There are some issues that are inseparable in working for peace, and one of those is how we treat our own and other species. If we make war on something that is weaker than we are either in size or in ability to manipulate weapons, then we contribute to an environment where peace cannot grow. And if we murder a creature for food, we kill twice...first the creature, and then ourselves because eating the flesh of an animal contributes to our early death from the unhealthy effect animal flesh has on our bodies. And if we kill a defenseless creature whose flesh we don't need to eat to survive, but intend solely to skin it and use it as "fashion," then we are murderers. It is as disgusting and cruel and immoral as taking the flesh from our own children and making a coat for our pet to wear from their flesh.
I realize this is an issue that not many understand or an argument they cannot accept. After all, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, fish...they are all raised for human consumption. I've been told many times they are raised simply to feed us and the use of their different parts is a sensible form of re-use and re-cycle ecology. That may very well be true and if there was a starvation problem in this country and the only option was to put the dairy cow up on the barbie, then maybe I could see it. But I can also see that once that cow is cooked there is no more milk, no more cheese, no more ability to produce more cows. Killing it ends the supply. That seems stupid to me. And unhealthy. Just ask those who live on such things as steaks and burgers and fried chicken how their hearts and arteries are and how many drugs they have to take to counteract the ill effects of eating meat. You could feed a lot of people if you ate the grains yourself instead of feeding them to cattle, and you planted vegetables in the acres and acres now required to raised just a few cows.
As I said, I can be flexible in that area because in some places meat is all there is until something better comes along, and it is still something that although unhealthy and often cruel in the conditions under which "meat" is raised for eventual slaughter, some people are convinced they need to survive. It's their bodies and consciences and I don't expect to change their minds or the world overnight.
But I draw the line at fur. That is murder plain and simple. There is no need for it at all. We are long past the period of time when we needed to hunt beasts in order to stay warm enough to survive harsh climates. We have heat. We have fabrics that are made of natural fibers that keep us warm enough. We even have fabrics made out of recycled synthetic materials that will keep our bodies nice and toasty. We do not need fur for anything but an intolerable act of cruelty called "fashion." It is a disgusting thing. It is immoral and completely unnecessary. It is symptomatic of people with no conscience, no compassion, and a life so empty that the only way they can get any kind of thrill at all is by wearing the skin of some other creature. How disgusting is that? They need therapy, not fur coats!
And the number one reason to not wear fur is that it sanctions and promotes cruelty to animals. There have been numerous studies showing that most serial killers, most murderers began by torturing and killing small creatures. Doing so was symptomatic of their illness and killing animals for their fur is symptomatic of ours. If we don't stop, then the wars will never stop because without the smell of blood, the pain of defenseless creatures, we will not feel complete. As long as we are stuck in this twisted cycle of making ourselves feel better, bigger, and more powerful by killing something, then we contribute to perpetual war.
Design from UrsineLogic (changing minds one t-shirt at a time)
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