These are MY Words ~ Part II

My last two posts, Never Get It Back and The Coming Year ~ 2008, touched on the importance of the words we speak. I believe now, more than ever, it is important to speak for those whose voices are rarely heard, and whose cries of pain have too long been ignored.

Prior to drafting and completing this post, I sent the following information [an email by the same title; hence Part II of the title] to friends and acquaintences hoping to convince them to watch Earthlings, just as I had the night before.

EARTHLINGS is a feature length documentary about humanity's absolute dependence on animals (for pets, food, clothing, entertainment, and scientific research) but also illustrates our complete disrespect for these so-called "non-human providers." The film is narrated by Academy Award nominee Joaquin Phoenix (GLADIATOR) and features music by the critically acclaimed platinum artist Moby.

With an in-depth study into pet stores, puppy mills and animals shelters, as well as factory farms, the leather and fur trades, sports and entertainment industries, and finally the medical and scientific profession, EARTHLINGS uses hidden cameras and never before seen footage to chronicle the day-to-day practices of some of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Powerful, informative and thought-provoking, EARTHLINGS is by far the most comprehensive documentary ever produced on the correlation between nature, animals, and human economic interests. There are many worthy animal rights films available, but this one transcends the setting. EARTHLINGS cries to be seen. Highly recommended!

Most were unaware that held back on inundating people with more email than they might want to receive. Today I risked, "Enough already!" I also knew they could simply click on Delete and believe, 'She'll be none the wiser.'

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As I woke this morning and lay in the warmth of my winter blankets, I contemplated the images I'd seen just hours before, and better understood the words, 'We've let this happen.' After I fed my little ones and traversed the snow-covered ground to throw out seed for the birds, I sat at my computer and decided to risk those relationships.
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I conveyed the need for us to no longer ignore the cries of pain we'd chosen not to hear, and admitted to being truly ashamed in front of those who would ask, 'how have you let this happen?' And only after watching Earthlings, could they begin to understand how I'd come to those conclusions.
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I relayed I understood how we're all so enveloped with what's going on in our lives, and they'll want to make an excuse for why they don't have time for this. I warned it is NOT something to watch at their desks during a lunch break. And admitted my eyes were still swollen from the tears that I cried the night before. But I simply couldn't go on with the rest of my day until I decided what I was going to do.

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I know the affection many people have for the animals in their lives and that most don’t want to see these kinds of things. Neither did I. But I do believe unless you’re actively out there in the trenches, fighting for their rights, we're guilty of indifference to those we feel we have no time for.

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Though I'm a vegetarian, I've been naive enough to believe there is some degree of humanity involved in some of these processes. Hence the need to know of how it’s really done. I adore those happy California cheese cows, out there dodging rain clouds and/or checking out the new babes. And can only trust there is truth in their advertising and that they DO know a better life than those who live otherwise.

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I'm not claiming any kind of perfection! Disheartened doesn't begin to describe how I felt, recently, when I found out I had things in my pantry and linen closet, from companies [like Iams and Fresh Step] that still test on animals. I clearly have some new shopping to do.

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See: Adding My Voice, where I've posted some of the petitions I've signed recently. [see THIS PRODUCT TESTED ON ANIMALS. And here, for information to help: Take Action regarding downer cows for human consumption.]

When I much younger, I learned my mother's brother-in-law couldn't bring himself to eat pork after visiting a slaughter house. He still ate hamburgers, steak, and chicken, but that was ok because he hadn't seen them butchered.

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Bear with me here, I want to draw a parallel here. About a year ago I saw actual footage of a soldier being shot. He didn't fall to the ground the way they do in the movies. One moment there was life. In less than the next, he collapsed in a hovel on the ground, like the strings of a marionette had been carelessly cut away. I had channel-hopped on to a program already in progress. Did I want to see that? No. Am I glad I did, if for nothing else, to better understand the arena he walked? No. That’s a little perverse. What it did do though, is empower me to argue that maybe these are the images of war we need to see, because this is what war is.

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I offered the above revelation with respect to what it is we really need to know about the world in which we live. Is ignorance bliss? Are we truly better off not seeing the truths? Would I have been moved to do what I'm doing now? Are my words really going to change anyone’s mind? To anyone reading this post, or those who’ve already seen Earthlings, these words will seem nothing more than a proverbial sermon to a choir. Most people reading this, regardless whether they do or don't want to watch it, do already get it. But had I not watched this, I wouldn't have written these words.

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As I write this I’m forced to consider, how we should regard the people who run these factories, industries, research facilities, fashion houses, and the like? Who are the people with such little regard for Life? Who are these people who wield the final heartless blows? If' I'm not to judge least I be judged, how can I ask, "How can you do this?"

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How does anyone with any kind of conscience, sit and pluck the feathers from a living bird? How can anyone have absolutely no regard to, 'Something that's heading off to be slaughtered and eaten anyway? So, who cares? Why do you care?'

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Too many people know I'm not even that interested in eating those veggie burgers. You know, the ones designed to make vegetarians look more like they fit in? I don't eat beef, pork, chicken, or fish.

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I care!

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What is it that we risk by putting ourselves in the position of responding to, 'Well you people want the puppies and kittens; the prime rib; fast foods; fashionable leather coats, boots and handbags; yadda, yadda, yadda. How do you think it all gets there?'

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Like this?

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There are a number of restaurants that removed Foie Gras from their menus recently, due to industry practices. [see The Foie Gras Controversy which explains the procedure (of which you see in, Earthlings) and Puck removes foie gras from menus] If we continue to basically do nothing, the inhumanness continues. And I use inhuman because I'm not sure— inhumane no longer seems to pass on the value it should.

Oxford English Dictionary defines:

inhuman • 1 lacking positive human qualities; cruel and barbaric. 2 not human in nature or character.

human • 1 of, relating to, or characteristic of humankind. 2 showing the better qualities of humankind, such as sensitivity.

inhumane • without compassion for misery or suffering; cruel.

humane • having or showing compassion or benevolence.

Sorry for the academics, but sometimes we need our memories jarred.
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What's the old adage, "We are what we eat?" It would seem we've ingested an undeniable amount of cruelty along the years, as well. How does that set in anyone's stomach? And by watching this documentary it’s rather clear that the fish many chose to eat, because it's believed to be healthier, is more hazardous to our collective health than AIDS.

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It's not enough any more to say, 'I treat my animals well.' That does nothing for the ones who still suffer. 'I'm a vegetarian and I shop with a social conscience.' I'm a vegetarian too. Watching what we shop for isn’t wholly enough any more. So we shop for the faux leathers and furs instead of the real thing. That's nothing but a double-edged sword. It makes those with the money and means, who simply won’t settle for the fake, all the more determined to own what's real. Shopping for the non-real thing isn't good enough any more. To answer those who say, 'but they're not an endangered species, they're raised for this.' Yea! That makes it all the more reasonable. I don't remember seeing, 'we love it here,' in the eyes of those foxes or raccoons.

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We’ve wasted far too much time giving absolutely no thought to how anything arrives in the local grocery store. We've bought too far into the convenience of things. Our days are full, hectic, and filled with our own struggles to survive. But that’s an excuse that just isn't good enough any more. And for those who refused to watch it, because they don't want to see such "negative images" [There were several, so anyone reading this far in-- don't think you're being singled out, but--], that's a cop-out! And it simply isn’t good enough any more!

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I adopted my cats, Lucy and Pearl, from the local Humane Society about two and a half years ago. Until today, I'd never given thought to where they'd been prior to seeing their little faces, the day we met. They'll be three years old in April. They're my loves and of recent, my saving graces. I shutter to think how they could have been rammed into a cage, with as many others as would fit, to suffer 20 minutes of dying in a chamber filled with gas. There's got to be more humanness to us than that.

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When I started to watch Earthlings, Pearl was curled up in my arms. When mere tears progressed to jerky shoulders and chest heaves, she eventually rose up and hopped to the floor to lie on my feet. About an hour into the film, I looked away from the screen and found her sitting, hunkered down, about a foot away. She looked as uncomfortable as I felt. I wanted to take a break and go to her. But I didn’t. I watched it straight through. Because, I knew-- if I’d clicked on the pause button just once, I most likely won’t have clicked to restart it again.

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Remember, I said above I'm not perfect. It's not like I didn't know about euthanasia, or cattle prods, or seal clubbing. And I did claim a certain naivety regarding slaughterhouse industry standards. But I believe we ALL must give more consideration the next time a couple of steaks are grabbed up at the produce counter; eggs are placed in the grocery cart; when we reach for a purse or wallet; try on a new leather coat; or sit down to watch the next animal-related sporting event; to just exactly how it all gets here. And those who continue to remain silent about what it is we truly know, are equally guilty of the torture and inhumanness. [something I would not have said prior to watching Earthlings] Because I fail to see anything human about sticking an electrocution rod up the back end of a fox, so that someone can have a fur collar on their new coat.

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This is about each and every one of us taking on the responsibility of change. If we do and/or say nothing, then nothing will ever change.

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So here I've set, still unable to continue with the usual goings-on of the day, until I crafted out the words I trust will make others take on actions of their own. These are the most difficult words I've ever chosen to write. Making words I'd spent time crafting just the day before, completely unimportant and irrelevant. And all I can do is trust they do not fall upon deaf ears.

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I closed the above-mentioned email, with the following words:
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February is a time when our thoughts and hearts are usually guided by what we know as Love. These are MY words; guided by what I understand as Love. I hope you choose as I did, to summon up the courage to watch what you won't want to see, and then give thought to what you're going to do.

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Blessings, L.L.