I was driving back from a fruit and veggie run at Walmart when I passed a large field just off Country Road 4. I often see cattle spread out over this field, and others, but the sun was bright and hot, so at this particular moment they had all gathered peacefully under one lone tree.
There was no jostling for position or fighting among them. They just all gathered as well they could, collectively, out of the heat of the sun. The young, in particular, were protected.
They were calm. They felt safe as a collective.
I whispered my mantra that I say whenever I pass these lovely creatures, found throughout the area, knowing their inevitable fate:
May you never see it coming.
May you never feel the fear.
May you never feel the pain.
I’m not judging a process that has continued for thousands of years, here and all over the world. Families have supported themselves and others for generations on breeding “livestock.”
After all, for the first fifty years of my life I was a carnivore that directly benefited from this process.
My conversion to vegetarian came one day while I was sitting around watching TV with my dogs and a news report came on about the Yuli Dog Meat Festival.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee_and_Dog_Meat_Festival
Turned out, it wasn’t just in China:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vezDJizkMUI
I was horrified. I remember looking at my fur family and saying, “see that, if we lived there you’d be on the menu.” Each of the dogs looked me right in the eyes.
And that’s when it hit me. Mankind can justify just about any atrocity for their own pleasure. But they have to distance themselves.
I mean, why was I horrified about the idea of sacrificing my dogs? Because I loved and bonded with them the same way I loved and bonded with my human family members (and anyone who says there’s a difference has never bonded or is full of shit). And I thought back about all the various kinds of other creatures I had raised during my lifetime and realized I had loved and bonded with all of them in the same fashion. I had watched them give birth, nurse and care for their offspring, protect them from harm. Love, just the way my parents had done for me, just the way I had done for my children.
However, humans had be extolling the benefits of Blood Sacrifice since Biblical times, as far back as when Cain’s offering of grains to the almighty was rejected, while Abel was rewarded for sacrificing a lamb.
Humans take note. That ended badly. The first fratricide. We’ve been fighting among ourselves ever since.
I won’t worship any Diety that requires that of me.
So, I thought long and hard that year as I approached my 50th birthday. I mean, every Sunday’s extended family meal table for three generations was chock full of meats of every kind.
I made the final decision just before that Thanksgiving. I remember thinking as I carved the roast for the rest of the table how if I could make it through that meal without caving to the smell that was causing me to salivate, I could make the transition. I’m not lying, it was hard. I took a lot of shit from the others around the table that night. But I made it. I’ve never looked back. And for that, I am truly Thankful.
And I don’t judge others who eat meat. It’s a personal choice. And I’ve made mine. I respect yours.
But I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t colored my writing. Jimmy Moran goes through a similar transformation through his interactions with the gentle Claire.
And I’ve taken some shit from redneck reviewers over that. But that transformative experience has colored who I am as a man, the same way it has colored Jimmy as a character.
So, I’ve made my peace with the idea that I won’t knowingly support the slaughter of any other creature. Anything that can suffer the pangs of childbirth, feel love and fear and experience pain is off the menu.
I’m not a vegan, I cannot give up milk in my coffee or ice cream, but I rationalize that by the idea that I’m not killing another creature for that experience.
And given my animistic view of the universe, I’ve had to struggle with my hypocrisy over eating sentient plants, but if there ever comes a time I can draw sustenance from the energy in the ether, like Tesla’s electricity, I’m ready for that next step.
This does not make me a pacifist. I will fight to the death any human that means me or mine any harm.
I just won’t eat them.
Well, I’ve still got plenty of chores to take care of so I better get moving.
But first some kitty cuddles and my rounds.
You fine, five readers enjoy the slow roll out of your day of rest.
Then enjoy yourselves with your friends and family, including your fur babies.
And no matter what else we get up to, let us make today a great one.
4 Responses
Bon Appetit, Tommy👣👍
Amen
Thank you for explaining your choice to become a non meat eating human. It sounds to me that it was a cathartic realization. I also am thankful that you don’t judge others who do eat meat.
May your day be fine, even grand . Katz
Tom, I was a few days behind on reading the blogs,and I thought I’d give a response. I am like you, in that I don’t judge others by their choice of not eating meat or eating meat. That is a personal choice. I was raised on a dairy farm, and we drank about a gallon of milk every two days or so. We also raised a steer each year that provided our meat. One thing that I abhore is people eating meat, and over-ordering at a restaurant, and not taking home the rest. My view is that an animal sacrificed their life, so I might have my life, and I can’t say I have EVER in my life threw away a piece of leftover meat. That would be an insult to the animal that gave their life to me. We give thanks for the meal we are having, and honor to that life given for me. To just throw away the “extra” earns you a pass to hell!! C