Imagine The Day...(Veganism post)

Taken from "Veganism" on Facebook:

"Imagine the day the extraterrestrials pay us a visit. Being more capable and advanced than ourselves, but not having any way of hearing or understanding our words, our feelings and our cries. 

They debate whether to consume us, experiment on us, or wrap us up and carry us home as playthings. Our options end. They decide in fulfilling their interests in food, research and entertainment. 

We’re fr

ightened and appalled. “Please, let us alone,” we beg. “Don’t split up our families to introduce us into your more advanced culture; don’t talk about how well you should care for us before using us up. Don’t try to mimic our natural habitat so we can live and reproduce when you display us".

Could we ourselves heed that plea? Most people will call it impossible, saying we must be realistic; they’ll say patterns of domination and subjugation, and hierarchical ideas about species, are too ingrained in human thinking to be undone. Whether they are right or not, most people thereby perpetuate the power structures humanity has constructed.

The first step to achieving change is conceiving it, and that’s what the Vegan philosophy has done. At its best, our movement inspires society to accept risk, to respect other beings even if that means accepting some level of danger, to ensure that we leave animals capable of living and moving freely in spaces to which they have naturally adapted, and to refuse to alienate them from those habitats.

As Vegans we are powerfully committed to serve down the authority and unjust force of breeding, manipulating, slaughtering and designating animals for the consumption of food and adornment. The idea of fueling ones body in order to survive with a food source that has suffered to death is as unethically misguided as it is unjustifiably unconscionable.

There is no reasonable argument under any sane and humanitarian philosophy and culture that vindicates the stigma of cruelty, suffering, death and feasting on the carcass. There is no grey area for killing, there is no middle ground under any circumstance for cruelty and there is a perversion aura to eat another living being.

Man is powerful and our impact is as forgiving and compassionate as is ruthless and deadly. We celebrate thankfulness for living and happiness by offering the flesh of an animal that has suffered, we justify killing one another in honor of our ideals and morals, we devastate our planet to realize technology and self-preservation.

Man is man's worst enemy and our foot print is getting bigger and bigger to one day, there will be no place left to leave ones foot print....."

My View On Religion(s)

I'm going to keep it short and sweet because there's not much to say.  I just feel like maybe I should explain myself, and my view of religion, just incase my last post rubbed anyone the wrong way.  I think once you hear it, you'll understand.


First, if you believe in God (or whatever you may call Him/Her/Them/It), I'm happy for you.  I believe in God, but maybe not the way other people do?  I don't know.  I haven't posted a poll to find out.  I just know that my idea of what God is, is different than some other people who also believe.


I believe that God is loving and forgiving.  Fire and brimstone are not in my view of it.  In my view, God wants to forgive whatever it is that people do that is (according to religion as a whole) not so great.  So my kids aren't taught about God punishing for being "bad".  They're taught about love.  Because to me, that's the main point.  (They're little, and I think they only need the basics at this point.)  If you choose to believe God is scary, that's just fine with me.


I believe that the Bible is a book of stories.  It's been passed down through generations, and translated several times, and altered several times.  I think it's a great way to learn the stories, but I'm not going to be stoning my kids for being "stubborn and unruly".  It's what kids do, and stoning is somewhat frowned upon.  If you believe the Bible is something written to be taken literally and it's in original form, I'm glad for you.


I believe that it's things like hating homosexuals that turn people against religion.  I think that's ridiculous since these people slinging hate around like it's a lasso are also people breaking one of those rules about NOT JUDGING PEOPLE.  Keep those stones in your pocket when you're living in a glass house.  Basically, unless you are perfect...which I'm preeeeeeetty sure no one is, you don't get to go around hating on people for LOVING someone.  Who GAF what their genitals look like.  You don't get to stand in your sin and point the finger at someone you feel is sinning.  Period.  (BTW, MY God created us all...and I could go into a big rant, but I won't.  I'm climbing down off my soap box.  I'll just say that those rocks are heavy.  Put them down.)  If you hate someone for loving someone you don't think they should love...well...I say this;  Don't believe in gay marriage?  Don't get one.


I also believe that whether you believe in God, or pray to some Goddess, or practice Wicca, or whatever you do, as long as what you're doing is working for you, GIVE 'ER.  Seriously.  I almost never speak about my beliefs because they really aren't relevant.  Really.  Whether I believe in God, or don't, it doesn't make me a better or worse person.  Because I choose my actions.  I was given this very handy thing...I like to keep it inside my skull to keep my half-wit cat from licking it...it's called a brain.  And I REALLY like using it.  And because I own one, I don't get to claim that my actions are caused by my religion...even if they're influenced by religion, they are, in the end, mine alone to make.  I have known many a good person who is Christian, I know (very!) good people who are Muslim, I know very good people who have no religious beliefs at all, and I know some very good people who are even beyond that...more than atheist...they fall into their own category, I think.  More along the lines of anti-religion.  And you know, respect for eachother goes way beyond religious beliefs (or the lack thereof).

I don't hate anyone for their religious beliefs (or, again, their lack thereof).  Really.  Like, the guy we bought our house from is some high guy with the Jehovah's witness.  Awesome.
He told me lots about it, and I'm sure I'm going to hear lots more.  Super.  Really.  I like hearing about other people's religions...I like to know what makes people tick.  And he doesn't just believe it...he lives it.  And really, whatever you believe, I like it when I see people living it happily.  It's nice to see people happy with the choices they've made.  Seeing happiness is good for my soul...no matter what form it comes in.  Be happy!!


My ONLY problem is when someone uses their religion as an excuse to steal the rights from other people...as in circumcision.  Your religious right ends where another person's body begins.  Simple.  Keep your hands on your own genitals, and we'll all get along just fine.

So yeah.  Pray to whomever you love to pray to.  Or don't.  Either way.  LOL  Really, it doesn't matter to me in the least bit.  Your religious choices affect me the same way it would affect me if I was on a diet, and you ate a cookie.  Not one bit.  And mine...same thing.  I believe in respecting each other's right to religion, beliefs, lifestyle, etc.  That's what matters in the end, right?

*In conclusion, if I offended you by saying "lack thereof", or whatever...I'm sorry.  My intention was not to offend, only to explain.  If you don't agree with being tolerant to other religions, that's great for YOU.  I choose to treat other people the way I'd want to be treated...not because it's in the Bible, but because I live in the real world and expect to be treated well.
And, if you feel the need to go all crazy and freak out because of anything I wrote here, JUST DO IT.  You might make yourself look like a nut, but you'll feel better for a minute...LOL...and that's what matters.  


THE END.  ; )

Attachment Parenting 101: What do I do if my toddler hits me?

By. Alicia Bayer, Mankato Attachment Parenting Examiner
March 5, 2010

Give children tools to handle their emotions and teach them hitting isn't okay for anybody.

Credits:

Photo Xpress (Amy Myers)

An angry reader left a comment yesterday defending the Pearls and wrote about witnessing a toddler hitting her mother while the mother did nothing. I realize this commenter is not open to AP advice on how to deal with a situation like this, but it highlights a common assumption that the only two choices in parenting are hitting children or doing nothing.

"R" wrote:
"...I went out with a "friend" the other day and she went on and on about how she hates "spanking", and her little 2 year old just walks up to her and starts to hit her repeatedly for no reason and tells her how much she hates her mom.. etc. It was creepy and disgusting.. what should the mom's response have been? oh.. dear child.. hit me again cuz i love"
(The comment ends there.)

Obviously, the answer is not to just sit there and be pounded on by an angry toddler. There are gentle discipline methods that work as well as just hitting children, and they actually teach far more in the long run.
Here's how you can respond that respects you both.
First, tell her not to hit you. Say, "Ow, that hurts, don't hit me."
This teaches her two things:
1. It teaches her that it's not okay to hit people.
2. It sets an example for how she should act if someone hits her.
Second, stop her from hitting you. Often, just telling the child to stop will be all it takes. If not, you may be able to simply move out of reach. If she continues to hit you, you can hold her so that she's unable to.
Third, tell her what to do instead. Tell her, "Use your words." It may help to give her specific words to say, such as "I'm mad!". Give her other options, too. Ask if she wants to go "get her mad out" by throwing snowballs, talking about it or drawing an angry picture, for instance.
If necessary, go someplace private. All of the above steps take a few seconds. At this point, if your child is still obviously upset, excuse yourself and take her to someplace private.
This is important for several reasons.
1. It allows you to focus on her without a judgmental audience.
2. It is respectful of her.
3. It removes you both from distractions and gives her a chance to calm down.
Acknowledge her feelings. She does not have a right to hurt you, but she does have a right to her angry feelings. Voice what she's upset about, if you know. For instance, say, "You really wanted a cookie." Sometimes just knowing that someone understands is all it takes for a toddler to feel better and move on.
Get the root of the issue. At some point, be sure to also figure out if something else is going on. Toddlers have short fuses, but it's not typical for them to randomly start hitting their parents and shouting that they hate them. Is something stressful or scary going on in the child's life? Is the child witnessing violence somewhere else? Misbehavior like this is the sign of something wrong, and it's as important to find that out as it is to deal with the behavior itself.
What if you are not the parent being hit? If "R" wanted to be a true friend, she had options besides sitting quietly and passing judgment. Minnesota's Wakanheza Project teaches businesses and individuals how to intervene on behalf of parents and children in public. One suggestion might be to empathize with the mother and offer to wait there if she wanted to take the child someplace quiet for a few minutes to work things out.
Remember, our options as parents are not either punitive discipline or no discipline at all. To discipline means to teach, and violence is not necessary to teach people of any size.

I couldn't agree more.  When someone is a quarter of your size, there is NO EXCUSE for hitting them.  They can't fight back (and we all know what happens when children DO strike back...it's usually a worse punishment than the original one), and hitting someone smaller and weaker makes you a bully.  Plain and simple.
Children deserve to be treated how WE want to be treated.  If you don't want someone to hit you for your mistakes, if you don't want someone in your face screaming at you when you don't make the right choices, if you don't want someone humiliating you in public, then DON'T DO IT TO YOUR CHILD.  They also have rights.  They also have feelings.  And they look to you for guidance, and as the person who is supposed to give them the basis for how they view the world.  If you teach them that violence is the answer, don't be surprised when your 7 yr. old gets suspended from school for hitting a classmate.  If you teach your child that overpowering someone smaller is appropriate, know that you're teaching them to bully.
All we want is for our children to listen to us, and to be respectful.  Is it so hard to imagine that in all the ways they mimic us, they might also mimic respect?