Animal Rights/ Veganism

The Vegan And The Cave

If you have been a vegan even just for a few weeks, you have probably already heard the arguments that non-vegans present to justify the continued consuming of animal products. Whilst some people are clearly just concerned about their health and unaware of vegan health facts (let’s face it, we all worry about our health and not knowing all the facts only increases our fear of trying something different) most of the excuses for still eating animal products just make us want to shake the person in front of us. It’s extremely uncommon for such excuses to come without mockery or even aggressiveness, and in most cases the best a vegan can do is to turn their back on the non-vegan to avoid an extreme level of frustration or annoyance. When in such arguments where I present the reasons as to why it is totally unacceptable to keep abusing animals, destroying the planet and wasting food that could feed hungry children, I cannot help but wonder: “How on earth can they NOT see this is wrong?”

I often think of a very important text that I read and studied back at school in my adolescence and then early 20’s, by a very well-known Greek author and my favourite philosopher, the great Plato. That text is The Allegory of the Cave. To those not familiar with it, The Allegory of the Cave depicts a group of prisoners chained in a cave, facing a wall. There are other people walking behind them but all these prisoners can see are their shadows projected onto that wall. They are absolutely unaware of anything else in their lives and world but these shadows. This is their reality. One day, one of these prisoners manages to get rid of his chains and runs away from the cave. When he gets outside he discovers a completely different world. A world where the grass is green, the trees are fruity; there are high mountains, a blue sky and a wavy sea. How truly amazed does this prisoner feel when he witnesses these marvels? All he had seen until then was so different! The amazement is such that the prisoner feels an irresistible urge to go back to the cave, free his fellow prisoners and ask them to go outside with him to see all those wonders with their own eyes. How could they refuse it? Yet, the reaction this freed prisoner faces is so totally opposite to the one he imagined: they laugh at him and say he is a fool and that he was imagining things. The more he tries to explain that everything is real, the more they say he’s mad. Eventually they get annoyed – even infuriated – with him. They try to tell him there is no such thing as a blue sky or green grass, just the shadows on the wall. He is a fool. He is a dreamer. They try to silence him because he has become a nuisance. One or two prisoners even attempt to kill him. The poor prisoner feels more and more alone, frustrated and sad.

I do compare vegans to this poor prisoner. As much as I know that we are obviously not perfect, I really believe we have gone ahead and seen far beyond what most people see or refuse to see. We have found out how wonderful it is to be able to live without sacrificing other beings, yet when we tell other people about it they refuse to get rid of their chains and keep on looking at the shadows on the wall. Is it because it’s convenient? Is it because they are afraid to be fooled? Is it because they truly believe we are fools or dreamers? Is it because they don’t want to accept that their lifestyle causes harm when they have believed all their lives that they are good people? I really believe this is the real reason in most cases. And we have to admit, most of these people might actually be good people–they would never voluntarily or directly harm other beings, and some might even do charity. Who am I now to tell them that they DO cause evil? Who do I think I am? People don’t want to believe or accept they could be “evil”. They start denying it. Or they make excuses: “I know how animals suffer, but c’mon I need meat to survive. It’s a necessary evil or I’ll get sick and die.” This is just one of the hundreds of excuses a vegan can hear. And then there are, of course, the more arrogant and revolting excuses like, “I am human, therefore I am superior to other species and I can do what I want to them.” As if being human entitles them to such superiority that the cruelty to other species is excused.

I have gotten tired of arguments with people who refuse to take their chains off. I have started avoiding the topic of veganism when my gut feeling tells me the person in front of me is clinging to his or her chains. The more I argue the more they will grip to them. I’d rather speak to people who have started seeing their chains as exactly what they are: an object of imprisonment. Only when I feel someone is trying to get rid of their chains do I approach and help them take them off. This is the approach that works best for me and the one I recommend to those who find it frustrating to convince non-vegans to go vegan. Let these people try to get rid of their chains by themselves. Do not insist as they will adamantly refuse to do so. Eventually they will find their way out of the cave. In short, I really believe that there are more and more prisoners finding their way out…and together, as time goes by, we will eventually all make it. As the beautiful song sings, “You may say I am a dreamer, but I am not the only one.”

About the author: I’m a Portuguese Copywriter and I love blogging about absolutely anything interesting that comes into my mind. I’m passionate about veganism and I hope my entries are inspiring.