Tag: Speciesism

What Must Dolphins Think?

Make no mistake! The future will judge us. And judge us harshly!

For those unaware, today marks 6 months since BPs Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, “killing eleven workers and triggering the worst oil spill disaster in US history.” On today’s broadcast of Democracy Now! they interviewed writer and environmentalist Terry Tempest Williams, where she spoke some mighty haunting words;

One of the most moving stories was really flying with a barefoot pilot named Tom Hutchings. In the American Southwest, we would call him a coyote. Again, an activist, he was taking people, as a volunteer for SouthWings, anyone who would go with him, to fly over the Macondo well site. We went with him on Day 100. Upper right-hand corner of the New York Times, you know, remember the article that said most of the oil is gone, 80 percent. You remember a week later, Carole Browner of the Obama administration said 75 percent gone, poof, Mother Nature is doing her job. What I can tell you is that as we flew out to the Gulf to what they call “the source” to see the Deepwater Horizon rigs, for as far as we could see, for as wide as we could see, for as long as we could bear it, oil. All we could see was oil. I mean, it’s just—I wonder, where is our outrage? And I was saying to Tom, this brilliant pilot, you know, that must have made twenty, thirty, forty flights at his own expense, “Why isn’t this story being told?” And he was saying that most of what we’ve heard has been shore-based knowledge. I mean, there were rivers of oil as wide as the Mississippi itself. Stunning. When I asked him what has stayed in his mind most in terms of his witnessing, he said that when they were burning the oil off the surface of the sea, he remembers on the edge of the flames seeing a pod of dolphins, side by side by side by side, watching, simply watching the ocean burn…

Forget being judged by people who, more than likely will never exist — or at least in the same way we do now, if we continue to carry on like we have — what must those dolphins think?

You’re Vegan? And Healthy?

I’ve recently had quite a constructive, speaking from my point of view at least, back and forth, concerning veganism, with an old friend. And yesterday the subject of health and the merits of how I eat came up.

All Starting with said friend forwarding me a link to a blog post — that I found fairly problematic and somewhat short sighted — of an ex-vegan intent on bashing veganism for its supposed poor health consequences. With absolutely no valid arguments toward the reasons for his alleged feeling bad, other than a few horrible pictures of himself. I digress.

This was largely my response to his forward — to which I’ve added since sending…

Continue reading You’re Vegan? And Healthy?

The Cost Of Freedom?

Today, via Stephanie over at Animal Rights & Anti Oppression, I was directed to a rather thought provoking article, labelled A Rant About Freedom. It’s really worth a read today, for my neighbours to the south, as well as this week, for my fellow Canadian’s — and, no, not for the ironic and barbaric crackdown on dissent, as an all too predictable result of the G20 Summit, provided by this needle-dick conference, but rather Canada Day.

By all means, these holidays mean something to a lot of you — fair enough — but not everyone is in quite the same position to share your “jubilation.” Please take a moment and consider the cost of the “freedom” you enjoy…