Hello my fellow animal lovers, animal rescuers, pet lovers, vegan, vegetarian friends. I come writing with another story that was hitting home to the cause that I would like to share. My beliefs and values deeply stem from my family and parents. As any parent does, you teach children to love, care, and be compassionate in this world along with every other aspect to make you ready and tough for this world. They like to pass on insight and lessons learned from their own and so you can achieve higher and become better.
As I draw many my morals and new realizations in this vegetarian/vegan lifestyle, I owe it to the story of my parents as I often share. Having gone through the Khmer Rouge and Killing Fields where so much family and friends disappeared from this world all for a senseless and destructive ideal. That life is very precious and to be lucky for what you have. Many things can be taken from you and to appreciate the little things. As I rant on and on, these ideals and its source hit me smack dab in the face the other day.
This past weekend, I was at my brothers house where my mother was staying. She had a rather unfortunate biking accident and broke her leg. She needed round the clock care which my brother and sis in law were greatly able to provide. My brother mentioned how he went to Costco and go frozen lobster for very cheap.
My mother excitedly stated that she would love some lobster! She absolutely loves lobster. But that she didn’t want frozen, she wanted live lobster since it tastes better. My brother and mom went back and forth on what to get her. My brother said he could easily get some live lobster for her to make her happy which was not a problem at all. My mom then explained that they kill it properly since she didn’t want to boil it alive. My brother stated you need to boil it alive. My mom called again that she didn’t want to kill it in such a harsh way and to let the butcher whatever you call them handle the killing at the store. But then realized they just chop its body and head in half which is also a cruel death. She went back and forth in a sad and semi-hysterical way to figure out and discuss the least painful way to kill this creature with a goal of not harming it at all.
Lets look at this conundrum here, you want a easy and painless way to die and eat it. But there really is no method for that. It brought me back to a TV episode where Gordon Ramsey was showing people how to kill a lobster on his show. And that the most human way was to chop it in half very quickly since it was humane. And now a new thing going around is boiling is too cruel. Guess what, ITS ALL CRUEL!! There isn’t really a good way to die. Death is death. Sure not boiling is less painful but can you honestly say body split in two is less gruesome. Can you say if a person was murdered by split in two versus boiling, you could lsay oh thank goodness, it was less painful.
My mom continued back and forth and ultimately just didn’t want to think about it and leave the decision up to my brother. Just do whatever you want she says. I don’t recall if my brother mentioned his next plan of action but that doesn’t matter. It was sort of a clash in my brain and need to raise argument. I spoke up ever so briefly that is all cruel. I didn’t want to throw my family into a whirlwind of arguments and left it at that.
In the end the woman who inspired and cemented my beliefs and values was having her own turmoil. It was an odd thought to know that my mother who can value life so much and understand it in a way that so few people in this world can understand. Watching people die left ad right but turn a blind eye as the sole determination in the life of a lobster. Whether she chooses to eat or not and then the method of execution. I felt sad for this lobster and that with these instilled values I have come to a different lifestyle and conclusion. That killing is not good in any form but that my mother and including humanity can turn a blind eye and continue as normal. That this was food and this was delicious. This was enough justification to kill. Even well knowing the process and outcome to get there, to brush it under a rug makes things and life easier. To not think about it is say its not happening. To not think is to get gratification for your taste buds. And to not think about it lets you go day to day and doing it over and over for every animal at every meal.
And thats why I pray to just sit and think about it. And if you think about it enough its not right. If you think about it enough, its too cruel. And if you think about it enough, you realize you should change.
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