Well guys I’m pretty disappointed and frustrated. I shared a post on our fb entitled Veganism has a serious race problem because IT DOES. I simply hashtagged #blacklivesmatter, because THEY DO, and because I just wanted to amplify the author’s message with out adding my own narrative. I knew some people would get upset but then we got SO MANY awful comments. Comments that ranged from apathy to ignorant racism to downright deranged. And you know what was a common denominator in the negative comments? An utter lack of empathy. I thought vegans were supposed to be empathetic? Where is that compassion when it comes to people?
Several comments on fb were saying racism isn’t an appropriate topic for a vegan page to discuss. For one, when have we ever been appropriate. But also, why the fuck not? Sure, we love to post pics of gluttonous vegan food porn, but at the heart of Vegansaurus, we try to be a community hub. There aren’t a lot of vegans in the world, therefore we tend to be isolated. The internet is a wonderful tool for niche communities like ours. And building a supportive community is our way of furthering the vegan movement.
So here’s my message to white vegans: There’s no room for racism in the vegan movement. We are building a community, and racism is poison to that effort.
Furthermore, there’s no room for #alllivesmatter in the vegan movement. I’ll explain why.
Here’s a great quote on racism from Scott Wood:
Here’s the deal with racism:
Racism is an insidious cultural disease. It is so insidious that it doesn’t care if you are a white person who likes black people; it’s still going to find a way to infect how you deal with people who don’t look like you. Yes, racism looks like hate, but hate is just one manifestation. Privilege is another. Access is another. Ignorance is another. Apathy is another. And so on. So while I agree with people who say no one is born racist, it remains a powerful system that we’re immediately born into. It’s like being born into air: you take it in as soon as you breathe. It’s not a cold that you can get over. There is no anti-racist certification class. It’s a set of socioeconomic traps and cultural values that are fired up every time we interact with the world. It is a thing you have to keep scooping out of the boat of your life to keep from drowning in it. I know it’s hard work, but it’s the price you pay for owning everything.
I love this quote because it touches on the many ways racism shows itself. Racism isn’t just active aggression towards people of color, it’s also your indifference. Here’s where #alllivesmatter comes in. It’s apathetic racism. When you use #alllivesmatter to bring up veganism in a conversation about #blacklivesmatter, you are part of the problem. You are appropriating and derailing an important conversation. You are exploiting one cause to further that of animals. You can read a simplified explanation of what’s wrong with #alllivesmatter here. But moral of the story: It’s wrong and it needs to stop.
While I don’t think white people can ever be immune to being racist, we can strive toward that goal. And like Wood says, it’s hard work. WORK being the focus here. It’s not enough to just not use the n-word, white people have to actively work against racism. Even if it’s just calling out your white friends. Even if it means calling out white vegans.
And boy, there are so many to call out. Like this embodiment of pomposity and privilege, @humantimothy on Twitter.
Reality check: being vegan doesn’t mean you automatically aren’t racist. Sorry to break it to you, but there are no magical anti-racist enzymes in seitan. And it’s vegans like Tim who damage our community. He’s hellbent on comparing slavery to animal agriculture. In fact, many people on the fb feed were in support of the comparison too. That’s not ok. Here’s a quick explanation from Aph Ko:
The Animal Rights Movement Appropriates Experiences of Black Oppression to Gain Sympathy for Animals
Though the structure of oppression from which both animals and black people suffer might be similar, constantly comparing animal oppression to slavery or lynching seems to suggest that the only way racism figures into the conversation is by its usefulness in producing analogies for the benefit of animals alone.
Comparing oppressions is violent and exploitative, particularly because black oppression isn’t over.
Since the white animal rights movement hasn’t explicitly expressed a desire to take anti-racist work seriously, it seems as though they are using our struggles for their own gain.
To be shocked by animal abuse while remaining silent about racial injustices doesn’t make sense.
But on a simpler level, here’s a great explanation from one of the few good comments on the original Media Diversified post*:
Here’s the ultimate argument why you shouldn’t use US chattel slavery/racism as a talking point when discussing veganism: you have been told it is hurtful and alienating. You can perfectly well make your point in favour of veganism/against animal consumption without referring to slavery. Surely if it is wrong to use animal products in any way shape or form the arguments relating to animals and animal suffering should be enough.
I’m vegan simply because I don’t want sentient beings to suffer if they don’t have to. Not being vegan causes a lot of suffering. If we can reduce the amount of suffering we contribute to, why wouldn’t we? We don’t need to eat chickens or wear wool to survive, so if we know they cause suffering, why would we support them? Well, we vegans wouldn’t.
I ask you though, if your goal is like mine, to reduce suffering, why would you knowingly cause suffering to another person? Is exploiting racism really the only way you can explain what’s wrong with hurting animals? Like literally, is that the only way? Because if not, why wouldn’t you avoid it? It causes pain to some people and it’s not necessary. Why cause pain when you don’t have to?
In closing, I want to quote the one shining light on that awful fb thread, Cyrus Kiani (founder of The Persian Vegan page):
The African American struggle is not your story to tell or your comparison to make. They have a voice and we need to give them the avenue to share their voice. If they feel that their discrimination is equal to animals then that is their perspective to tell. Not ours. We can’t speak for a group of individuals that has been treated completely differently in US history and think we can make comparisons based on their history when we have never lived them or completely understand how they feel.
You may have experienced your own discrimination for your sexual identity and you have a voice to discuss YOUR story and your perspective. But the problem occurs when we have those that have not experienced the exclusive struggle of African Americans while attempting to compare the state of animals slavery to that of African American slavery. Each of them are long, complex, and have a completely different psychological outlook. Each needs their own space, with their own unique stories.
PS: If you think you have a good post to contribute to this conversation, email us at tips@vegansaurus.com. We’d love to hear about it and are always looking for good guest posts.
*note: If this is a quote from your comment, I hope it’s ok that I’m quoting you. Couldn’t find a way to contact you but I thought your comment was so on point that I wanted to share it. Email me (meganrascal@vegansaurus.com) if you want me to credit you (didn’t want to get you any unsolicited attention) or remove it altogether.