Comments on: Is it natural? Does it matter? http://loveallbeings.org/blog/is-it-natural-does-it-matter/ Living Opposed to Violence and Exploitation Thu, 30 Jun 2011 21:25:35 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: steven http://loveallbeings.org/blog/is-it-natural-does-it-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-322 steven Wed, 16 Sep 2009 20:45:58 +0000 http://loveallbeings.org/?p=396#comment-322 Harry, thank you for this thoughtful contribution. Living as a vegan has been the same kind of journey for me: it has taken me further than I originally thought it would. Along the way, I've confronted ideas I had that I realized were tinted with racism and sexism. This can be very hard work to do. Victor <a href="http://loveallbeings.org/blog/acknowledging-privilege/" rel="nofollow">wrote a post </a>about how difficult this can be. I'm glad that you are doing this work, though. I think it is important work--that is, I think it's a vital part of achieving a world without oppression--and I think it is wonderful work. and yes, please be patient with yourself... I've been realizing more & more that "accepting everyone for who they are & what they feel"--if we take that as one of our goals--also means accepting yourself and where you are on your journey, and respecting yourself. thank you again for being a part of this effort! toward a vegan world! steve Harry, thank you for this thoughtful contribution. Living as a vegan has been the same kind of journey for me: it has taken me further than I originally thought it would. Along the way, I’ve confronted ideas I had that I realized were tinted with racism and sexism. This can be very hard work to do. Victor wrote a post about how difficult this can be. I’m glad that you are doing this work, though. I think it is important work–that is, I think it’s a vital part of achieving a world without oppression–and I think it is wonderful work. and yes, please be patient with yourself… I’ve been realizing more & more that “accepting everyone for who they are & what they feel”–if we take that as one of our goals–also means accepting yourself and where you are on your journey, and respecting yourself. thank you again for being a part of this effort!

toward a vegan world!
steve

]]> By: harry http://loveallbeings.org/blog/is-it-natural-does-it-matter/comment-page-1/#comment-321 harry Wed, 16 Sep 2009 11:22:02 +0000 http://loveallbeings.org/?p=396#comment-321 Steven, the professor with his agenda surely didn’t convince you or I that there is no instinctive behavior. First of all, I choose to live opposed to the exploitation of any living being. If in so doing I fall within the classification of Vegan, that’s fine, but being Vegan was never the prime objective. I choose to accept those values which I have found experientially to be the best ones and in so doing being Vegan and non-exploitative was the natural result in my case. In joining the movement to end exploitation of non-human animals, I initially saw it as an end in itself but now see that I must address other "isms" dormant in my thinking. I had not intended to embark in such a thorough housecleaning, but (sigh)now see that it is unavoidable. Being a strong believer in incremental progress, I'll try to have patience with myself as I work through some more areas of my thinking. Steven, the professor with his agenda surely didn’t convince you or I that there is no instinctive behavior. First of all, I choose to live opposed to the exploitation of any living being. If in so doing I fall within the classification of Vegan, that’s fine, but being Vegan was never the prime objective. I choose to accept those values which I have found experientially to be the best ones and in so doing being Vegan and non-exploitative was the natural result in my case. In joining the movement to end exploitation of non-human animals, I initially saw it as an end in itself but now see that I must address other “isms” dormant in my thinking. I had not intended to embark in such a thorough housecleaning, but (sigh)now see that it is unavoidable. Being a strong believer in incremental progress, I’ll try to have patience with myself as I work through some more areas of my thinking.

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