Freeconomy Blog
Sun
28 Dec
The meaning of humane...
| 13 comments |
I am feeling a bit down today; yes I’m fully aware I should focus on the positives in life but some days, you know, it’s all just a bit too much. By the way if you are really sensitive or don’t like reading stuff that may be hard to take, then I would stop reading now as you are probably not going to enjoy the rest of this blog - just to warn you, I don’t want to offend anyone.
But because the pain I am feeling is so much, I feel the need to be truly honest this evening. By the way, I do not write what I write below as a vegan; I write it as a human who is upset and doesn’t know what to do.
Sometimes I just can’t understand how we humans can do what we do and look at ourselves in the mirror at night. I’ve just watched Earthlings again (one of the best documentaries I have ever seen by the way) and I really cannot comprehend how inhumane we can be. If you cannot watch the full duration of this movie because it really upsets you then, please, please, stop eating factory farmed meat (the vast majority of meat is factory farmed), stop using cosmetics that are tested on animals, stop going to zoos and animal circuses and stop drinking industrialised milk. If you do watch the movie and continue to do the above then please then do not call yourself an animal lover and certainly do not call yourself humane anymore.
I checked out the etymology of humane today and it has the following origins - “having qualities befitting human beings”. So I then went and looked up the definition of humane and I found the following:
hu•mane (adj ) meaning:
1. characterised by kindness, mercy or compassion
2. showing kindness and sympathy
3. inflicting as little pain as possible
Therefore if you directly or indirectly partake in any of the practices outlined in Earthlings, given the knowledge you now have of the living conditions of these animals, please do not call yourself humane. You’re not. And if you can’t watch the documentary then stop claiming ignorance of the issues.
As Isaac Bashevis Singer, a Noble Laureate in literature, once said in one of his books - “In relation to them (animals), all people are Nazis; for the animals it is an eternal Treblinka”. There is no difference between a factory farm, an animal testing laboratory or Auschwitz, it’s just that the inhabitants look different. Cruelty is cruelty regardless of the species.
You know what else has caused me a lot of mental pain today? The fact that we can spend billions on crap we do not need over Christmas whilst over fifty per cent of the world, at the very same time, is either malnourished or actually starving to death. How we can spend £50 on a night out whilst many live in the most abject poverty is beyond me. If I have £500 in the bank and another human being dies because they haven’t had enough to eat, am I not partially responsible for their death? It sounds very harsh, I’m sorry, but the truth is the truth and as hard as it is to take sometimes we all need to ask ourselves these questions. That lovely new DVD player you just treated yourself to this Christmas – because you’re worth it – how many lives could the money you spent on that have helped? I don’t want to make people feel bad; I just want us all to question our own sense of morality, or more precisely, the lack of it.
I know I am asking tough questions of us all and I suspect some people will probably stop reading this blog from now on because it has made them uncomfortable; and I probably sound like some ranting maniac. I’m not, I’m usually very positive, but I just see some terrible stuff sometimes and feel I have an obligation to do everything I can to change it. If the thought of a child dying from starvation or an animal being literally tortured to death is not enough to inspire us to do something about, then we have lost our way as humans. We’ve been privileged enough to have been given a conscience. Let’s start using it.
It’s impossible to help everything and everyone. But just ask yourself this – are you doing all you can? In the words of Michael Franti, “is your love enough, or can you love some more?” At least stop contributing to the problems if you don’t have the time to help out with the solutions.
Be Rosa Parks. Be Julia Butterfly Hill. Be Martin Luther King Jr. Be Jill Phipps. Be the change…
THE FREECONOMY BLOG is written by Mark Boyle, founder of The Freeconomy Community. If you want to respond, debate or ask questions, please just comment below; you will have to sign in first.
Comment on this Post:
Tracerz comments ...
I really, really like reading your blog. You are seriously like our hero. I must admit I do like your positive stuff a bit more, but you can't just get rid of the negative... it doesn't work like that.
I know this is a tough season especially for those of us who can stand back and see the insanity. But don't let it get you too far down, we need you to be our role model. =P
*hugs*
Bea Elliott comments ...
Very interesting post - I agree that we've lost our connection and our humanity... What we do to animals in the name of every unnecessary indulgence is sinful. We've just got to assume that the more we educate people as to the atrocities done to human and non humans we will find our way to a compassionate world. Thanks for inviting comment - Go Vegan :)
Alan comments ...
Some very real problems that are totally overlooked at this time of year. I agree that it is not nice to see these pictures of animals like this and the very meaning of humane contradicts a lot of what goes on in todays society. Animal cruelty is a whole different ball game to raising animals for meat or is it? I think a lot of people if seeing these pictures would give up meat and move to vegan for sure. But then the sustainability question of where is all the food going to come from to provide a good days meal for everybody? I read an interesting article on the bbc website yesterday, which rightly questions the current system in which we get our food. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7795652.stm
I totally agree about christmas, so much money on wasted gifts that will never even be used. But i suppose the question is how to change peoples attitudes from that of a local 'dont see whats happening in another country' thought process to a more global attitude and that is hard when you havent seen it with your own eyes. As they say out of sight out of mind.
Another link that caught my attention was this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7799759.stm - what is the meaning of true wealth, maybe getting people to think about this could question their own lifestyle choices. I remain optimistic.
Mark Boyle comments ...
*To Tracerz*
Thanks, it's great to be sharing the planet with you!
*To Bea*
Yes I fully agree, education is the key, I don't believe anyone actually wants to be cruel, people nowadays are just shielded from the truth. Let our lives be the greatest advert for whatever it is we believe in.
*To Alan*
Thanks for the links mate. My understanding is that it takes up to16 times the amount of acreage to produce one pound of meat than it does to produce one pound of vegetation. Obviously not all land is suitable for vegetables, however the land that isn't should be returned to forestry if suitable. Trees are being increasingly important for so many reasons in the future given the challenges we face.
I'm not saying we shouldn't have animals at all though. I am saying we should work with them and look after them in the same way you would look after one of your colleagues or employees. It should be a mutually beneficial partnership. 99.5% of animal farming now is about as far removed from being mutually beneficial as one could possibly imagine.
But yeah it is impossible for the UK to ever feed itself unless meat intake is at least quartered.
You should check out what Simon Fairlie has to say about it all - he used to be the editor of the Ecologist magazine but has set up a new magazine called the Land - he is probably the expert on land issues.
Leo Tolstoy once said that "as long as there are slaughterhouses... there will be battlefields".
Sweatshops, wars, factory farms, polluted oceans, they all have the same root cause, they are all symptoms of the same disease....
Christina comments ...
hi Mark
i read your article in Resurgence - went to justfortheloveofit, signed in on freeconomy - and here is your message - sorry you feel a little blue - these hiped up holiday season seems to have this effect on many of us.
thanks for the great work
love
Christina
Annie Leymarie comments ...
Just watched Earthlings and felt very sick. How, but how can we spread this message beyond the fortress of denial built everywhere?
Mark Boyle comments ...
*To Christina*
Great to have you on board. Yes my back has been stiffened again and I am feeling optimistic and hopeful - thank you for asking. There is so much to do, wallowing in despair isn't going to help anyone. Great to hear you read Resurgence - if the world read that instead of magazines I won't give free advertising to by naming, this would be as close to paradise as we could possibly imagine. Great magazine. Keep posting.
*To Annie Leymarie*
That I don't have the answer to. All I can say is to fearlessly, and with love and without judgment, try to educate every single person you interact with every single day.
And as I would ask everyone to think about - if you were one of those animals you see in the film, what would you want Annie Leymarie to do?
Treavor comments ...
I have to agree with the above poster. A fortress of denial. The problem I keep running into is I am always talking to the people that are already awakening to these problems. Their eyes are being opened and they are trying to make a difference. The challenge is trying to spread the message beyond. Then you have to be careful about preaching, because then most likely you will just end up with an argument at best.
The socialized response to thoughts such as these is name-calling, i.e. tree-hugger, hippie. Some of my family no longer even talks to me because my girlfriend and I refuse to support society's ways and so they see us as a failure. We are criticized for wanting to home-school because we believe we can do better than the broken school system currently in place.
As my girlfriend posted above, you are one of our role models. You are taking the steps we are still afraid to take even though we know it would improve our lives. Waking up to the horrors and the insanity that take place around us everyday can be at times extremely discouraging I am sure. You are going against the grain of what is acceptable! I imagine you are sometimes criticized for your actions, otherwise I doubt you would think you might come off as a ranting manic.
If anyone stops reading your blog because of this, it just means they are not ready to wake up and face themselves/the world. Keep strong!
Mark Boyle comments ...
*To Treavor*
Good on you for standing your ground, though I understand it must be really difficult. Home schooling is an amazing way to bring up your kids, and if I had children that is what I would personally do. Don't let those who don't understand get you down.
And remember, be grateful that you both found each other amongst a very immature species, it sounds like you are an amazing couple.
For those times you feel doubt, I'll leave you with some lyrics from Michael Franti, from See you in the Light -
*The vampires gather around me, angling to take a bite.
They want to drink my blood of courage, and try to take away my fight.
But no, no, no, they can't do that, no, for one Truth I've learned in life.
You want to scare away the vampires, you simply guide them into the light*
Alan comments ...
Interesting thoughts. I think the huge aspect of this way of living is the fear of not being able to support yourself or say in trevors case his family, which i suppose would make it easier for me being a single bloke! But the fear of having to revert back to the way of living you were trying to get away from can occur too easily I guess, as we are so over reliant on the current system we live by, that getting away from it is too big a change in one step. Perhaps the odds for change arent needed right now, and perhaps a huge occurence has to happen to give these ideas some pedalpower. (not sure if thats a good ramble or not for this time in the morning!)
Joan comments ...
I just joined your site and must say I welcomed this blog today. I came across an article this week on the French using live and dead dogs to catch sharks with. According to this article they use large hooks to do it and the picture has stayed with me. I think I have a handle on human nature sometimes (even the darker stuff) then I see this and it does knock the wind out of your sails for a bit. It has been really hard shaking that. Thank-you for your honesty.
Rafael DiCristina comments ...
I was in the process of writing notes for my children and grandchildren and was about to comment on the etymology of the word "humane." I was to argue how absurd it is on the basis of what "human" beings have done to each other (and continue to do) throughout history. At times I am ashamed of belonging to the "human" race as I would be of belonging to a club with a charter that promotes and executes violent acts.
I came upon this page when searching for definitions of "humane." It is amazing how your feelings parallel mine. I could have written this piece myself!
bandage dress comments ...
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this bandage dress, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic Herve Leger Dress. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.I will bookmark your blog and have my kids check up here frequently V-Neck Bandage Dress. I’m very certain they will understand lots of new stuff here than anybody else. I do appreciate that youve added relevant and intelligent commentary here though. Thank you!
