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Vegans have plenty to be upset about. We live in a world wherein millions of animals are tortured and slaughtered every hour, for purposes as trivial as a glass of milk, or a slice of bacon. To add hypocrisy to atrocity, almost everyone around us is happily participating while claiming themselves to be animal lovers. It’s like living in a world of humanitarian serial killers.
To make matters worse, everyone has a negative opinion about veganism that they feel the inexplicable need to share. Acquaintances will deliver incoherent impromptu lectures on how vegans don’t care about humans, or how veganism is unsustainable, or unhealthy, or some other such nonsense. When we defend ourselves against this confusion, we are rewarded with a hilarious and original joke: “How do you know someone’s vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll tell you!” Our mere refusal to participate in animal cruelty is met with criticism and ridicule.
I want a vegan world, and compassion is the sole route towards it.
Vegans are surrounded by casual cruelty and inundated with insults — we have every reason to be upset. But though our anger is justifiable, we must…
