My previous post on Google+ contained the video "If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls". Below is a link to that post, and below that is a link straight to the YouTube video.
My Post: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100881434227795038077/posts/a3uEEBomwDE
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2UMp9fsAJo
The post outdid all of my expectations and became by far my most viewed post on Google+ up to this point. I am extremely happy about that, because it is a post about the most important issue for me, which is animal rights. Below are some statistics as of the time I am posting this on August 22nd.
+1s: 1178
Reshares: 304
I sincerely thank everyone who +1ed and/or shared my post! It really shows the power of a post. I am sure that on top of those who +1ed it, there were other people who saw it and didn't do anything, either because they didn't like the idea of showing that they "liked" such a violent video, or for other reasons. Of course, a +1 doesn't mean that you like everything that happens in a video...only that you think it is important...but still. With the high number of people who engaged, I feel that at least someone might have been changed. Sure, lots of people who are already vegetarians might reshare it (and that's great), but I'm sure that some non-vegetarians also supported the message, and they might rethink their eating habits. If only one tenth of one percent (that is, 1/1000th) of all the people who +1ed the video changed their eating habits and became a vegetarian because of this, then I might very well have helped to change one person. And that one person's change could save the lives of thousands of animals in his/her lifetime.
I definitely feel that posting about important things does something. I might never hear from someone whom I helped to change, but I care much more the positive end results than I care about any recognition for helping to bring about those results. So as long as I am having a positive impact in this world, that is the most important thing to me. Indeed, I am often just the middleman. People like Paul McCartney and many others do much more than I do. With my post, my main job was just to bring the work of others into the lives of those who might never have otherwise seen it.
Now, let's get to the trolls. Nearly every popular post will bring in trolls, and my most recent post was no exception. I also feel that vegetarianism probably brings in not only the greatest percentage of trolls, but also the most vitriolic trolls in all of the internet. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the comments section of that post. The reason for the vitriol is that people don't like to be morally judged, and when they are, they lash out. The comforting finding is that so many critics' comments were so completely devoid of any logic or reasoning. Angry meat eaters often act like Creationists, but just less mature versions of Creationists (if that's possible). Off the top of my head, here are a couple things that they might say:
"Mmm bacon!" (The most cliche one of all.)
"This video is making me hungry."
At the bottom of this is not only a hatred of animals, but also a hatred of people who care about animals. The desire of the troll is to make caring people unhappy. That is it. There is no real argument or anything. I believe that this desire stems from two facts. One is that these people are psychopaths. The Wikipedia article on "psychopath" states that it "is traditionally defined as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior." "Psychopathy Today" lists various traits which are common to psychopaths, including among them: uncaring, shallow emotions, overconfidence, selfishness, and violence. (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mindmelding/201301/what-is-psychopath-0)
Some of these people might have taught themselves to be uncaring because they feel that not caring is safer than caring. Certainly, this is the coward's way out, but they are not aware of that. They don't realize that the strong have emotions and they face those emotions, instead of running away from them. This is true of some people, but others are true psychopaths.
Other people are not trolls, but have flawed arguments. Some examples are "That only happens in America!" and "That doesn't happen in America!" (Yes, I saw both types of comments.) Also, there are those with experience in the industry, some of whom say things like "I never did that on my farm." These are the most cogent argumentative comments, but they are also flawed, because the point is not that every single slaughterhouse and farm participates in these exact practices, but rather that these practices are happening, and billions of animals are being killed in horrible ways every single year (although billions of other animals might be killed in less horrible ways). If slaughterhouses were really "humane" (whatever that means), then they would not be currently lobbying governments to make whistle-blowing illegal, which is what they have been doing and are still doing right now. And if the government were so against this kind of treatment of animals, I would like to see a person in one of these videos identified and then I would like to be given proof that this person was arrested and is currently serving time in prison. But I very much doubt that I will ever be given that, because basically, slaughterhouses get a pass, and the only time there is ever a crackdown is when a video of abuse goes viral and decent people speak out in great numbers. Then, the government is pressured to do something (like giving the offending company a small fine). Otherwise, slaughterhouses have carte blanche to do as they want, and the government is giving them even more power by making it illegal to take videos of abuse. So the abuse is not illegal, but the investigative journalism about it is illegal. With that in mind, it is hard for a comment saying, "I never killed them like that." to have much weight.
Getting back to the main message of this post, I have to say that I am extremely happy that so many people have been exposed to the violent treatment of animals in slaughterhouses, and I urge all of those who care to continue to post on the subject. We will not persuade everyone, but if we keep at it, we will eventually persuade someone, and just think of all the good that can come from even one person turning his/her life around and becoming a vegetarian. Think of all the lives that will save. Thank you for reading!
My Post: https://plus.google.com/u/0/100881434227795038077/posts/a3uEEBomwDE
YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2UMp9fsAJo
The post outdid all of my expectations and became by far my most viewed post on Google+ up to this point. I am extremely happy about that, because it is a post about the most important issue for me, which is animal rights. Below are some statistics as of the time I am posting this on August 22nd.
+1s: 1178
Reshares: 304
I sincerely thank everyone who +1ed and/or shared my post! It really shows the power of a post. I am sure that on top of those who +1ed it, there were other people who saw it and didn't do anything, either because they didn't like the idea of showing that they "liked" such a violent video, or for other reasons. Of course, a +1 doesn't mean that you like everything that happens in a video...only that you think it is important...but still. With the high number of people who engaged, I feel that at least someone might have been changed. Sure, lots of people who are already vegetarians might reshare it (and that's great), but I'm sure that some non-vegetarians also supported the message, and they might rethink their eating habits. If only one tenth of one percent (that is, 1/1000th) of all the people who +1ed the video changed their eating habits and became a vegetarian because of this, then I might very well have helped to change one person. And that one person's change could save the lives of thousands of animals in his/her lifetime.
I definitely feel that posting about important things does something. I might never hear from someone whom I helped to change, but I care much more the positive end results than I care about any recognition for helping to bring about those results. So as long as I am having a positive impact in this world, that is the most important thing to me. Indeed, I am often just the middleman. People like Paul McCartney and many others do much more than I do. With my post, my main job was just to bring the work of others into the lives of those who might never have otherwise seen it.
Now, let's get to the trolls. Nearly every popular post will bring in trolls, and my most recent post was no exception. I also feel that vegetarianism probably brings in not only the greatest percentage of trolls, but also the most vitriolic trolls in all of the internet. If you don't believe me, just take a look at the comments section of that post. The reason for the vitriol is that people don't like to be morally judged, and when they are, they lash out. The comforting finding is that so many critics' comments were so completely devoid of any logic or reasoning. Angry meat eaters often act like Creationists, but just less mature versions of Creationists (if that's possible). Off the top of my head, here are a couple things that they might say:
"Mmm bacon!" (The most cliche one of all.)
"This video is making me hungry."
At the bottom of this is not only a hatred of animals, but also a hatred of people who care about animals. The desire of the troll is to make caring people unhappy. That is it. There is no real argument or anything. I believe that this desire stems from two facts. One is that these people are psychopaths. The Wikipedia article on "psychopath" states that it "is traditionally defined as a personality disorder characterized by enduring antisocial behavior, diminished empathy and remorse, and disinhibited or bold behavior." "Psychopathy Today" lists various traits which are common to psychopaths, including among them: uncaring, shallow emotions, overconfidence, selfishness, and violence. (http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mindmelding/201301/what-is-psychopath-0)
Some of these people might have taught themselves to be uncaring because they feel that not caring is safer than caring. Certainly, this is the coward's way out, but they are not aware of that. They don't realize that the strong have emotions and they face those emotions, instead of running away from them. This is true of some people, but others are true psychopaths.
Other people are not trolls, but have flawed arguments. Some examples are "That only happens in America!" and "That doesn't happen in America!" (Yes, I saw both types of comments.) Also, there are those with experience in the industry, some of whom say things like "I never did that on my farm." These are the most cogent argumentative comments, but they are also flawed, because the point is not that every single slaughterhouse and farm participates in these exact practices, but rather that these practices are happening, and billions of animals are being killed in horrible ways every single year (although billions of other animals might be killed in less horrible ways). If slaughterhouses were really "humane" (whatever that means), then they would not be currently lobbying governments to make whistle-blowing illegal, which is what they have been doing and are still doing right now. And if the government were so against this kind of treatment of animals, I would like to see a person in one of these videos identified and then I would like to be given proof that this person was arrested and is currently serving time in prison. But I very much doubt that I will ever be given that, because basically, slaughterhouses get a pass, and the only time there is ever a crackdown is when a video of abuse goes viral and decent people speak out in great numbers. Then, the government is pressured to do something (like giving the offending company a small fine). Otherwise, slaughterhouses have carte blanche to do as they want, and the government is giving them even more power by making it illegal to take videos of abuse. So the abuse is not illegal, but the investigative journalism about it is illegal. With that in mind, it is hard for a comment saying, "I never killed them like that." to have much weight.
Getting back to the main message of this post, I have to say that I am extremely happy that so many people have been exposed to the violent treatment of animals in slaughterhouses, and I urge all of those who care to continue to post on the subject. We will not persuade everyone, but if we keep at it, we will eventually persuade someone, and just think of all the good that can come from even one person turning his/her life around and becoming a vegetarian. Think of all the lives that will save. Thank you for reading!
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