WEBVTT 00:00:00.250 --> 00:00:06.330 There are things we know are offensive to say. Like “you, [bleeped], are an [bleeped]. 00:00:06.330 --> 00:00:13.400 I want to [bleeped] your mother and [bleeped]your father [bleeped]stand up [bleeped] man.” 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:19.520 Okay, so here’s what I actually said. (I do make videos for kids, after all.) 00:00:19.520 --> 00:00:23.439 But there are certain common colloquialisms many of us use everyday that you probably don't 00:00:23.439 --> 00:00:28.739 realize are offensive. So I’m here to make you feel bad about yet another thing that you do! 00:00:30.780 --> 00:00:33.100 I thought I’d changed that part of the script. 00:00:37.690 --> 00:00:42.860 Hi it's Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. Words are powerful, 00:00:42.860 --> 00:00:47.050 and how we talk about things and each other greatly affects our perception. Anyone who 00:00:47.050 --> 00:00:50.340 was given an unfortunate nickname in school knows what I mean. 00:00:50.340 --> 00:00:53.760 While our culture, at least in the United States, has become more and more politically 00:00:53.760 --> 00:00:58.989 correct with how we refer to and talk about each other, one group remains continually 00:00:58.989 --> 00:01:04.809 raked over the coals, even by those with the most elegant elocution: non-human animals. 00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:09.720 You horse’s ass! He eats like a pig! Let’s kill two birds with one stone! There’s more 00:01:09.720 --> 00:01:14.970 than one way to skin a cat! Not to beat a dead horse, but… Like shooting fish in a barrel! 00:01:14.970 --> 00:01:19.470 A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush! She was bleeding like a stuck pig! He is 00:01:19.470 --> 00:01:25.409 a total animal! What a bird-brain. This room is a pigsty! Stop running around like a chicken 00:01:25.409 --> 00:01:29.600 with its head cut off! He’s crafty…crafty like a fox! 00:01:29.600 --> 00:01:34.600 Oh that last one’s actually kinda nice. 00:01:34.600 --> 00:01:39.360 Now before you dismiss this concept as silly, let’s rephrase some of these sayings and 00:01:39.360 --> 00:01:41.400 see if they still sound innocuous. 00:01:41.400 --> 00:01:44.300 A kid in the van is worth two on the playground. 00:01:44.300 --> 00:01:46.840 There’s more than one way to traumatize a toddler! 00:01:46.840 --> 00:01:48.680 Let's beat two women with one stick. 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:50.939 Like shooting kids in a ball pit. 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:52.679 Let’s not beat a dead hooker. 00:01:53.140 --> 00:01:57.280 Suddenly, these phrases seem far less acceptable and harmless. So why is it okay for us to 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:02.009 use violent and hateful phrases with animals? Is it because they can’t understand us? 00:02:02.009 --> 00:02:03.899 Or because we don’t mean it literally? 00:02:03.899 --> 00:02:08.009 Well, the issue isn’t whether animals can understand us, it’s the perception and permissibility 00:02:08.009 --> 00:02:13.000 that this language creates. Like the idea that pigs are dirty, gluttonous, and amoral. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.200 when in fact they are very clean and intelligent animals. 00:02:16.200 --> 00:02:20.160 Strangely enough we even say “I’m sweating like a pig” when pigs 00:02:20.170 --> 00:02:25.069 cannot sweat! That’s why they bathe in mud, leading to another misnomer, “as happy as a 00:02:25.069 --> 00:02:29.909 pig in sh—t.” While a pig actually in feces would not be thrilled. 00:02:29.909 --> 00:02:34.700 Other inaccuracies include “bird-brain,” meaning stupid, when birds are far more intelligent 00:02:34.700 --> 00:02:39.560 than we give them credit for. And “you’re chicken,” meaning cowardly, when I can tell 00:02:39.560 --> 00:02:45.099 you first hand that an angry chicken or rooster has no issue with charging a being significantly 00:02:45.099 --> 00:02:48.069 larger than them and can seriously mess you up. 00:02:48.069 --> 00:02:51.750 I’m talking to you, Napoleon at SASHA Farm Animal Samctuary. 00:02:53.640 --> 00:02:58.260 Then there’s “like a lamb to slaughter,” meaning being calmly unaware of your impending 00:02:58.260 --> 00:03:03.140 doom, when any lamb I’ve seen on their way to slaughter is anything but serene. 00:03:03.140 --> 00:03:09.500 And why is a horse’s ass any more incompetent than any other ass? Even an ass’ ass? 00:03:09.510 --> 00:03:14.129 The most disturbing are, of course the violent ones. Skinning a cat, killing birds with stones, 00:03:14.129 --> 00:03:18.959 bleeding a stuck pig, beating a dead horse, shooting fish in a barrel. Yes these are just 00:03:18.959 --> 00:03:22.930 sayings, usually uttered without a thought, but language has power. 00:03:22.930 --> 00:03:27.299 We call animals “it” instead of “she” or “he.” We “process” them instead 00:03:27.299 --> 00:03:32.720 of killing them. We “cull” wildlife instead of carry out systematic slaughter. We “own” 00:03:32.720 --> 00:03:36.950 them instead of enslaving them. We “inseminate” them instead of raping them. 00:03:36.950 --> 00:03:41.610 It’s interesting how acceptable it is to express violent and hateful speech about animals, 00:03:41.610 --> 00:03:46.799 yet when we name the things we do to them for what they are, everyone bristles. We say 00:03:46.799 --> 00:03:51.629 these sayings and phrases are harmless yet we get up in arms when certain words are used 00:03:51.629 --> 00:03:57.010 for animals. Why are enslavement, murder, and rape reserved for humans? Using these 00:03:57.010 --> 00:04:01.629 words for animals doesn’t detract from the validity of what human victims have been through, 00:04:01.629 --> 00:04:05.310 it gives validity to what non-human victims are going through. 00:04:05.310 --> 00:04:10.510 We resist validating the atrocities animals experience, then we refer to someone as an 00:04:10.510 --> 00:04:15.709 “animal” when they’ve committed depraved, horrific acts that only the human animal commits. 00:04:15.709 --> 00:04:20.979 When we speak of animals as if they are dirty, worthless, stupid, disposable “its” lacking 00:04:20.979 --> 00:04:25.220 any identity or value, it allows us to stay disconnected to the reality of what we are 00:04:25.220 --> 00:04:30.530 doing to them. We treat them like property with our actions, our language, and our laws. 00:04:30.530 --> 00:04:35.300 We devalue them in the most casual of contexts. So let's be more mindful of what we're saying. 00:04:35.300 --> 00:04:38.320 And really listen for the violence and dismissal in our words. 00:04:38.320 --> 00:04:42.680 Try busting out some of the substitutions I gave earlier and see the reaction you get 00:04:42.690 --> 00:04:48.360 when we turn the tables of our terms on ourselves. Or use innocuous or even positive terms like 00:04:48.360 --> 00:04:53.040 “more than one way to peel a potato” or “save two birds with one home.” 00:04:53.380 --> 00:04:59.360 Language has power. Let’s not use it to continually devalue and victimize animals, 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:04.229 but instead to validate what they are going through, with words that nobody owns. 00:05:04.229 --> 00:05:08.400 I hope you enjoyed this carefully worded nugget. I’d love to hear from you – are there 00:05:08.400 --> 00:05:12.960 any other animal-based sayings in your culture or family? What do you think of the implications 00:05:12.960 --> 00:05:15.110 of such phrases? Let me know in the comments! 00:05:15.110 --> 00:05:18.830 If you liked this video, do give it a thumbs up and share it around to raise awareness 00:05:18.830 --> 00:05:22.060 of our words. If you’re new here, I’d love to have you as a subscriber. I put out 00:05:22.060 --> 00:05:26.300 fresh content covering all aspects of veganism every Monday, Wednesday and some Fridays. 00:05:26.300 --> 00:05:30.400 To help support Bite Size Vegan’s educational efforts, please see the support links below 00:05:30.400 --> 00:05:33.280 or click on the Nugget Army icon or the link in the sidebar. 00:05:33.280 --> 00:05:36.820 Now go live vegan, think before you speak, and I’ll see you soon. 00:05:36.830 --> 00:05:37.730 While our c--- 00:05:38.140 --> 00:05:38.900 While our cour--- 00:05:39.720 --> 00:05:42.640 While our-- While...Our..Culture... 00:05:43.940 --> 00:05:45.240 While our culture... 00:05:45.840 --> 00:05:48.380 That's a hard...thing to say.