A Changed View - My Story Has Hope For Animal Rights

Yes, it's been a long time since my last post --- But I can't think of a better way to start anew than to share this adorable Baby Vegan Story:

One of the reasons I've been lax in my postings here, is that I get so tied up opining as Provoked. I also thought of this journal being in the form of a podcast - But in truth... I'm a much better typist than orator - Oh, I'll podcast again... At a future time. For now though, I want to get back to my original intent - And that was to be able to voice a more personal side to my vegan experience. I wanted to do so as "therapy".

I suppose that a little more than 2 years ago, (before my trigger event), today would have been quite a typical Saturday. I would have thrown myself into the routine hunt of "stuff" in the used market... haunting thriftstores, plundering yard-sales and waiting in line for "goodies" at estate sales. You see I've been in the secondhand business for 3 decades. Even though I'm retired now... I still enjoy it as a hobby.

Though it's not so easy to do now... The quest for recycled stuff now has a complex layer. Things that once were acceptable and ordinary, now assault my senses like never before.

Looking through a stack of old books... I might find several on how to cook pigs or cows... Seeing dinnerware - I might find a "turkey platter" or a "milk creamer"... And the reality hits me like a ton of bricks. The reality that I am so awake and aware - But others around me are not. The reality that I am so awake and aware "now"... But was once "not".

It gets me to wondering... What exactly was I thinking? Where was my head? My heart?

I thought nothing once of seeing an old grill with a $20 tag on it... Now, I ponder and lament... How many body parts were scorched on the grate? A discarded grill will never be the same.

I glance over to a table with items removed from someones closet... There they are - The leather shoes and alligator handbags... The fur trimmed sweater or vintage kid gloves. The accessories will never be the same.

I might see a pile of sporting goods - a pigskin football... fishing rigs... a bow and arrow set --- And sometimes --- Like today - a mounted deer head "trophy"... No, yardsales as a vegan will never be the same.

I also used to enjoy a stroll through the flea market - Where there were always treasures to be found. But now, I hold my breath to avoid the stench of the sausage stand; And pause to take pity on the caged "exotic birds" that are sold there... Yes, my visits to flea markets have changed as well.

So I make a stop in my favorite charity thriftstore - And it's the stuffed animals that catch my eye... A cuddly tan and white farm cow --- A bright yellow, fluffy chick --- And a pink pig who says "oink" when you squeeze him. These are such innocent and endearing things... But my field of vision has been expanded --- And plush animal friends aren't the same anymore either.

I realize that from now on - everything is seen in a different perspective. Living my vegan life has been a choice I'd never turn back on. And honestly - I just don't think I ever could... Perhaps if a reader thinks this could ever be so... I ask for your advice... How can I ever see this novelty item:

And not recall seeing this?

Try as I might - "Once you know... You can never unknow."

My challenge is to continue living my vegan life with as much hope for change that I can muster. To continue shopping and socializing where I always did before... But now, because things can NEVER be the same... I can take these opportunities to point out to others what we all are indoctrinated to be blinded about... I can be vocal about the pain involved in making a wool scarf, or the "calf hide" belt... I can remark that "The pottery creamer is lovely... But do you know what is involved in "dairy"?" I can look through the stack of cookbooks - and ask "Do you have any VEGAN cookbooks?" :) I can also mention to the yardsale with the mounted decapitated deer souvenir that I find the hunting and killing of animals very offensive --- And unacceptable in my world. :) I can place books, brochures and other literature throughout my home, where visitors will be encouraged to connect what the reality is... And to shun the lies they were told. :)

There's a thousand ways I can advocate! And I don't ever intend to be silenced... I'm in this for life. And I plan on this vegan life being as enthusiastic and vocal as is necessary to help create a just world.

No, Saturdays aren't the same as they were... Nor are interactions with others... Or bucolic scenes with grazing cattle, or paint brushes made of squirrel hair, or the contents of a candy bar.

But these truths - the realization of the insatiable appetite we have to use animals has given me a clearer view. A truthful view...

It is the recognition of what really is: We do not treat animals kindly, let alone fairly. And what I know, I refuse to ever un-know.

And back to little Miss Baby Vegan - Her story will be a better one. She will have a more intergrated time of it, knowing what to expect from the world. And she won't have to redefine her life in her 50's, due to a sham she never learned to question earlier. Her story is part of my story... Because it gives me hope.

I am vegan ~ I am for animal rights