Leftists will speak movingly about hierarchies of domination and systems of violence right up until the victim is a pig or a cow instead of a person. Then suddenly the tone changes. The moral language softens. Everything becomes nuanced and ‘complicated’ and culturally relative. Conservatives are often honest about their fundamental, rancid belief that animals exist purely for human use, and don’t particularly care whether anyone finds that cruel. The left likes to talk a lot about standing with the oppressed. Animals, apparently, remain too oppressed to count.
EVAN SHAMOON: In a rare moment of veganism becoming part of mainstream internet discourse, Billie Eilish recently said something that caused a minor earthquake online: “Eating meat is inherently wrong. Two things cannot coincide: ‘I love animals … and I eat meat.’ You can’t do both.”
The right was out in standard form: Liberals want to take your burgers. Wealthy coastal elites hate normal people… The left, once again immediately liquefying into incoherence the second the conversation turned toward animals.
It’s bizarre to watch people who spend their days talking about systems of oppression, solidarity, collective action, and moral urgency begin frantically searching for reasons why this particular form of mass cruelty is simply too complicated to meaningfully resist.
Their arguments were also familiar: There’s no ethical consumption under capitalism. Growing vegetables harms animals, too. Indigenous communities hunt. Veganism is for the white/rich/privileged…
It’s remarkable how moral standards become so transparently different the moment behavioral change is involved. The left routinely asks people to inconvenience themselves for ethical reasons. Boycott this company. Divest from this institution. Show up. Protest. Donate. Organize. Defend the vulnerable. Align your actions with your politics. And yet veganism — or even simply reducing one’s participation in animal exploitation — is treated as uniquely unreasonable…
Leftists will speak movingly about hierarchies of domination and systems of violence right up until the victim is a pig or a cow instead of a person. Then suddenly the tone changes. The moral language softens. Everything becomes nuanced and “complicated” and culturally relative…
Conservatives are often honest about their fundamental, rancid belief that animals exist purely for human use, and don’t particularly care whether anyone finds that cruel… The left likes to talk a lot about standing with the oppressed. Animals, apparently, remain too oppressed to count. SOURCE
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