If you’re a connectionist, you know Dr. Will Tuttle. Perhaps you’ve read The World Peace Diet or one of his many connectionist articles, like this one. In all cases, Dr. Tuttle knows how to connect the dots.
In the above-referenced article, The Five Universal Taboos and Animal Use, Dr. Tuttle proposes 5 universal taboos that humans do not tolerate against each other:
- Physically harming or killing others.
- Stealing from others.
- Harming others through sexual misconduct.
- Deceiving others.
- Forcing others to ingest drugs, alcohol, or toxic substances.
We work very hard to ensure that humans enjoy freedom from the above. In fact, we employ people to work against them and we write those freedoms into documents like The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Why, then, as Dr. Tuttle points out, do we condone, encourage, and sometimes celebrate these atrocities against non-human animals? He writes:
The ironic, devastating, and indisputable fact, though, is that we engage in all five of these universal taboos relentlessly and flagrantly when it comes to animals we want to exploit for food, clothing, and other purposes.
What does this say about us as humans? What does this say about our efforts for social justice. Indeed:
How can we as a society expect that our efforts for social justice for ourselves can be realized while we are acting so heartlessly, unfairly, and violently toward those whose vulnerable lives we hold in our hands? How can we respect each other’s interests, when we don’t respect the interests of billions of animals (and other humans), knowing that their interests are as important to them as our interests are to us?
This is the purpose of Connect the Dots. We ask how we will ever end violence against humans if we continue to support and condone violence against other animals and the environment. We believe that there is a solution – work towards the well-being of ALL. Dr. Tuttle proposes starting with what is on our plates. We add attending to what is in our hearts, our minds, our environments, and our communities. We can ensure a peaceful and just world for all, if only we connect the dots.
Categories: Connectionist Perspectives
I agree completely, and do live my life in a fairly non-exploitive way–but most people see me as extreme and I have few friends. I won’t change my lifestyle to accommodate them. I guess they fell uncomfortable around me. My big wish is that I could find a community of people who were vegans, environmentalists, and eco-feminists. So far, no luck.
Oops, spelled my name wrong in first post.