usefulness of this particular degree. And to be fair, I haven't reaped the economic benefits that post-secondary education usually confers, although that was totally through my own doing.

But I like to think that my relatively useless degree HAS contributed greatly to my "I'm in here for life" vegan journey. I initially wanted to major in psychology as I was interested in what made people tick (although to be honest I bet most psych majors, myself included, enter the field trying to figure out what the hell makes them tick, snort), but soon realized that examining why groups of people behave as they do is even more interesting. My education and on-again off-again career in non-profit community research helped me to develop critical thinking skills (I hope), a healthy disdain of academic jargon, life-long impatience with committees and meetings, an awareness that statistics can be manipulated any which way you like, and if nothing else, shaped how I view pretty much every issue, including veganism. In other words, I'm hopelessly sociologically bent. ;)

p.s. Don't forget that my vegan giveaway contest ends tonight. I'm working tomorrow, so plan to draw and post the results late afternoon or early evening. See you then!

p.p.s. In order to make it easier for drawing purposes I did not respond to any comments in the giveaway post, but would like to thank everyone for participating. Good luck to all! :)

the advantages of being an older vegan

And no, I don't mean that you'll have fewer years to endure the mind-boggling and nerve-curdling animal cruelty that passes for normal on most parts of the planet. By the way, if all that crap is getting you down big time and sometimes (on darker days) having you think that the predicted demise of our fair earth in 2012 might not be such a bad thing, may I suggest a refreshing dose of CarpeVegan? Even if you don't agree with their viewpoints of purposeful vegan baby breeding or thrift store leather purchases, these dudes can be seriously funny and laughter-induced endorphins are good for everyone's health. Especially vegans. And those who have to live with them. Kidding! About the last part. But you knew that.

Where was I again? Oh yeah, the advantages of being wrinkled. Sure, most of the materials distributed by places like Vegan Outreach are aimed at younger brains and hearts and that certainly makes sense, but let's not forget that there are distinct advantages to going vegan when you're older. First, no one will pat you on the head and inform you that you're going through a "phase" if you announce your vegan intentions at the ripe old/middle age of 46. Had I gone vegan when I was 16 I'm sure my head would have gotten tired of all those patronizing hands. People expect college-age students to try on different philosophies and identities whereas we more seasoned folk have pretty much figured out who we are by now. And we've certainly been around the block enough times to be fairly serious about our goals (and more immune) when we agree to be maligned by the majority of meat-loving cohorts around us.

Another distinct advantage of most older vegans is that they tend to be established in their careers and finances (not myself personally, snort, but MOST), which means they have more money to donate to vegan causes and a wider sphere of influence. Who has more clout? Somebody in a boardroom or a schoolroom? Bill Clinton, or the girl on Glee?

So while I understand the impetus to recruit the young as they'll have more years to save more animals, let's not underestimate the importance of reaching out to the not-so-young. Like the quantity versus quality argument, young isn't always better and doesn't mean they'll influence more folk to go vegan than we older fogies will.

Um, I know there are other advantages too, but I'm gonna go take a wee nap now... 

p.s. accuse me of being ageist in this post and I'll make sure your funny bone STAYS missing ;)

p.p.s. I MEANT to link to this informal poll, but forgot. Blame old age if you like. Or not.

the paradox of being vegan part 3

Note: the paradoxes of being vegan that I discuss in this and subsequent posts are my own personal observations, and not necessarily universally applicable to all vegans

And if you haven't read paradoxes 1 or 2 yet (or have forgotten already because I wrote them so long ago), I'll link to them below.

Paradox #3:

• Being vegan has changed me completely
• Being vegan hasn't changed me at all

When I say that being vegan has changed me completely I don't just mean what I eat, wear, enjoy for entertainment and consume in other ways (although it includes all of that), but more that it has changed my mindset, my worldview, and my values. It has opened my heart (significant for someone who prefers logic and thinking) in a way that nothing else has, and it's increased my ability to feel compassion and empathy. And in an odd way, caring more about all living animals has allowed me to care more about human animals too. I'm a better person for being vegan and I'm thankful that I took the leap.

At the same time though, being vegan hasn't changed me one iota. In fact, it's probably just reinforced who I really am. Being vegan hasn't made me more patient, hasn't eradicated my quick temper, hasn't made me less reactive, and hasn't smoothed out the rough edges. I'm still quick to judge, am prone to snarkiness, love to come up with new ideas but am not great on follow-up (case in point being all the post topics I have thought up and promised but have yet to deliver, e.g., paradoxes 3, 4, and 5 were conceptualized eons ago), and I still feel like smacking people in the face for being such jackasses half the time even though I usually endorse a gentler approach.

What I think veganism does is magnify who you really are. It brings out your best and worst traits, illuminates whatever charming or not so charming personality quirks you possess, and brings to the fore your true values. In a sense, being vegan is a litmus test. Or maybe I'm just full of it? At any rate, being vegan gives you the wonderful opportunity to use your skills, interests and the unique qualities that make you YOU for the betterment of all, and that my friend, is quite cool.

Need to catch up with the other paradoxes? Here you go:

Paradox #2: as a vegan I've never been more at peace/more pissed off
Paradox #1: being vegan is easy/being vegan is hard

vegan in my dreams too!

But first I thought I'd help you cool down with the help of the photo above. Taken a few years ago when I still lived in Hamilton, I sure would love to jump into that snow today! The oppressive heat has finally reached Southern Ontario (although I'm not complaining because I realize how lucky we've been up until now), and I feel bad for anyone who doesn't have air conditioning. I feel worse though for all the companion animals who are suffering in this heat, farmed/harmed animals who have no refuge from the blistering sun (1500+ cattle in South Dakota died), and all my neighbours to the south who have had to put up with this heat dome for so long already. Hope relief comes soon!

As for the title of this post, being vegan actually entered my dreams last night. And since my dreams tend to be of the mundane mix-everything-that-happened-today variety, this snippet amused me. Apparently, I was in a restaurant hotly disputing a bill and saying indignantly: "This bill is wrong because I never would have ordered that [that being a plate of meat-based appetizers I believe]. I'm vegan you know." So there you go. My identity as a vegan is firmly entrenched even in my dreams, woot! :)

my most successful vegan tee so far

And by successful I mean it's gotten the most attention from strangers. Wore it into town on Saturday and two people actually read it out loud! Cool. One exchange went like this:

Store owner filling in at cash register: "Food is to eat, animals are to love. Pause.
So I guess that means you don't eat meat?"

Me: "Yeah, I don't touch the stuff."

Owner: "And you love pigs?"

Me: "Yes, and chickens and cows too!"

Unfortunately at that point another customer needed serving and the conversation ended, but I like to think that a seed was planted. Or at least, that the owner has now met (if he hadn't before) someone who doesn't think other sentient beings should be thought of as food. And I wonder too if a gentle message like the one above is more effective in challenging typical assumptions then a more aggressive "meat is murder" motto. I mean, while I have no problem with thinking of meat as murder, it's the kind of slogan that is more likely to make people want to defend their habits methinks. It raises walls, instead of helping to tear them down. 

As I may have mentioned in the previous post, the beauty of t-shirt activism too is that it puts a human face on what may be stereotypical notions of who's vegan. In my case, that face belongs to a forty-something female who has given her laugh lines an honest-to-goodness workout, and who isn't bothered by prematurely grey hair. Also, while in some ways it's a real pain to be living in a small rural-based town; maybe it's even more important here than in big cities to demonstrate who vegans actually are.

p.s. more positive response from another clerk: "I couldn't help but notice your t-shirt: eat, eat, kiss, kiss -- that's SO cute!"

t-shirt activism

Did you remember to wear one of your vegan tees yesterday to help celebrate Vegan T-shirt Day? Held every first Saturday of the month this is a great way to spread the vegan message by wearing your heart AND politics on your sleeve. The beauty too of this method of advocacy is that if you're a people-can-be-draining introvert like me, you can get your point across without even having to say a word. Of course, if someone notices your shirt and wants to strike up a conversation, well, that's cool too. If more vegans participate in the event it will let people know how many of us are around, and how increasingly diverse a population we're becoming. So do your part every first Saturday (and any other day you want) and show the world your vegan pride. Do it! :)

* I got the tee in the pic above from AnimalRightStuff.com 

on being a real father

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 :)

vegan mail delivery part 1

Woohoo! Received Nick Cooney's Change of Heart: What Psychology Can Teach Us About Spreading Social Change in the mail Friday and after only one chapter I already think it'll be invaluable. Not only is it interesting reading (although I'm biased towards the social sciences), but I feel it will help us to become more effective activists. I like how the title is Change of Heart as opposed to Change of Mind because while facts, logic and reasoning are certainly part of the activist's arsenal, facts by themselves are not enough. Compassion is more a matter of the heart, and hearts have to be opened before information can settle in. 

Chapter One is called Looking Inward and it deals partly with the relationship between self-identity and activism. Cooney reminds us that because we're so strongly and emotionally invested in our cause, we tend to believe that our own advocacy methods are the right ones and that any criticism of them can feel like criticism of us. That in turn can make it hard to abandon them if it's shown they're flawed.

He also suggests that negative aspects of self-identity (like ego, jealousy and insecurity) need to be kept in reign if we want to be effective, and asks the following:

Are we as activists willing to keep our anger and passion in check so that we're directing them rather than they directing us? Are we willing to put those we hope to help ahead of our desires for self-expression, for standing up for ourselves, and for loudly proclaiming what we believe regardless of how others will respond? Are we willing to go beyond the comfortable boundaries of our current self-identity in order to be as effective as possible? (p.15)

All good questions.  (And it makes me wonder what HE thinks of the VegNews scandal, snort. My own take on it is expressed in a comment I left at The Discerning Brute, but check out the excellent post Vegan Feminist Agitator has written on the matter.)

So I'm looking forward to the next chapters, and if any of you are interested I may share bits in the future that resonate with me. Or, if you don't want to wait, you can read a complete interview posted by Vegan Outreach to get a sense of what's in store.

Better yet, buy the book! :)

12 questions vegans might want to ask themselves

• what does being vegan mean to me?
• am I vegan enough? who gets to decide?
• who gets to define veganism? abolitionism?
• is it more important to me to be right, or more important to be effective? 
• how do I know that my advocacy IS effective?
• is it even possible to change anyone else's behaviour?
• is there any point in having a blog if I'm only preaching to the converted?
• is there anything that would stop me from being a vegan?
• what can I do to keep myself motivated in being an activist?
• what can I do to prevent burnout?
• what would a vegan world actually look like?
• what progress do I see happening? what's working? what gives me hope?

There are of course no right questions, just as there are no right answers, but are there other (and probably better) questions that YOU ask yourself?

so I finally got a vegan backpack!

Actually, I've had it for a few months now, but hadn't gotten around to taking a pic. And I have two backpacks! (Or knapsacks as I also call them.) This is my lighter summer edition, and I have a darker heavier one for lugging groceries. I love the material (yay for cruelty-free!), and as an orange-aholic, the great colours. Some of you may remember my dilemma from one of my first blog posts, but as you can see, I was ready to pass the backpack on. What I also did was get myself some nifty vegan buttons (below is a close-up of my favourite quote) to put on both bags as I figured that this way I could promote the cause without even having to say a word, snort. And really, in a small town like the one I live in, just announcing your presence as a vegan could be as liberating as saying, "I'm queer, I'm here, get used to it." ;) 

still here, still vegan

I know I haven't posted in what seems like forever (how can nearly two months go by so quickly?), but I haven't given up on this blog, so I hope you won't either. Being vegan in a non-vegan world (am I an abolitionist failure for thinking that all the wanting in the world* won't make it so?) can be daunting, and for me one of the challenges is trying to figure out how to be an effective advocate without being angry and pissed off all the time. And that's just at other vegans! Kidding. Well, mostly, snort. 

Besides continuing to explore vegan identity (yes that includes the stats I promised) and the process of veganism (because I believe being vegan is a journey and not a destination), I want to tell you about some new vegan products, and show off my veganalia. Yep, that's my new vegan word of the day! I've gotten some cool buttons, a stamp, and am planning to get vegan-themed T-shirts and I'll post them all soon. Also, expect more posts centered around questions, because for me, thinking out loud is the best way to process.

* in reference to the abolitionist slogan "THE WORLD IS VEGAN! If you want it."