Why? Because...
Recently, I've been asked why I'm so busy. I've been asked why I'm not hanging out with them, doing nothing, like I used to. I've been asked why I don't seem as happy as I used to. I've been asked what's wrong. I've been asked why I've been so serious. I've been asked why I've been protesting. I've been asked why I'm Vegan. I've been asked why I care. I've been asked why I'm not as friendly as I used to be. I've been asked a lot of things, and I really don't have the energy to answer everyone who asks one by one, in the depth that I should...
...So I'll answer all of these with a list, and get them ALL out of the way at once.
So where do I start?
Because somewhere between 400,000 and 1,000,000 people have been killed by our government (and by our clueless soldiers) in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last few years.
Because our schools and public transportation are becoming less and less effective every day because they don't have enough federal money to function, due to the warmongering politicians in power.
Because even though everyone thinks Obama (if he wins) is going to create incredible, sweeping change-- oh don't get me wrong, there's no doubt he'd revolutionize services for the poor and lower-middle class, and make huge strides in racial equality-- he's still PRO-WAR.
Because the constitution does NOT protect our rights, as evidenced by the events of the last week, which so many people have either ignored or already forgotten.
Because our government (just last week!) used chemical weapons on its OWN PEOPLE which were BANNED by the UN (for causing birth defects and cancer, among other things), just because those people were exercising their legal right to freedom of speech!!
Because friends of mine were tortured after being arrested in St. Paul last week! TORTURED!
Because most of the clothes my friends are wearing, the shoes they think are sooo cute, the latest junk they feel so happy about buying, was made in sweatshops by children!
Because, even though I KNOW many of my friends KNOW the horrific conditions these things were made in, they're not willing to compromise the lifestyle they've grown comfortable living to stop buying this stuff!
Because so many people, including people I call my friends are too damn lazy to go out of their way to do what's right--
--and lest we get in a moral argument about the definition of "right" here, how about we all just sit down and agree right now that the exploitation of indentured workers (many of whom are children) in other countries, who are forced into horrible working conditions (lack of proper sanitation, 13-hour days, supervisors beating workers, forced sex with supervisors, pay too low to support themselves on, housed in shacks the size of office cubicles with 5 people in each, and so on), to make products for us to buy is "wrong." Can we agree to that? Good.
Because (continuing in that same vein) Apple, GAP, American Eagle, J.C. Penny, Wal-Mart, Target, Nike (including Converse), Disney, Guess, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, Reebok, Levi, Mattel, Ralph Lauren, Kohls, AND MANY OTHER COMPANIES use sweatshop labor, and everyone I have told about this is STILL buying products from them.
Because everyone likes to use the excuse that they shop at places like Wal-Mart and Target because those places are cheap and they couldn't possibly afford to shop anywhere else... and it's a pathetic excuse, because I have less money (and come from less money) than most people I know, and I don't need to shop there!
Because millions of animals are being tortured every minute because corporations want to run unnecessary and cruel product tests on them even though there are better ways.
Because A LIVING BEING has to suffer and die in a horrible, inhumane way every time you eat a hamburger, and you think that saying "I like meat too much to be a vegetarian" is enough to justify that cruelty.
Because, even if a higher power created animals just to serve the needs of humanity, NO high power would give its blessing to such grotesque mutilation of its creations as occurs in slaughterhouses.
Because most people I know would rather lazily satisfy their selfish desires at any cost to others than pause to consider their actions and how they could meet their needs without inflicting suffering on other people or animals.
Because I'm worried I may never find anyone I can love, who will love me, who I can have a meaningful relationship with, who cares about the same things I do. (Because most people I've had romantic relationships with in the past either didn't care about the things I've mentioned so far, or acted like they did for a little while and then abandoned their values because they were "just going through a phase", because they were "mentally ill" back then, or because they couldn't find people who would accept them unless they sacrificed their values.)
Because the planet is heating up, the glaciers are melting, the oceans are rising, storms are getting worse, and it's humanity's fault... and people are still denying it.
Because some people seem to think that it's okay to sit on the fence and just say "I can't do anything because I don't know what I believe yet" when they could just take a little fucking initiative at ANY TIME and FIGURE IT OUT. You've got the internet, the biggest repository of knowledge ever created, at your fingertips! USE IT!
...So I'll answer all of these with a list, and get them ALL out of the way at once.
So where do I start?
Because somewhere between 400,000 and 1,000,000 people have been killed by our government (and by our clueless soldiers) in Iraq and Afghanistan in the last few years.
Because our schools and public transportation are becoming less and less effective every day because they don't have enough federal money to function, due to the warmongering politicians in power.
Because even though everyone thinks Obama (if he wins) is going to create incredible, sweeping change-- oh don't get me wrong, there's no doubt he'd revolutionize services for the poor and lower-middle class, and make huge strides in racial equality-- he's still PRO-WAR.
Because the constitution does NOT protect our rights, as evidenced by the events of the last week, which so many people have either ignored or already forgotten.
Because our government (just last week!) used chemical weapons on its OWN PEOPLE which were BANNED by the UN (for causing birth defects and cancer, among other things), just because those people were exercising their legal right to freedom of speech!!
Because friends of mine were tortured after being arrested in St. Paul last week! TORTURED!
Because most of the clothes my friends are wearing, the shoes they think are sooo cute, the latest junk they feel so happy about buying, was made in sweatshops by children!
Because, even though I KNOW many of my friends KNOW the horrific conditions these things were made in, they're not willing to compromise the lifestyle they've grown comfortable living to stop buying this stuff!
Because so many people, including people I call my friends are too damn lazy to go out of their way to do what's right--
--and lest we get in a moral argument about the definition of "right" here, how about we all just sit down and agree right now that the exploitation of indentured workers (many of whom are children) in other countries, who are forced into horrible working conditions (lack of proper sanitation, 13-hour days, supervisors beating workers, forced sex with supervisors, pay too low to support themselves on, housed in shacks the size of office cubicles with 5 people in each, and so on), to make products for us to buy is "wrong." Can we agree to that? Good.
Because (continuing in that same vein) Apple, GAP, American Eagle, J.C. Penny, Wal-Mart, Target, Nike (including Converse), Disney, Guess, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Tommy Hilfiger, Reebok, Levi, Mattel, Ralph Lauren, Kohls, AND MANY OTHER COMPANIES use sweatshop labor, and everyone I have told about this is STILL buying products from them.
Because everyone likes to use the excuse that they shop at places like Wal-Mart and Target because those places are cheap and they couldn't possibly afford to shop anywhere else... and it's a pathetic excuse, because I have less money (and come from less money) than most people I know, and I don't need to shop there!
Because millions of animals are being tortured every minute because corporations want to run unnecessary and cruel product tests on them even though there are better ways.
Because A LIVING BEING has to suffer and die in a horrible, inhumane way every time you eat a hamburger, and you think that saying "I like meat too much to be a vegetarian" is enough to justify that cruelty.
Because, even if a higher power created animals just to serve the needs of humanity, NO high power would give its blessing to such grotesque mutilation of its creations as occurs in slaughterhouses.
Because most people I know would rather lazily satisfy their selfish desires at any cost to others than pause to consider their actions and how they could meet their needs without inflicting suffering on other people or animals.
Because I'm worried I may never find anyone I can love, who will love me, who I can have a meaningful relationship with, who cares about the same things I do. (Because most people I've had romantic relationships with in the past either didn't care about the things I've mentioned so far, or acted like they did for a little while and then abandoned their values because they were "just going through a phase", because they were "mentally ill" back then, or because they couldn't find people who would accept them unless they sacrificed their values.)
Because the planet is heating up, the glaciers are melting, the oceans are rising, storms are getting worse, and it's humanity's fault... and people are still denying it.
Because some people seem to think that it's okay to sit on the fence and just say "I can't do anything because I don't know what I believe yet" when they could just take a little fucking initiative at ANY TIME and FIGURE IT OUT. You've got the internet, the biggest repository of knowledge ever created, at your fingertips! USE IT!