Costello 2

“Do I like animals? I eat them, so I suppose I must like them, some parts of them” (674). Being allergic to most house hold pets has prohibited me from developing a relationship with animals. I see them on television and have stuffed animals but I don’t believe it’s the same effect as having the real thing. While I have found this bothersome at times, I continue to think of myself as able to relate to these creatures that share a world with me. Cesar Chavez once said that, “Kindness and compassion toward all living things is the mark of a civilized society” (731) however when focusing on the cruelty inflicted on animals it makes me wonder how civilized are we really? Because I’ve grown up eating meat, I see nothing wrong with it. It’s a part of my daily diet and it provides me with several nutrients that help me maintain a healthy lifestyle. However, upon reading articles, studies, and sections in books that display how humans are cruel to animals for no apparent reason, except for some sadistic satisfaction, I’ve began to look at my plate differently. I look at my plate and can only think of the process that has led that piece of an animal to be in front of me and be thought of as food. I think of the cows on their way to the slaughterhouses then daggling before having their throats slit and suffocating on their own blood. Each time I look at my plate, I am reminded about the suffering animals must endure daily in order for me to have a meal.



I realize that “many people prefer not to think too much about what is being done to those outside the sphere of the favored group” (638) but it is this that has caused the death of so many in the past. The prime example in our reading is that of the Holocaust. So many people chose to avoid what they heard was going on in concentration camps and because of this several were found dead when people finally decided to open there eyes to what had always been right in front of them. While I understand the comparison and do feel bad about the pain I do not think of myself as a horrible person. Theodor Adorno stated that “Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse and thinks: they’re only animals” (725). I agree with this comment, though it might sound hypocritical since meat can be found on my plate; however I realize that these animals are more than just that. They are earthlings and should be treated with respect nothing makes us lesser than humans, its only perception that has phrased events in that way. Those select few who have stood up and fought for the rights of Jews in Nazi Germany and for animals are sympathetic to those they might or might not have a connection too and in turn make the world a better place. “The world would no doubt be a worse place without them” (671). They fight what most people see as the norm and put into action the teaching of several religious teachings. “Those who permit the slaughter of an animal, who kills sit, who cuts it up , who buys or sells flesh, who cooks it, who serves it up, and who eats sit, are all slayers” (726). I realize they are great people for fighting the cruelties against animals and though I’m not a part of that battle I don’t believe it means I’m against it either. I feel that everyone supports a good cause in their own way and lately I’ve began to think what will I do to help those who can’t fight for themselves.