Who I Am / Why I’m Here

My name is Steven. I’m a poet, vegan activist, student, and writing tutor living in Mount Pleasant, MI. I’ve been a vegan for a year and a half, but I’ve been especially involved in my veganism over the past eight months. In that time, I’ve done some leafleting and tabling, and I’ve created a Myspace tool for online activism, which I’m revamping and hope to relaunch soon. Online activism holds “a special place in my heart,” because it was my pathway to vegetarianism and, later, veganism. I grew up in a rural area where progressive ideas are rare, so seeing videos of animal slaughter online was the only way for me to wake up to veganism.

My specific interest in L.O.V.E.’s mission was born out of a long e-mail conversation with now fellow member Victor, who shared with me his views on veganism as anti-oppression. At first, I struggled to understand power and privilege, probably because I have a very privileged (white, male, able-bodied, heterosexual, middle-class, human) background, making these issues invisible to me. At the time, I followed Peter Singer’s view, as promoted by Vegan Outreach, that suffering and happiness are the only ethical factors.

The main thing that kept my correspondence with Victor going was my intuition about promoting veganism as opposed to just promoting a lowered meat consumption. Singer’s view said that promoting veganism was “asking too much,” but I felt the opposite way when talking to people: I felt I wasn’t asking enough when they’d assure me of a reduced meat consumption and walk away. It felt wrong not to say more; I felt like I had to silence a crying-out within me. The same happened when I found an insect roaming in my apartment. Singer’s logic says it’s not a big deal to kill an insect, but, when I did it, it felt so wrong. I just felt like I didn’t want to be the person that Singer’s logic told me I should be.

My first “aha!” moment came when I realized that preventable nonhuman suffering is only the result of oppression. Then it wasn’t a matter of asking, “Would I rather end suffering or end oppression?” Instead, it was a matter of seeing, “If I want to end suffering, then I need to end oppression.” I explored the implications of this view, reading from more anti-oppression sources, especially The Vegan Ideal. I took time to explore my thoughts on racism, sexism, and homophobia as well—I’d always been opposed to these things, but I’d never thought very much about them or how they relate to my veganism. Many “aha!” moments ensued.

Now I feel I stand as a testament to the fact that even the most privileged individuals can come to understand and reject privilege. I feel that I stand as a testament to the fact that a person doesn’t need to be part of an oppressed group in order to want liberation for all oppressed groups.

But I also feel I stand as a testament to the fact that seeing the world in a new way is difficult. So I welcome you to look around the site. Give this view a try. If you feel the strange intuition of truth—like I did—then please dedicate some time to seeking more resources or speaking to us through e-mail. We’re all here to learn and help each other learn.

For Everybody,
Steven