One of The People ~ Ben Frost

[Carolyn Bailey]

One of the People

A Vegan Abolitionist blog

This is a new bookstand that has appeared at my work.

We tell our children stories about animal characters, at the same time as feeding them the tortured flesh or produce of the very same animal.

And we wonder why our society has a confused way of thinking about non-human animals?

I managed to have a quick read of one of the books earlier. The one named ”Market Day”. This book, at the beginning, refers to the family dog, Rusty - clearly with a name. The book then tells of the family going to an animal market, in search of geese. In contrast to the family dog, the ”agricultural” animals are not referred to as he’s or shes (like the dog) - instead they are ”It’s”. There is discussion of money in the book, and the family can’t decide which geese to get. The animals are drawn in tiny cages, and the family walk up and down, browsing and glaring at the animals as if doing their vegetable shopping.

At one point, a little girl buys a duck, and the duck tries to escape from her cage - at this point the dialogue becomes ”Quick! Catch IT”.

We are sending out the message, even to extemely young children, that animals are ours. Our property, and ours to do with as we please. Their personhood is taken away. We are teaching our children to be selective - the dog in the book had a name, and was treated as one of the family.

No other animal is different to that dog.

To move forward, we must abolish speciesism, embrace non-violence, and become vegan. Respecting animals, means becoming vegan. There is nothing inbetween, and becoming vegan is incredibly easy!