The Oprah Show: Initial Thoughts
Nicholas Kristof began the Oprah show telling this story (in different words):
“Once a month or so, we would slaughter the geese. When I was 10 years old, my job was to lock the geese in the barn and then rush and grab one. Then I would take it out and hold it by its wings on the chopping block while my Dad or someone else swung the ax.
“The 150 geese knew that something dreadful was happening and would cower in a far corner of the barn, and run away in terror as I approached. Then I would grab one and carry it away as it screeched and struggled in my arms.
“Very often, one goose would bravely step away from the panicked flock and walk tremulously toward me. It would be the mate of the one I had caught, male or female, and it would step right up to me, protesting pitifully. It would be frightened out of its wits, but still determined to stand with and comfort its lover.” (source)
Kristof’s story made me teary-eyed. It made me think of how much my dog might protest if someone came and took me away. It made me think of how much I would protest if someone came and took my husband away.
I can’t help but hope others were affected. I KNOW the empathy for animals that I feel is not isolated. There are others like me. Some are omnivores and some are vegans. And we call all do something to help animals. We can all recognize that animals are not commodities, they are living, sentient beings.
They protest every day. Sometimes they even escape. See:
We can protest with them.
Even if the Oprah show wasn’t nearly as pro-vegan as I would have liked, I am certain the show awakened the compassion for animals within at least SOME people. In fact, on Oprah’s messageboard some viewers are saying they’re considering vegetarianism.
Furthermore, WE are agents for change. WE can respond to Oprah’s show however we want. WE can choose to whine about how it wasn’t enough or WE can respond by finishing the job. WE can see this as a closed door or WE can see this as an open window.
This is what mostly did it for me
“Very often, one goose would bravely step away from the panicked flock and walk tremulously toward me. It would be the mate of the one I had caught, male or female, and it would step right up to me, protesting pitifully. It would be frightened out of its wits, but still determined to stand with and comfort its lover.”
I was about to cry (and not just because I was menstrual). I realized, hey I have a cat whom I love so much and a new dwarf robo hamster and who’s to say that one animal is better than another. I’ve realized, I was EATING animals! (To me, now it’s like eating a human, it’s just wrong.) It just makes me want to cry that it’s considered normal. I’m so glad I seen this episode of Oprah. It makes me wonder why I didn’t do this before but I’m just glad another animal won’t have to suffer for my ignorance.
Pamela, that’s fantastic!
Yeah, it seems so obvious that we should have seen years — or decades — ago that eating one type of animal while loving another is crazy. But eating cows and pigs and chickens is so ingrained in our society, that it’s actually looked at as “crazy” if we don’t eat them.
Congratulations for making the connection and deciding to go veg!
~ Recent blog post: Industry Money Trumps Public Health ~
“To me, now it’s like eating a human, it’s just wrong.”
That’s exactly how I feel. It’s like eating human babies.
Pamela, I hope you find the resources you need here at Vegan Soapbox and elsewhere online. The web is your friend. You can find tons of information about veganism and vegetarianism - recipes, health concerns, messageboards… The web is an invaluable tool for a new veg*n.
Recipes:
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/recipes/
Other vegan websites:
http://www.vegansoapbox.com/more/
Very often, one goose would bravely step away from the panicked flock and walk tremulously toward me. It would be the mate of the one I had caught, male or female, and it would step right up to me, protesting pitifully. It would be frightened out of its wits, but still determined to stand with and comfort its lover.
That’s just heartbreaking.
It’s also a big part of why I skipped the Oprah episode. I’d probably just spend the whole show bawling and have nightmares for a week. I have no clue how undercover investigators and animal rescuers cope, seriously.
~ Recent blog post: “Sowing the seeds of hatred and division” seems like a fair enough description to me. ~