vegan shoes

Do You See the Ghosts?

Do you see the ghosts?

Hello everyone,

Have you seen that video going around of a 2 year old boy who is being fed Octopus gnochhi by his mother when all of a sudden he has the realization that he is eating a dead animal that was killed for his food.

It is really an awesome video. At the end, the mom starts crying, and like a Hans Christian Anderson story, the little boy asks, “Mother, why are you crying?” and she says “Because you move me”.

It reminds me of the story “The Emperor’s New Clothes”. The kids can see what everyone else is numbed to. The 2 year old knows that we should protect animals and not chop them down and eat them, but most people just accept it.

I saw The Ghosts in Our Machine repost the link on their facebook page saying, “Luiz [the little boy] sees the ghosts. Do you?”

I love that. The whole meaning of ghosts in the machine is that there is this huge industrial machine…these big slaughterhouses with conveyer belt slaughtering systems but inside are living beings….souls…that are lost in the machine. A soul in the body that is used for meat.

I love how they said “do you see the ghosts?”

That is genius. Do you see the ghosts?

Do you see the dignity and personhood of each animal, no matter how different they are from you.

I feel this is what all of Jo-Anne McArthur’s photographs show so beautifully. They show that a shark in an aquarium tank isn’t just a fish happy to swim in its tank and a fun outing with the vegan boyfriend, but a LIFE with a family and a desire for freedom. A shark shouldn’t be cooped up against it’s will in a tank. It’s not “just” a shark, it’s a being with it’s own right to freedom.

But you’ll never understand this, unless you somehow manage to see the ghosts.

I believe the way I came to “see the ghosts” is by bearing witness as explained by Anita Krajnc and watching the youtube videos of pig slaughterhouses and pig transport trucks from Toronto Pig Save.

Do you see the ghosts?

When you look at an animal, do you just see something you can’t relate to….or do you see the “someone” inside.

Do you see the ghosts?

Brilliant, right??

Can’t wait to see Ghosts in Our Machine.

 

Hawaii Vacations, Vegan Sandals on Pinterest and Speaking Up for Animals in the Comments on the INTERNET

Hello Everyone,

How are you doing?

I attended Vegan Drinks in NYC the other day. Were any of you there? If anyone who reads this blog lives in NYC, I would love to meet up some time at vegan drinks and meet you. I believe I may be away for this next one because I am going to HAWAII. I am so excited.

This was a really long winter in NYC and all winter long I dreamed, craved, going to the beach. I had dreams of going with my vegan boyfriend and going on holiday, but unfortunately we broke up.

Well, I am going to the beach anyway. On a No Boys Allowed women’s retreat–a pole dancing beach retreat nonetheless!! HA. As you may know if you read my 5 Random facts About Me blog post one time, one of my favorite things is pole dancing. It is so beautiful and athletic and I could go on for days about it. Well I am so excited for the retreat.

 
I have been updating my pinterest board with vegan shoes quite regularly. There are a few cool vegan sandal options on there inspired by HAVAII.

 
 
Today I was reading one of my fave things online ROOKIE magazine (a magazine for teen girls) when I saw someone asking a question about vegan shoes. Though I normally do not get involved in self promotion, I decided to tell this fellow vegan shoe lover about my pinterest board in the comments.
 
While I was there I noticed another commenter being like “vegan shoes are highly toxic and bad for the environment. So is fake fur. People think animals are treated badly and killed in horrible ways on fur farms but that is just not true. Furs are worth less if the animals aren’t kept in good condition…so it’s worth it to the fur farms to treat their animals well.”
 
………………………….
 
I felt I had to comment! I almost didn’t cause I was thinking how can I possibly express how wrong this person is. They prob won’t even accept my comment.” Well, I decided I had to give it a go anyway. One can make a difference.
 
http://www.elephantjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/one-can-make-cover.jpg
 
I calmy wrote that what she said was not true. Most animals are anally electrocuted and go crazy in the cages and chew off eachother’s limbs and what not. I told her to watch The Witness— a great documentary I saw online (wrote about it here) about a man whose love for his cat caused him to see the connection between cats and animal and try to make a difference by educating people about what goes on at fur farms by driving around in a van with footage from fur farms playing out the back, forcing people to witness the truth.
http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/c/6/0/4/event_198530692.jpeg
 
http://mynonleatherlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/92313-fur_carcasses_sergey_maximishin2.jpg
 
I also told her to watch earthlings.
 
Anyway, YAY for me. I spoke up for animals. I hope some teen girls read that and it gets to them.
 
If you want to learn more about animal rights my humble recommendations are …check out 269 life and follow Anita Krajnc, both on facebook!
 
Do you ever respond to people who try to knock veganism, or vegan shoes, or animal rights? Or do you prefer not to get involved and let their ignorance reveal itself. I always feel releived when people respond to those haters in the comments, but I know it is a rough role as they are attacked themselves. What do you do?
 
Feel free to comment any time and let me know if you ever attend vegan drinks!