On Tuesday at our last LEAP meeting, the speaker pointed out that negative actions always make the headlines on newspapers. After saying that he said, “Every time I read one of these headlines, I ask myself, ‘Why did they do it?’” As I agreed with what the man said, I asked myself the same question and I wondered if they were afraid or karma. “If what goes around comes around, what do they get for their pain?” (310) Then, I thought about slavery and animal cruelty. Did these people ever feel the pain that they produced by killing animals and mistreating human beings? I honestly don’t think that they did. I don’t think that the price to pay for these injustices is too high for a man. After thinking of that, I tried to think of reasons why they did/do it. I came to the conclusion that people tend to ignore their values to satisfy society and do what they’re expected to do. In other words, society has shaped these bad people in the past and continues to do so. It would have been considered erroneous and it would be frowned upon for a white man to defend black people just like vegetarian and veganism is today.
It is important to remember that “…the blackness of the skin is no reason why a human being should be abandoned without redress to the caprice of a tormentor.” (313) Social stratification encourages individuals to believe that they are have more or less value than others their according to their ideological beliefs. I think that this is another factor that leads to social issues such as slavery and animal cruelty. Both PETA and MLK have/had proof of this because they both support the statements that I made above. What I read on the manuscript for Earthlings and what I’ve read about slavery are very similar. Both animals and black people are/were threatened by people who thought they were superior than them, but because that exploitation is/was acceptable and normal, nobody was willing to stand up and defend their values. MLK stood up for blacks and stated that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” but what can animals do? PETA is their chance for change and their statements on the displays of experimentation, justification, and exploitation are all similar to MLK’s speeches. PETA and Earthlings are both trying to give animals a voice because they don’t want animals to be slaves to society like black people were in the past.
“Until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is-whether its victim is human or animal-we cannot expect things to be much better in this world. We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing a living creature.” (311F) When society accepts that what they are doing is wrong, they will finally be in peace with themselves and with all earthlings. Meanwhile, they will continually be unfair and selfish. Slavery and animal cruelty are simply too similar to differentiate. People need to understand that “They [animals] were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women and men.” (319) In other words, nobody was made to serve or feed anybody. We’re all here to live our lives, be free, live in peace and make the best of what we have because we only live once.
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It is important to remember that “…the blackness of the skin is no reason why a human being should be abandoned without redress to the caprice of a tormentor.” (313) Social stratification encourages individuals to believe that they are have more or less value than others their according to their ideological beliefs. I think that this is another factor that leads to social issues such as slavery and animal cruelty. Both PETA and MLK have/had proof of this because they both support the statements that I made above. What I read on the manuscript for Earthlings and what I’ve read about slavery are very similar. Both animals and black people are/were threatened by people who thought they were superior than them, but because that exploitation is/was acceptable and normal, nobody was willing to stand up and defend their values. MLK stood up for blacks and stated that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” but what can animals do? PETA is their chance for change and their statements on the displays of experimentation, justification, and exploitation are all similar to MLK’s speeches. PETA and Earthlings are both trying to give animals a voice because they don’t want animals to be slaves to society like black people were in the past.
“Until we have the courage to recognize cruelty for what it is-whether its victim is human or animal-we cannot expect things to be much better in this world. We cannot have peace among men whose hearts delight in killing a living creature.” (311F) When society accepts that what they are doing is wrong, they will finally be in peace with themselves and with all earthlings. Meanwhile, they will continually be unfair and selfish. Slavery and animal cruelty are simply too similar to differentiate. People need to understand that “They [animals] were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women and men.” (319) In other words, nobody was made to serve or feed anybody. We’re all here to live our lives, be free, live in peace and make the best of what we have because we only live once.
Links?
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