Don’t worry about being successful, worry about being faithful.

Okay, I was listening to VF Pod Cast (11-21-2005) at work. They had an interview with Karen Davis from United Poultry Concerns (http://upc-online.org/) (UPC). It was their pre-Thanksgiving pod cast and covered a lot of the treatment on Turkeys and other poultry (hmmm United Poultry Concerns, weird). Karen was absolutely fascinating to listen to and I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know about turkey farming. I wouldn’t say that it was “good” because actually it was really, really disgusting and disturbing. When I learned how the artificial insemination process takes place, I almost lost it. I cannot wait to meet some one who works for Butterball or Tyson. If you are the turkey masturbator, what is your actual job title? This is possibly the most disturbing thing I have heard in regards to animal right thus far. Visually I have seen a lot of disturbing things. I own Earthlings, and I have actually forced myself to watch it. I have watched Meet You Meat. Visually, these are about as disturbing is they get. This interview described parts of the poultry industry that I was completely unaware of and blind to.

Karen really had some very good points regarding animal rights. This interview really got me thinking about some of my “issues”. I have learned that there is a struggle between animal rights and animal welfare. Many of my blog readers will also know that I sometimes struggle with the concept of rights. I struggle for two main reasons. First, it seems like such a long, uphill battle. It seems like something that we will never win. The other main struggle that I have with the concept of rights is that of companion animals. (I can’t imagine not owning/having the companionship a dog). This Pod Cast really helped me out with both of these struggles.

Karen quoted a number of animal activists and authors. Two of them really stood out to me and helped me to work through some of my fence sitting regarding animal rights. The first one is the title of this entry. Colin McCarthy (an animal activist) said;

”Don’t worry about being successful, just be faithful”

during an interview. This simple quote inspired me. This is completely opposite of what most American’s are taught growing up. Phrases like; “eye on the prize” and “focusing on your goal” (at least for me) were heard over and over throughout childhood. This is not to say that I think vegans should forget why they are vegan or it should become a habit. It is just important to remember that we will probably never see success (true success, not welfare success) in our life time. Although remembering this may prevent burn out or keep you sane, it can drive you insane. How bad does it suck that we are working on such a huge, huge issue. I know it is easy for me to remain vegan because then at least my conscience is clean.

Antonio Gramsci (Italian writer and politician) called for:

“Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will”.

To me, this quote also speaks volumes. So often vegan’s hear “You’re only what person what can you do?”, or “Things are never going to change, so why bother?” I think that it is also very easy to get down looking at everything around us. It is easy to get frustrated at the animal exploitation all around us. (Karen talks about a lot about this in the Pod Cast as well, check it out!). It is easy to wonder if any one really cares. It is beyond frustrating that people can know what goes on in the factory farm and still continue to consume animal products. In my small head, seeing images like those on Meat Your Meat should be enough to turn a lion vegan. But, alas, it’s not. So I think this quote is important for all vegans to remember. The world is pretty fucked up. It is insane that people can know what goes on and ignore it.

GBV - Out