Warning...this is a LONG one and mostly about vegetarianism/animal activism. But first...
Thanks for that note on the Native American poem...I'm going to look for that. Nina- That's my favorite veterinary resource Marvistavet! Thanks for that link. That's how I tried it but the problem was, I couldn't restrain his feet with one hand while giving him the pill with the other and he reached up and scratched me and while I was putting the pill in his mouth, he bit down on my hand. I just thought of something that was recommended with my guinea pigs and wonder if it would work, but it is kind of mean, though any way you give a pill is going to be to the cat...It was suggested that I wrap my guinea pig in a towel...Maybe if I wrap him in a towel to hold his feet back, that might work. Then again, he'll probably figure out a way to get out. LOL. I'm calling the vet tomorrow for liquid form and see about that. Now... Tonya (is that right?) about the whole vegan/vegetarian discussion...You put things very well. It is so true that people turn a blind eye to satisfy a craving. Many of my friends who are of Christian Faith question me and test me about my decisions not to eat meat. They disagree with me and believe that animals were put here for our use. Even though it's no longer necessary. What strikes me is that one of the basic tenets of Christian religion is "thou shalt not give into temptation" but somehow, where eating and using animals is concerned, that doesn't seem to apply. (I hope I'm not offending anyone here...my apologies if I have). I think though, that animals are considered by many Christians, not to have souls or be of importance in the kingdom of Heaven. But aren't all animals God's creatures? This, I struggle to understand. My boyfriend is of pretty strong Protestant belief, but he doesn't give me a hard time about it. He really and truly loves animals and he admires me for my decisions, and even tells everyone how cool I am about it because I'm not a fanatic or pushing it in people's faces. But, he too, doesn't make the connection between the animals at home and the animals on his plate. On one of my websites I have a picture of a cat and a pig looking at each other and underneath, the caption says "You call one a pet, and the other food....Why?" Recently a friend of mine saw that, and hasn't eaten meat for a week. For him, that made the connection. I don't know if he'll stick to it, but at least he is trying and at least for him, something has clicked. As you said...any little bit makes a difference. I know 2 people who actually worked in the animal industry and became vegan as a result of it. One, is the mad cowboy, who i don't know personally...and the other is a man named Virgil Butler, who I've spoken to quite a few times. He used to work for Tyson chicken and one day, something finally snapped and as he watched his fellow co- workers mistreat the chickens and watched the process of how they come to be the food on our plates. He actually went up against Tyson in court in a lawsuit. If you're interested in reading about him, he's known as the cyberactivist. Just google that. It'll come up. There is a book called "Dominion" by Matthew Scully and it's about animal exploitation and thoughts and philosophies about it. He was a former speech writer for President Bush and a conservative Republican who is a vegetarian/vegan and gets teased of course by his colleagues. But honestly, I think anyone who cares about animals needs to read this book. It is life altering and really makes you think. Whether you're a veg or not. If you love animals. Read this book. It is well written, intelligent, makes wonderful and logical points, gets you to think and can change your life. It changed mine. It was the best book I have ever read. One of the points he made, which was blunt as could be, was: "...let us just call things what they are. When a man's love of finery clouds his moral judgement, that is vanity. When he lets a demanding palate make his moral choices, that is gluttony. When he ascribes the divine will to his own whims, that is pride. And when he gets angry at being reminded of animal suffering that his own daily choices might help avoid, that is moral cowardice." ~Matthew Scully Harsh as that may be, it does hold some merit. I think. But it's what many people have to do. I don't begrudge people their decisions to follow what is a traditional and long standing way of life. To choose the route of vegetarianism or veganism is life altering. But not as much, or in the way that one might think. It is very painful to recognize the actual reality of the animal industry and to make the connection. It's not something many people can handle. God, I remember when I first started venturing out into the world of vegetarianism and animal activism I was outraged, disgusted, saddened and angry at what goes on. For a long time i was angry at anyone who couldn't see things my way. So it was a long and gradual process for me to accept what is and do what I can on my own part. But it is definitely not an easy conversion. I'll be the first to admit. Our brain is capable of amazing things. People subconsciously block out painful experiences as if they don't exist, and it's like they never happened. Our brains are able to mask, ignore and deny many things and make them non-existent or unreal. It's what humans have been doing for years in terms of using animals for commodities. You'd have to, especially if you have a good heart. You have to numb yourself to it. Yes, I would love if more people opened up to the realities, but I know it is a big step and as I said, I have to be tolerant of other people's decisions if I wish for them to be tolerant of mine. I'm the first to say that being vegan is not easy. I have known a lot of people who are or were vegans and fell off that wagon. I have too. Eggs and cheese. But I just could never bring myself to ever ever eat any kind of meat at all. No flesh of any kind whatsoever. I can honestly say that I remember meat tasting really good. I won't lie. It did. But now there's a different association with it that just completely blocks me from ever putting a piece of meat into my mouth again. For me, that association is more powerful than flavor. Especially when there are so many other DELICIOUS things to eat that aren't animal! Talking about this really helps me to have more conviction about things and bring things to the forefront that have long been dormant in my mind. I'm so glad that there are people here who can relate to this and people who are so receptive to talking about this topic. Thank you to all of you. Thanks everyone really, for being so receptive to this discussion, esp. here on a list of other topics. Sorry for the long post, I just get going on this stuff. I should make a separate list for this stuff. I feel bad taking up space here about this and not about what this list is for. Thanks anyhow... :)
