Belief is a personal journey, but when belief becomes a mandate carved into the lives of others, it ceases to be belief and becomes oppression. And when such belief is treated as unquestionable truth, it becomes a blinding light that refuses to see the violations it enacts upon those stripped of choice. This invisible belief and value system, shaped by habit and convenience, blurs the moral lines between need and want, survival and choice. It fosters the illusion that our supremacy is natural, that our desires outweigh another’s right to live free from exploitation. In what moral framework can that be justified.
ROLAND AZAR: There is a dangerous thread that runs through history — a thread that justifies domination by wrapping it in belief. It has allowed some to treat others as means to an end: men over women, white over Black, human over non-human. The forms may differ, but the logic remains the same. Whenever power convinces itself of moral superiority, it seeks to impose its reality onto those with less…
This invisible belief and value system, shaped by habit and convenience, blurs the moral lines between need and want, survival and choice. It fosters the illusion that our supremacy is natural, that our desires outweigh another’s right to live free from exploitation. But once we step back, the illusion cracks…
The most extreme expressions of this system are found in animal agriculture, where sentient beings are systematically exploited, forcibly impregnated, separated from their babies, and ultimately slaughtered. These are not isolated incidents — they are routine, normalized acts of violence committed against individuals who, if they could speak our language, would beg for mercy.
What makes it more veiled is that we often carry out these actions not with cruelty in our hearts, but in a conviction that quietly violates the rights of those who cannot refuse… It is not hunger that drives this violence — it is tradition, taste, and a deeply embedded belief that our preferences take precedence over another being’s autonomy, identity, and freedom from domination. And when such belief is treated as unquestionable truth, it becomes a blinding light that refuses to see the violations it enacts upon those stripped of choice. In what moral framework can that be justified…
Belief is a personal journey — but when belief becomes a mandate carved into the lives of others, it ceases to be belief and becomes oppression… And beyond that — beliefs are not absolute truths. They are interpretations, shaped by culture, upbringing, and experience. To wield them as moral law over others is not justice, but coercion disguised as conviction. The danger is not in believing — but in believing so fully that we lose sight of those harmed by our certainty.
A just society honors the autonomy of all beings, not just the ones that look like us. True belief is lived, not enforced. And genuine freedom includes the right of others — not just to live, but to not be used…
We’ve seen this logic before. We’ve seen it in systems that justified slavery, patriarchy, colonization. Each time, those with power rewrote the rules of justice to suit their image… So now we must ask: what are we refusing to see in animals? They may not look like us, speak like us, or live like us. But they feel, they fear, they love, and they resist. And in every way that matters — they wish to live…
This is not merely a call to conscience — it is a call to consciousness: to see beyond the myths, the customs, the conditioned indifference. To awaken is not simply to feel — it is to notice. To recognize the invisible patterns we’ve inherited, and to question the quiet violence we’ve normalized.
Animals are not here for our traditions, our cravings, or our convenience. They are not products. They are not tools. They are fellow passengers on this planet. And their lives are not less worthy simply because we’ve grown used to taking them. SOURCE…
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