Tag Archives: compassion

Compassion and kindness; not what we need to ask for

Posted on November 25, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

The words ‘kindness’ and ‘compassion’ are not what we should be asking for when advocating for the rights of our victims. I can almost hear the gasps of indignation and keyboards warming up already, but please bear with me. Let … Continue reading →

Posted in Terminology | Tagged advocacy, animal rights, breast milk, bred for eggs, cheese, commodification, compassion, compassionate, consumer demand, dairy, eggs, honest, kind, kindness, milk, other people, property, property status, resources, responsibility, rights, sentience, sincere, slaughter, stop, subjective, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violence | 8 Comments

Heading in the direction of being vegan

Posted on August 13, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

‘…or if we can’t be vegan we can at least head in that direction.’ I’ve seen so many variations on that theme as a comeback to the call to be vegan that appears in almost every piece I write. Today … Continue reading →

Posted in Awakening to veganism | Tagged advocacy, awakening, cheese, commodification, compassion, consumer demand, Cruelty, dairy, eggs, ethics, harm, health, justice, slaughter, vegetarianism, violence, welfare | 3 Comments

Cruelty to animals

Posted on February 7, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Originally posted on 22 November 2015, reviewed and links updated 2021 Cruelty to animals. If ever there was a phrase that seems so clear but says so little, then this is it. We all say we hate it, we all … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Cruelty | Tagged advocacy, commodification, compassion, consumer demand, Cruelty, dairy, eggs, harm, human superiority, humane, kindness, milk, nonviolence, resources, rights, sentience, slaughter, speciesism, truth, vegan, victims, violence, welfare | 26 Comments

Claiming exceptions

Posted on January 29, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

‘That’s not true. That just happens on factory farms. It doesn’t happen on all farms‘. This depressingly common statement appeared recently on a friend’s page in response to a post. It’s been lingering on my mind ever since because variations … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, Advocacy | Tagged advocacy, chickens, commodification, compassion, consumer demand, Cruelty, dairy, eggs, ethics, harm, health, human superiority, humane, justice, milk, nonviolence, resources, respect, rights, sentience, slaughter, speciesism, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violence | 20 Comments

Aggression, blame and guilt

Posted on December 14, 2017 by There's an Elephant in the Room

A comment on a recent essay said that with regards to vegan advocacy, ‘people don’t respond positively to aggression, blame and guilt but rather to encouragement, praise and education’. I have to say that I do agree with the principles of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Awakening to veganism | Tagged aggression, baby steps, betrayal, blame, commodification, compassion, consumer demand, dairy, eggs, encouragement, ethics, guilt, harm, honesty, human superiority, humane, justice, lies, light-bulb moment, milk, negativity, pragmatism, praise, truth, vegan, veganism, vegetarianism, victims | 10 Comments

Dairy: thoughts on motherhood and cultural conditioning

Posted on June 16, 2017 by There's an Elephant in the Room

When we are not vegan and we hear the word ‘dairy’, what do we think of? We think of milk and cream, of yogurt and crème frais, of butter and cheeses, and of ice cream and chocolate. We think of … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, dairy | Tagged abolition, advocacy, campaigns, cheese, commodification, compassion, consumer demand, dairy, ethics, harm, health, humane, justice, love, milk, resources, sentience, slaughter, speciesism, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violence, websites, welfare | 9 Comments

In hope and sadness, another New Year

Posted on December 29, 2016 by There's an Elephant in the Room

As the New Year bells continue to sound the death knell for so many billions of sweet and gentle individuals whom we would have loved if only we had known them, let’s spare a few moments to look at where we’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Happy' exploitation, Advocacy, Festivals | Tagged advocacy, awakening, commodification, compassion, consumer demand, harm, justice, nonviolence, respect, sentience, slaughter, vegan, veganism, violence | 2 Comments

More thoughts about emotion

Posted on April 9, 2016 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Originally published April 2016, revised 22 May 2018 I have written before about emotion and its engagement in the struggle for the acknowledgement of the basic rights of nonhuman individuals. I have previously considered how, when one is emotionally affected … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Awakening to veganism | Tagged advocacy, awakening, compassion, consumer demand, emotion, extremism, justice, kindness, love, nonviolence, vegan, veganism, violence | 9 Comments

We don’t need to be ‘animal lovers’ to do right by them

Posted on December 14, 2015 by There's an Elephant in the Room

As a vegan advocate, I strongly believe that the words we use are vitally important, and words like ‘animal lovers’, ‘love’, ‘compassion’ and ‘kindness’ are frequently used by many who protest about animal ‘cruelty’. Apart from the fact that all … Continue reading →

Posted in Terminology | Tagged compassion, Cruelty, decency, harm, kindness, love, rescue, respect, sanctuary, vegan | 2 Comments

Compassion, kindness and love

Posted on April 12, 2015 by There's an Elephant in the Room

I seldom post about ‘compassion’, ‘kindness’ or even ‘love’ in relation to nonhuman rights because whilst they are admirable qualities, compassion, kindness and love do not necessarily drive our values. It’s not out of love, kindness or compassion that we … Continue reading →

Posted in Awakening to veganism | Tagged compassion, human superiority, kindness, love, speciesism, vegan, veganism, violence | 14 Comments