#108 - You and I

Today’s words: Pigeon, China, Satan, Scallop

Word count: 250

Completion time: 23 minutes

--

Why do we torment and criticise other animals

For being inferior? Looking at the world through different eyes,

See, they aren’t like you and I, they don’t feel like we feel

Their pain isn’t recognised, who cares if they die?

People screw their faces up, at little pups in China

Who get served alongside a variety of food.

Not to be rude, but I’m over the line of thought

That is shocked and appalled by yet another animal...

Yet another innocent life we carve up with knives

And say it’s alright, it’s justified, because

They don’t feel like you and I.



A pigeon was sat on a bench the other day

And someone kicked it away like it could contaminate,

Like it would be great if they could be cast away

Like Satan from the heavens. Why?

They didn’t disobey but they have no say because why?

They can’t speak like you and I?

Judge like you and I?



We don’t need to buy something to think that we own it

No cash needs to change hands to know we can have it

The scallops on the beach, the ocean deep

Everything we see, we claim just by looking.

We take parts of the world and reduce them to nothing

Just by looking

I look to you and see myself reflected right back

We’re on the attack, you and I

We don’t give a fuck, you and I

It’s in our nature to rely

On things that can’t fight back.

#97 - Compa$$ion

Today’s words: Care, Show, Year, Gifted

Word count: 304

Completion time: 17 minutes

Summary: What does it mean to be truly compassionate?

--

I realised not too long after I became an adult that people enjoy doing things to come across as good people, when really, they’re just pretending.

By tricking compassionate people into thinking they give a shit, they can make friends, but most importantly, they can make a profit. How much does faux compassion cost? They ask, picking up the tag between their fingers and turning it over.

“Let me show you,” they grin, “let me show you how much I care about the animals that I raise for slaughter, let me show you how humane it all is. If I show you, you’ll see, you’ll understand, you’ll get it.”

I see sheep running around a field, chickens let out of cages, cows grazing all day. I feel great. I photocopy the man’s smile from the TV and paste it onto my face, leaving it there for the duration of the advert.

But, why isn’t the death shown, too? That’s a part of the process, that’s what it’s all leading up to. Without death, this ‘humane’ treatment would be worthless.

I guess the most important bit doesn’t matter.

Farmer of the year.

You see, these people are gifted. The gift? Being able to pass bullshit off as chocolate that will melt in whoever’s mouth they please. Butter wouldn’t melt, but chocolate will. That’s a great gift.

Shit disguised as truffles, shit disguised as caramel swirls, shit disguised as strawberry crèmes, shit disguised...captivity, death, disguised as humane practice. Dressed to the head in gold ribbon and silver foil.

Everyone will scramble to open this present, this carefully wrapped tasty treat.

Eat

Eat

Eat

But as they do, they’ll close their eyes and pretend that no animals were harmed in the production of this gift.

They offered it to us.

They wanted to die.

And that’s fine.

#54 - Forbidden Charta

Today’s words: Diversify, Example, Laniary, Charta

Word count: 615

Completion time: 1 hour

Summary: The head of a major food co-operation finds a document condemning the consumption of animals.

This could have been done so SO much better with actual facts and stuff and it does nothing for veganism but it’s essay time at uni and this was the best I could come up with right now... But hey, this is supposed to be improvised, right? And it really was!

--

“We can’t let anyone see this,” the head of the food company whispered, looking over the charta that her assistant had found tucked away in the archived section of the building. “Why was this even here? Destroy it, immediately,” she handed it to the perplexed-looking assistant, pressing it into his palm like he was a baby likely to drop it, “and if you find any more of its kind, dispose of them in the same manner, do I make myself clear?”

“This is an extraordinary revelation, though,” the assistant protested, staring at the tattered parchment like it had come straight from another planet. “If this got out, especially to groups like Animal Aid or Peta, hell, if it got out to one vegan or vegetarian, it could have a massive impact on everything and everyone; it’d spread like wildfire.” He held the charta next to his face. “The laniary argument would be blown out of the water, for one.”

“The what?” The word appeared to her like a bad smell.

“Laniary...you know,” he lowered his arm, “canine, pointed teeth.”

“Speak English, then.” She fixed him with a look she’d give to a badly behaved dog. “I can’t keep up with this science mumbo jumbo you come out with at the most inconvenient of times.”

“Yes, anyway...sorry,” he quickly apologised, realising how rude he sounded. “As I was saying, the argument that humans have canines meant for meat, that humans were in fact designed to eat meat, would never have a leg to stand on. Like, think, why do humans kill animals anyway? Because they can’t talk? Because we’re used to it? If we really take time to question the reality--”

“This is why you need to get rid of it, it’s corrupting you already!” she hissed, putting both hands on his shoulders and guiding him towards the door. “I don’t care how, just, for God’s sake...” she fumbled around in her pocket and produced a lighter, struggling to light it with unsteady hands. “Fuck it, I’ll destroy it myself.”

He shrugged himself free of her like ‘crazy’ was contagious. “We’re inside!”

Moaning loudly, she threw her hands up and spun around to face the floor-to-ceiling window that looked onto the car park. “Look, the more we diversify humans from pigs and cows and sheep and whatever else, the more money we make, the more we are allowed the freedom to kill them and turn them into our product which is...?” she turned and raised her eyebrows expectantly, making hand gestures meant to hurry him up.

“Um...lip-smackingly good?”

“Bingo. I will not risk it coming out that animals and humans used to live in ‘harmony’ together...”

“For years and years!”

She stared at him, unreceptive and through gritted teeth continued: “... Until, due to a massive crop failure, one of the villagers proposed that they cook and eat the livestock, and why? Because they saw them as inferior beings just because they didn’t share the same language.”

The assistant held the charta up to read from it. “Then, said villagers who indulged in the murder were...called forth and executed by the head of the village,” he flicked his eyes up to look over the top of the paper, “or so it says.”

“Animals are for eating, it was perfectly justified.”

He sighed, exasperated. “Well apparently, we’re not supposed to be eating meat.”

“If that is in fact a genuine article from history!” she snatched it from him. “You’re wavering.” Shoving past him, she strode into the hall, clutching the charta so hard that it was beyond creased. “I’ll burn it myself...and then I’ll buy twice as much meat when the day is over. Fucking hippies.”

#48 - Word Vomit

Today’s words: Laugh, Maddening, Retiform (arranged like a net), Frightened

Word count: 537

Completion time: 1 hour 21 minutes

Summary: Some people, like me, are really bad at getting their point across even though they know exactly what they should say

--

“She asked me what the time was, right? And I’m like, ‘time to make me a sandwich’! Get it?”

I laughed sarcastically.

“Haha, yeah, you got it!”

I never liked this guy, yet I was walking to work with him. Why? He happened to bump into me at a pedestrian crossing and I tried to nudge my protest out of its hiding place in my throat but it didn’t work. Fuck.

As we walked and he bragged about something or other, I couldn’t take my eyes off of the retiform-like pattern on his tie. I stared intently as we strode past various shops, the pattern constantly coming into focus before blurring again with every step that he took. It made me think of the cages that humans kept animals in just so that they could profit from them, which brought me back to a conversation we had had months earlier:

 “Why vegan, though? Why not a vegetarian? It’d be easier, right? There’s no waaaaay I could give meat up, proper carnivore, me! Like, where do you even get your protein from? That shit must be unheal-THY.”

I think he had successfully asked me almost every typical question in one go.

I’ve met a few meat-eaters who only really seem to talk about their diets once they find out that I don’t eat or use animals. These same people think themselves the experts on nutrition, too.

I uttered a little laugh before trying to figure out how to say that vegetarianism still supports animal cruelty and that I can get protein from various vegetables, nuts, and pulses just fine, but nothing came out aside from that stupid fucking laugh.  

I decided to try again, even though I was frightened by what my mouth would come up with:

“Well you know, eating meat—No, um, using animals is bad.”

These maddening words... What did you just say? Back up a second, you really just said that, huh? This isn’t a Word document, you can’t just backspace that shit, it’s out in the open now. Who are you, Mr Mackey? Meat is bad, mmmkay?  That’s exactly like him saying that veganism is stupid. Tell him why it’s bad, tell him properly!

“Every day, animals are being killed...all day every day.”

...

Okay listen to me, half-pint, repeat after me: ‘Indulging in animal produce is not only harmful and exceedingly cruel to the animals who are forced to give themselves to us, but it’s also needless – it’s possible to get an abundance of protein, iron, B12, various vitamins etcetera from other sources! Who are we, as human beings, to take things from animals without their consent?’

Yes, that sounded good, very good...okay, here we go:

“Eating animals is mean, and you can get iron from like, spinach and stuff.”

“Haha, what?”

Fuck!

Fuck...

It was always like that; I’d have something really great to say, but when I began to speak, the ideas had been filtered through a dumbing-down device.

I suppose I just get overwhelmed with choosing a proper retort because to me, it’s obvious why animals shouldn’t be treated like that...but I guess other people don’t see it...and I can’t tell them...because I get choked up.

I’m sorry, guys.