WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:04.890 Why are we vegans so sensitive? Why can’t we live and let live and allow others their 00:00:04.890 --> 00:00:11.070 dietary choice? Why do we get so upset so easily? Can’t we just relax and let go? 00:00:11.070 --> 00:00:12.750 What’s the big deal anyway? 00:00:16.810 --> 00:00:22.130 Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. This video is for 00:00:22.130 --> 00:00:27.900 my non-vegans out there who want to better understand us vegans and why we are the way we are. 00:00:28.350 --> 00:00:33.160 First off, I want to let you know that there will be no graphic imagery in this video, 00:00:33.160 --> 00:00:39.039 or really any imagery at all. And second, this video is not about making you non-vegans feel 00:00:39.040 --> 00:00:44.421 like bad people. I am honestly trying to help you make the connection that we vegans make 00:00:44.720 --> 00:00:50.430 and show you the reasons behind our seeming sensitivity and, at times, incomprehensible 00:00:50.430 --> 00:00:53.840 and unbridled frustration and anger at the way things are. 00:00:54.360 --> 00:00:59.380 Of course, it’s impossible to lump all vegans together- each is their own individual who 00:00:59.380 --> 00:01:04.950 reacts in their own way. When I say we’re sensitive, I don’t mean weak or overly emotional- 00:01:05.450 --> 00:01:10.520 I’m speaking from the outside perspective looking in, which often portrays us as just that. 00:01:10.890 --> 00:01:15.740 So do know that I cannot speak for all vegans, nor would I ever attempt to. But I 00:01:15.740 --> 00:01:20.870 can at least tell you what I see and what a great many ethical vegans see. And hopefully 00:01:20.870 --> 00:01:26.000 this can shed some light onto why we may have difficulty eating with you or get passionately 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:29.100 upset about something that to you may seems insignificant. 00:01:29.610 --> 00:01:35.560 You see, when you go vegan, you take the blinders off and start to get what I think of as x-ray vision. 00:01:36.180 --> 00:01:41.850 You start to see what’s really going on underneath the idyllic lies we’ve unquestioningly bought into. 00:01:42.250 --> 00:01:46.790 Personally, I find it difficult to be around the consumption of animals and their byproducts. 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:50.860 It’s something I’ve lived with my whole life, as so many of us do, 00:01:51.310 --> 00:01:53.310 but it hasn't gotten easier, really. 00:01:53.800 --> 00:01:59.300 Now here is where you may assume I’m judging you or that I’m upset by your eating habits. 00:01:59.300 --> 00:02:04.360 But the real source of my discomfort has nothing to do with you per-se, but the fact that what 00:02:04.360 --> 00:02:10.250 is on your plate was once a life. If you’re non-vegan, please stay with me through this 00:02:10.250 --> 00:02:16.530 explanation. Again, this not about me making you feel like a horrible person. I’m simply 00:02:16.530 --> 00:02:22.570 attempting to relay what it is we vegans see and why it is we have trouble around animal products. 00:02:23.220 --> 00:02:29.500 When I see a piece of cheese, I can tear up- and that sounds crazy to people. But I don’t 00:02:29.500 --> 00:02:34.560 just see a piece of cheese. I see a mother whose child has been ripped from her moments 00:02:34.560 --> 00:02:40.510 after birth. I see a baby who’d been relegated to the veal industry and sent for slaughter 00:02:40.510 --> 00:02:45.760 before he’s 4 months old. I see a mother whose body is going to give out on her 00:02:45.760 --> 00:02:51.329 20 years before her natural lifespan because she’s been raped and impregnated so many 00:02:51.329 --> 00:02:56.781 times- and because she’s had so many children stolen from her that she’s probably just 00:02:56.781 --> 00:03:01.420 given up. THAT is what I see when I look at a piece of cheese. 00:03:02.030 --> 00:03:07.400 So from the outside it may appear inconsiderate or rude that we vegans feel discomfort around 00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:13.680 non-vegan food. But think about it, if you can, without the trappings of social indoctrination. 00:03:13.940 --> 00:03:20.870 Meat is literally a corpse on a plate- a life, an individual, a sentient being who did not 00:03:20.870 --> 00:03:27.510 want to die for a meal. Dairy is the product of immense suffering, maternal grief, infant 00:03:27.510 --> 00:03:30.020 slaughter, and premature death. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:36.250 Eggs are products of overcrowded, horrific conditions, the live suffocation or grinding 00:03:36.250 --> 00:03:40.480 up of male chicks on masse, and the premature death of layer hens. 00:03:41.320 --> 00:03:48.010 That is the reality. And that is what we vegans see with every bite. And yes, we can 00:03:48.010 --> 00:03:53.850 become angry, frustrated, livid because it’s so horrifically heartbreaking. 00:03:54.570 --> 00:03:58.891 And it doesn’t make sense to us that you don’t see it too. 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:05.100 There’s nothing comfortable about seeing people you love consuming the bodies of innocent 00:04:05.100 --> 00:04:10.171 beings. To my non-vegans out there, I’m sure that sounds borderline absurd and most 00:04:10.171 --> 00:04:13.920 definitely an over-reaction, but bear with me if you will. 00:04:14.260 --> 00:04:19.360 Imagine seeing someone you love harming a child or abusing a beloved dog or cat. 00:04:19.670 --> 00:04:26.200 Or even, god forbid, eating that beloved family pet. And, if possible, imagine that this violence 00:04:26.200 --> 00:04:31.860 was socially acceptable. That you were the only one who seemed to think that something was wrong. 00:04:32.340 --> 00:04:36.180 And furthermore, imagine that your loved one who is committing these horrible 00:04:36.180 --> 00:04:41.610 acts, became defensive and resentful towards you for having any issue with the matter. 00:04:41.870 --> 00:04:46.850 Again this may seem an absurd comparison. But what is the distinction we make between 00:04:46.850 --> 00:04:52.480 “pet” animals and “edible” animals if not absurd? It’s certainly arbitrary. 00:04:53.270 --> 00:04:58.309 You see vegans feel the same love and compassion and empathy for “food animals” that you 00:04:58.309 --> 00:05:03.501 do for your pets. And just how comfortable would you be if your pet took the place of 00:05:03.501 --> 00:05:09.160 the cow, pig or chicken on your plate? How is it we are horrified by cultured that consume 00:05:09.160 --> 00:05:14.770 dogs while we continue to consume beings just as valuable and even more intelligent? 00:05:15.320 --> 00:05:20.720 We vegans no longer see this arbitrary distinction. We value all of these lives equally. 00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:27.049 So watching the continued enslavement, abuse, torture and murder of them is often too much 00:05:27.049 --> 00:05:32.361 to bear. While all of that is conveniently hidden from view and all you see is cheese, 00:05:32.361 --> 00:05:38.961 milk, hamburger, pork- what have you- we cannot un-know what we know or un-see what we’ve seen. 00:05:39.630 --> 00:05:47.080 So your food item, while seemingly innocuous, is to us the end product of real-life horror. 00:05:47.700 --> 00:05:54.230 We see the bloodshed, the struggle, we hear their cries, we sense their fear and we feel 00:05:54.230 --> 00:06:00.450 their terror. Just as you would for your beloved pet if were they put through such horrific treatment. 00:06:00.890 --> 00:06:06.080 And even more so as you would for a human child subjected to such atrocities. 00:06:06.610 --> 00:06:09.990 The difference is: we don’t close our eyes. 00:06:10.460 --> 00:06:15.680 I hope that this explanation has been helpful. If it seemed heavy-handed it’s only because 00:06:15.680 --> 00:06:21.360 this is all too real and happening all to often. If you are able for a moment to put 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:26.830 yourself in our place and imagine seeing what we see- even if you yourself don’t believe it- 00:06:27.350 --> 00:06:31.570 perhaps that will help you understand why we vegans are so sensitive and passionate. 00:06:31.970 --> 00:06:34.030 And why we can’t stand idly by. 00:06:34.620 --> 00:06:39.810 If this video reached you at all, please give it a thumbs up and share it around to open 00:06:39.810 --> 00:06:45.860 more eyes. To support Bite Size Vegan in continuing the mission to speak for the animals and open 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:51.030 minds and hearts, please see the support links in the video description below or for perks 00:06:51.030 --> 00:06:55.860 and rewards for your support, click on the Nugget Army icon there or in the link in the 00:06:55.860 --> 00:07:01.550 iCard sidebar. If you’re new here, be sure to hit that big red subscribe button down there for more 00:07:01.550 --> 00:07:06.990 awesome vegan content every Monday, Wednesday, and some Fridays. Now go live vegan, 00:07:07.260 --> 00:07:09.839 open your eyes, and I’ll see you soon! 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:13.820 And now, to decompress after that...really intense nugget... 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:18.260 This thing. 00:07:19.080 --> 00:07:20.530 [Comical honking noise] 00:07:21.220 --> 00:07:26.039 If you have trouble connecting with "food animals" or farm animals, just picture them 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:33.040 having this face. How could you ever do anything to this face? 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:37.720 You gotta show them your beautiful face. You gotta show them your beautiful face. 00:07:40.880 --> 00:07:42.320 You're a good vegan advocate.