Animal cruelty, climate change, monoculture...the list goes on.

[ChrissyStar]

I feel hopeless and have decided not to have children because of the state of the world (why would I wish to bring a child into this when I myself, do not like to live here?). Does anyone else feel the same?

[Birdy77]

Dear everyone,

Unbeliever, I understand what you mean. To you (& to some of us here), what you do on a daily basis is simply what you would consider to be the minimum requirement of being human. The bare essentials. Not something to give you warm fuzzies. Just the basics.

I get that.

It's sad that the majority of people see such basics as extreme or weirdo behaviour. I understand this from my own experience. I am seen as extreme (offensive even) because I believe that cows should not be forcefully & artificially impregnated & then have their babies taken from them at birth so that humans can drink their breast milk. I would argue that the practice I just described is extreme and cruel. But no, I'm the offensive one.

I know it's lonely not having people around you who are on the same page about what you are passionate about.

It's frustrating having people forever having double standards around you ... you're weird if you liberate a pigeon's leg from a debilitating elastic band, but it's totally and absolutely fine to keep a chicken in a cage the size of an A4 piece of paper for her entire life because ... cheap eggs (to go with the bacon).

I kinda would've liked to have had kids too, simply because I have the love, time & resources to actually give them a good life (in the here & now). But I can't bring them into this world as it is. I just can't.

It's a shame.

I understand. I get it & I'm sorry you've not found someone to share your passion & your pain with you, combi van or no.

Thanks for all you do.

Dear Pepper ❤ if only this thread were a community garden down the road that we could meet up in & plan awesomeness & share delicious, gentle food & talk to our heart's content.

I had a whole bunch of stuff I wanted to say in reply to your really excellent posts above, but they've kinda flown off with clouds I've been watching.

You mentioned duality, & I know it's a bit typical of me to bring it back to animals, but I was at the vet - (we rescued a hen from being extinguished after she'd given everything in her little body to an egg factory. You should have seen her, hardly any feathers, emaciated, sawn off beak, etc and this was from a " free range farm". Anyway, we have found a vet who specialises in birds & she's wonderful, shows such gentle love to our hen she & staff = awesome. I was paying: heard the nurse saying couldn't wait for her chicken schnitzel sandwich. From one extreme, (love/care) to the other. Nobody batted an eyelid.

Love,

🌻birdy

[Peppermintbach]

Hi ChrissyStar and all,

Unbeliever: I don’t really have much to add to birdy’s very compassionate and uplifting posts 🙂

I will say this though...

To a large extent, I agree with you. I think that I understand what you mean by not feeling as though you deserve praise/recognition/etc for acting in accordance with what you believe in/doing what you feel is “right”/bare minimum.

I think the thing is praise and recognition is very much ingrained in many cultures. But I feel there’s real merit in what you’re saying...as you said, it’s just something that you do. The way you’ve always been...

About happiness, I would just like to share my own stray thoughts that you may (or may not) relate to. I personally think that happiness doesn’t necessarily have to be the ultimate goal...it may be for some people, but it’s not mine...

Sure, it’s a beautiful feeling, but because it tends to be so fleeting, I don’t chase it. I appreciate it when I have scattered moments of happiness, but I don’t think it’s my main goal in life.

There are other things that are more important to me like meaning & purpose, and being committed to taking action for the things I believe in...

Beautiful birdy: hello, dear friend...

thank you for making me smile with your community garden comment 🙂 I agree, that would be very nice, and I can imagine all the wonderful conversations we would have there. What a lovely thought 🙂

Of course you and your lovely partner rescued that mistreated hen 😉 I wouldn’t expect otherwise from your loving nature...she sounds like she’s had a really tough life, and if those are the conditions of free-range, sigh, that’s a very warped sense of “freedom” in my eyes...

i think your above observations reflect the nurse’s personal disconnect and perhaps limited self awareness...as I’ve said before, I feel (some) people’s compassion for non-human animals is only limited to the extent that non-human animals serve a particular need or want (at the time) or a particular warm, fuzzy feeling the non-human elicits (at the time)...

In the vet nurse’s case, at the time of the surgery/treatment/consultation, maybe that exhausted hen served her need to nurture someone else (plus it is her job). But then moments later, a chook’s value was purely in terms of serving her taste buds as food.

Sigh, so yes, I see what you mean by the duality and disconnect there...and the fact that no one else seemed too bothered at the clinic speaks volumes...

Much love,

Pepper xoxox

[Birdy77]

Hello everyone,

I'm inviting everyone here to a virtual "Nup to the Cup" party here in our community garden full of love and animals.

Today pretty much the whole country stands still to watch a horse race. An act of cruelty brings the nation such a ridiculous amount of joy, celebration and money.

I stand still for the horses who are used to make money for their owners, and destroyed when they don't make enough, and endure injuries in a stupid race that brings them no joy. They are whipped to race up the track.

All welcome here, enjoy vegan food, plenty of beverages, and sending love to all racehorses today.

Love and light,

[Peppermintbach]

Hi Chrissystar and all,

Beautiful birdy:

Thank you for the invitation 🙂 Please count my presence at this party. The food, beverages and company sounds lovely.

Sigh, what can I say? I completely agree...I also feel it’s unecessary and cruel.

Sometimes I feel certain socially accepted “traditions” leaves me feeling shellshocked. I have few words because I don’t know how it can possibly be justified.

I feel not only is it detrimental to horses, I feel this whole practice also doesn’t help people who struggle with gambling problems either. I appreciate that others may feel differently but this is how I feel about it...

I feel the cruelty that horses suffer happens behind closed doors, and is cleverly hidden behind the “glamour” of the fascinators and fancy hats that people wear to the races. Plus the widespread social acceptance of it (reflected in vast media coverage that portrays it very positively).

In short, I won’t be participating in this nationally celebrated horse racing day.

But I will join in this virtual garden party here 😉

Love,

Pepper xoxox

[Birdy77]

Dear Pepper and everyone,

What a sad day it was yesterday, especially for the beautiful and majestic horse who was euthanised trackside.

While everyone is cheering and refilling their champagne glasses, the rights of those who have no choice about whether they want to run in the race ... are forgotten.

Sidelined.

Considered unimportant.

Oh, you broke a shoulder while we forced you down the track? Better put you out of your misery.

What an absolute disgrace.

Not to mention the jockeys who were fined for breaking the "guidelines" about how many times they're allowed to whip the horses. I bet those fines are miniscule (I don't know and haven't looked).

A lot more miniscule than the pain and torture the horses endure anyway.

Many of these beautiful creatures are raced as babies, when their skeletal systems are still very vulnerable to injury.

I am so sad, this ludicrous and "glamourous" tradition should be banned.

The only thing we need from animals, is their forgiveness.

😢

🌻birdy

P.S. thank you my dear friend Pepper for standing with me in solidarity for the voiceless xo

[Peppermintbach]

Hi beautiful birdy (and a wave to all),

Sigh, I agree with you completely, and I feel your anger and sadness. Gentle hugs, my friend...

I think CliffsofMoher was just 5 years old. He was a very beautiful and very young horse...

In my opinion, the whole industry is unecessary with questionable practices. About whips, I think the guidelines shouldn’t be about the number and “nature” of when it is used, but the guidelines should be about how it should not be used at all.

I feel this whole industry is (like most industries) all about profit, and about people having a “good time.” There’s nothing wrong with having a good time. I’m all for fun times, but not when it is at the expense of someone else’s wellbeing. In this case, it’s the horses’ wellbeing...

I was reading some articles, and the only real defense that the racing industry (and its supporters) has is that the treatment of their horses is “not that bad” (attempts to downplay it), and trying to convince everyone that the jockeys really do “love” their horses. If that’s their definition of “love”, they might need to re-think it...

The other main defense is on the grounds of “tradition” (and nothing else). I don’t buy that argument, just because something is “tradition” doesn’t mean it needs to be continued forever and ever. I feel traditions that are inhumane, unfair or obsolete don’t need to be preserved...

Sighs, I often wonder what it would be like if non-human animals could talk to us. I feel they would have a lot to say to us humans...I don’t think that they would be too happy with us, or at least not for the most part anyway...

Sitting with you in your sadness...

With love,

Pepper xoxox

[Unbeliever]

People who only loved you when you were beneficial or useful to them... never really loved you in the first place.

[Peppermintbach]

Hi ChrissyStar and all,

A Special wave to beautiful birdy and lovely M_M plus all reading 🙂

Unbeliever: sighs, what more can I say about horse racing jockeys? To a large extent, I agree with you...such conditional and self serving affection (if you can even call it “affection”) doesn’t seem like love to me either...

Pepper

[Jurani]

I made the choice over 30 years ago not to watch the news or read newspapers etc. To me anyway it's mostly negative stuff that you can do without? People used to say to me 'it's good to know what's going on in the world, you need to know this stuff? Guess what? You actually don't. It doesn't mean you don't care either, because I care alot. I've just shut the negative out of my life. Children? You can shield them from alot of negativity. You choose what kind of world you want them to experience. If they're in a good environment at home, that's loving and supportive, that will become their belief. I taught my children kindness, empathy, care..all the good stuff. They don't need to know the bad in society. I protected them from that. I believe having children is a personal choice, it always is. No one can tell you if it's a good, or not so good idea ok? Your choice needs to be respected though 100%. I do get what you're saying. From my own experience, if you block out the negative, the news etc., then all you're left with is how YOU perceive things yourself, and not what the media tells you. Hope this helps.

[Peppermintbach]

Hi Jurani,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts 🙂 Interesting perspective there, and I agree with your point about the importance of respecting people’s decision to have/not have children.

I appreciate that you’ve made the decision not to engage with the news, which you have your own reasons for. I get what you’re saying, and perhaps this works for you and your family. I can respect your right to do as you see fit, and raise your family in a way that you feel is best....

Personally, I make the choice to engage with the news. I do this so that I have a general idea of what is happening. I feel regardless of whether I choose to watch the news or not, both good and bad things happen everyday...

But I figure if I stay engaged with the news, I can then be more aware of certain issues...issues that I can then hopefully help address/minimise/change in my own little way. I hope that I’m making some sense to you...

That being said, I hear where you’re coming from. Perhaps you and I have different approaches to things, but it’s always good to hear multiple perspectives 🙂

Thanks again.

Pepper