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.
