VEGAN OR NOT - Social media misunderstandings between supporters and activists ..

VEGAN OR NOT - When interested or concerned with the well being of mother Earth, and the rights of our voiceless co-habitants, where do you draw the line ? is there a line to be drawn ?

ANIMAL ACTIVIST or VEGAN ? AREN'T THEY THE SAME ? WHY OCCASIONAL TENSIONS ARISE.

Quite often, while scouting the internet and facebook, I come across tensions where some Vegan Animal Activists and Non-Vegan Animal Activists (or supporters) appear to clash in terms of ethics.

1st I'll separate Plant-based diet from Vegan to make things clear. You can choose a plant-based diet for health reason and that's great, and it actually also helps animals of course..now the only difference in "pratique" is that the Vegan choosing a plant-based diet but also a non animal based clothings and if possible non leather seats in their car etc.. The Vegan basically chooses to control the impact on animals, with their entire lifestyle.

Pro Animal Rights activists come of all sorts.. from all the countries in the world, from different cultures and backgrounds, there are different types of activists. Of course they are all needed as they all complete each other. The one doing outreach and using social medias to pass on information and footage, the one in the field actually filming and possibly interfering. We basically at first look should have no reason for quarrelling, and especially in public while trying to pass on information to people that are uneducated about animal cruelty and causes for danger toward the planet.. Some of us are Vegan and some of us are not. Some of us were not born Vegan, some of us have been all their life. Some of us were always sensitive and might join the fight or support the animal rights and activism movements at a later age than others.

Now that it is somewhat clear, I am talking about tensions when all concerned about the same cruelty; might it be the dogs in Yulin, the Goose in NY, the Dolphins of Taiji, the horse slaughters in Louisiana, the turtle head ripping out of shell festival in Indiana (snapperfest), I see tensions emerge.

I will see some intolerable racism coming generally from the more recent or have just started getting involved supporters, those that sign and share and spread the horrific news to those around them.. They do not usually see this themselves as racist, however the "I hate China" or "I hate all Japanese", usually comes from those that generally have not been directly involved with the fight in terms of direct action. Everyone should have it clear in their mind, that without the local eyes and local information, we would never know, also its not a fleet of 12 boats herding for slaughter , pods of dolphins, that represent the population of japan, just like the yulin festival is not happening all over China.. This Racism can only damage the image of our true compassion as activists. We are lovers not haters. We are non violent and here to either protect the animals or show the world what we cannot change alone..

The other traditional sources of tensions will be between the Vegan and Non Vegan animal activists. Those non Vegan will have their favorite animals, as they choose to eat certain animals and choose to protect other animals of their liking. Obviously that is a major difference from a Vegan activist. The Vegan activist will mention Specie-ism, which in characteristics is the "brother" of racism, and it is applied to animals. You love your cat, and sign a petition to protect wolves yet you eat parts of a cow or eat an egg that profits one of the most cruel animal agriculture industry. If we focus on the fight where both join, the focus should be kept there, although there is nothing wrong with educating others.

Again these are generalities and in no ways apply to You all..it is just something commonly seen in the social media and you will see tensions go up and then lightnings and thunder with no constructive exchanges.

Ignorance can only be fought with information, so if you don't bring your message across to the other, then you have not done your outreach. I have told a couple of times to some people that i am scared by their remarks on all chinese when the first responders are there, in China, and Chinese (not some dude on his PC signing a petition, although i approve, please sign as many petitions that you can read and agree to). This of course can be applied to many other areas..of the world as it is a worldwide problem (animal cruelty)

Let's not forget :

- There is Animal cruelty in every country in the world - There are activists in every country in the world - We are all fighting for animals, some of us don't see things the same way so either educate or respect the little or the lot that they give to the A. R. movements - No one asked you to be Vegan, but if you are gonna be crying out loud when dogs get slaughtered, don't get angry at someone that feels the same for all animals.. agree to disagree and maybe we will - Racism and hate are never of any help for the cause of compassion..those don't mix..so if you put a flag of compassion as your profile page or in your cover page and then come up with hate and racist outbursts, be careful to not misrepresent yourself or the flag or tag or badge you use to represent your position.

- Veganism is for everyone. We were not all raised being Vegan so sometimes it takes some time for someone to open their eyes and see the sense and logic, and of course COMPASSION. But it will need a compassionate heart to show the way..and also sharing some scientific facts, and not surveys conducted by animal agriculture lobbies.. more and more physicians including the president of American College of Cardiology, are embracing plant based vegan diet for health..etc..

- Animal agriculture is the #1 source of animal cruelty, pollution to the oceans (source of 80% of our oxygen), gas emissions (51% vs 13% from fossil fuels), heart / cardio-vascular diseases, deforestation (91%) and much much more..

Let's all fight this together the best we can and give the most possible as this is part of a very long and important fight for the preservation of mother earth, their lives and our lives.. Nature is resilient and will survive us. Let's try and fix and repair and protect what we have. For the Oceans and our planet David Michel

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