This video bought me to tears!

[Layni Hodgins]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z8NTEVVc2w

This video is the most disgusting thing i have ever seen, i have always had a soft spot for animals and this is just heart breaking to watch. 

I find it sad that this is the only way for people to be shocked into change, with such graphic material. I truly am saddened by what humans have come to.

I don't like preaching to people because it is their lives. but when cruelty becomes so intense, it is hard to not express your opinion.

i find it hard to watch this video and then see people eat or use animal  products! 

I knew animal cruelty was bad, but this is just in-human.

I want to know what i can do to help! 

I'm a student, so i'm low on money but anything else.. if any of you have idea's or know of organisations, please inbox, or post on this.

you can also contact me on [e-mail]

any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all! i have a deep respect for you all! 

[Layni Hodgins]

wow! carolyn,

that quote is so perfect for what i was feeling and has opened my eyes!

thankyou so much!

it is o true, it has helped me alot, i love learning 

[Carolyn Bailey]

Hi Layni, 

When I first became vegan and learned about some of the things that humans do to other animals, I used to force myself to watch any video that came through my Facebook news feed, because I used to believe that I couldn't expect anyone else to watch it if I wasn't prepared to watch it myself. I was very wrong! I agree with Cam's advice below, if you're vegan there seems to be nothing you can gain from watching videos like this, and quite a lot to lose. I think a lot of people become very angry when they watch videos like this, and even hateful of other humans, and I don't think that's a good way to be thinking at any time, but particularly when our goal is to help others come to veganism. I'll add my very favourite quote from Professor Tom Regan's ARZone Interview below. It reminds me that non-vegans were just who I used to be at one time - I read it often when I become frustrated!  :) 

I also remember feeling uncontrollable frustration that others couldn't see what I thought was so obvious to me when I first became vegan. I now know that's pretty normal, and most vegans go through feeling something similar. 

We spoke with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau in a recent podcast about these issues, Layni. I'll let you know when the podcast is published - I think it might be helpful. 

The Quote: 

"The last thing other animals need is another reason not to care about them. How we act towards other people can provide just such a reason. Being rude or judgmental doesn’t help any nonhuman. A coping technique I use (to quell my impatience, when I feel it bubbling-up in my throat) is to think of the people who ask questions I’ve been asked hundreds of times as mirrors. Yes, I think of them as mirrors. When I look at them, in other words, what I see is a reflection of who I used to be.

Like them, there was a time when I didn’t know how other animals were being treated.

Like them, there was a time when I knew but didn’t care.

Like them, there was a time when I knew and cared but not enough to change how I was living.

Like them, there was a time when I was . . . them!

 That’s what I try to remind myself. I don’t want to come across as self-righteous or arrogant. That would give the questioner another reason not to care about other animals, and I don’t want to do that—I don’t want to be that reason."

~  Professor Tom Regan 

[Layni Hodgins]

Thanks so much Cameron!

They helped a lot, i am vegan and have been for the last year! 

Thanks so much for all the great ideas.

[Cameron B]

Layni,

I hope the following suggestions help you.

First and most important one. Go vegan, and stay vegan.

By doing this, you are not longer taking part in a system that uses animals as an item to be profited from.

Next, and probably as equally important, if you are vegan, avoid watching those sorts of film clips. If you already know what happens in those places, why do you need to keep torturing yourself?

Educate yourself on the different ways of talking and communicating to people. Use that to become the best advocate for the animals that you can be.
Sometimes this means asking questions. Do not feel embarrassed about the question you may ask, because we have probably all wanted to ask it in the past, and there are bound to be others who want to ask it when you do.

Network. Find yourself a close and strong group of friends, either in the real or virtual world, and use them as your sounding board for ideas and suggestions of things that you think of. They are also handy when you want to crawl up in a corner and just hide away from the world.

Hope they help.

Cameron