How do you all cope with animal cruelty?

I'm now going on my 12 month anniversary of Veganism, and been Vegetarian a few years prior to that. My advice to you is to stop looking at photos/videos of animal cruelty and reading up on it.

The fact of the matter is you are there, you have already made the switch to Veganism. You have done the reading/watched the documentaries/realised the cruelty and understood the need to change your lifestyle. So stop torturing yourself with constantly watching this stuff.

I understand the impulse. When you first go Vegan, you want to watch every doco, read every bit of literature on the subject and constantly talk about it to everyone. But for me personally this approach led me to getting very depressed, withdrawn and angry with the rest of society (quite openly too).

I still find that I am a lot more misanthropic about society than I was before Veganism (and this is not just because of animal cruelty but a lot of other factors) but I also realise that me being a negative misanthrope around other people (a misanthrope is a person who generally dislikes other humans) is not a great advertisement for Veganism.

This obviously doesn't mean that you shouldn't get involved with the movement or talk about it when the opportunity arises but don't constantly put yourself through the heartache of watching and reading about the endless cruelty as this will get you real depressed, real quickly, and that will make you a less effective voice for animals into the future.

Also take solace from the fact that there is light at the end of this long dark tunnel and there are people that are working towards changing the way we think about animals.

You are not alone.
I would like to hear other people's replies because I have been struggling with this myself lately.
(Thanks Showbags, I just saw your response after I finished writing this.)

I have been vegan for just over a year now. At first it was a really positive thing - I felt a great sense of relief that I was finally living in harmony with my values, and I felt empowered by the thought that my decisions could really make a difference and contribute to a kinder world.
But things have really started to get me down.

I have been overwhelmed by the negative response from others - not only the indifference about important issues, but the strong opposition, despite my best efforts to be diplomatic and not scream 'meat is murder' from the rooftops. I have felt increasingly oppressed and ostracised in a society desensitised to cruelty, and it's so hard when my only aim is to minimise harm and protect the planet.
People compare vegans to a religious cult, who are always preaching and trying to convert people to their way of life. The difference is, veganism is not a belief system that deals with anything supernatural/unproven or up for debate. We are talking about real living creatures on this earth, real suffering, real environmental damage, real health effects, and real people starving to death in other countries because of our inefficient food choices. It is not a matter of opinion or belief - these things are happening right now, and our personal decisions do affect others. One vegan can't make a significant difference, but many vegans can. I feel it is necessary to spread the word if we ever want to see real change. But it takes so much willpower to remain calm and project veganism in the best possible light, and be patient with people who need more time, when the damage is imminent. Millions of animals are being tortured as we speak, and leading water scientists have said that we will literally run out of water if the whole world doesn't switch to a near vegetarian diet within 40 years.
( http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2012/aug/26/food-shortages-world-vegetarianism )
It's not about respecting each other's differences of opinion, it's a matter of life or death for every person and animal on the planet.

I have witnessed so much cruelty and disregard for animals and the environment since I started to pay attention, and the social and legal defence of these actions always seems to be much louder than the opposition. I like to keep informed about current issues, but it's difficult to read/watch anything without becoming depressed by the influx of ignorant and aggressive comments made against activists. Tony Abbott's complete lack of compassion for all living creatures (human and non-human alike) has sent Australia backwards in terms of cruelty, and has seen him recently apologise to Indonesia for the suspension of live export, describing the unspeakable abuse that caused Australia to take action as 'panic over a TV program.'
I feel so disillusioned by all this and have been feeling very small and helpless.

Sorry for the rant. Obviously I'm not the best person to be giving advice since I'm not dealing with it very well myself, but I have recently been thinking about how I can improve my mental state, and this is what I've come up with:

Firstly, if you haven't seen it, watch Melanie Joy's presentation 'Carnism: The Psychology of Eating Meat.'
It helped me to understand why most people don't seem to care about the animals they eat, and her website has some good ideas about how to approach activism:
http://www.carnism.org/carnism-presentation-video

Secondly, (it sounds like you have been thinking along the same lines,) I have decided to do an internet detox. I will take a break from reading articles and participating in online forums, and will deactivate my facebook for a while. I am going on holiday soon, so that's when I'll be pulling the plug. When I feel I'm ready to face the world again, I think I will need to make a rule about not reading the comments. It's hard because I like to get a balanced opinion and try to gauge whether an article is biased, and often comments contain links to other good sources. But the number of rude/defensive comments usually outweighs the helpful ones, so I think this is something I just need to stop exposing myself to.

Thirdly, I have started reading a book called 'Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others' by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky.
It was recommended by Melanie Joy's Carnism Awareness & Action Network, who said this:

"We receive so many emails from people who openly admit and display signs of Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS), sometimes referred to as “compassion fatigue”. STS is common in those who witness violence toward others. STS is virtually ubiquitous among vegans, who both witness the violence of animal agriculture and contend with the denial or disregarding of such violence by the dominant culture. STS, when unrecognized and untreated, can lead to depression, despair, and ultimately burnout. With understanding, however, vegans can prevent and treat STS to cultivate more empowered and sustainable lives, as individuals and advocates.

We highly recommend Trauma Stewardship, by Laura van Dernoot Lipsky, for anyone seeking to live more peacefully and mindfully as they work toward creating a better world."

And lastly, I recently came across a facebook page called 'The Vegan Psychologist' who does online meetings via Skype no matter where you are in the world. I am definitely considering getting in touch.
This is what the description says:

Hello everyone,

Although I have a university degree in clinical psychology, I want to point out that I DON’T PERFORM ANY KIND OF PSYCHOTHERAPY, because I argue that psychotherapies in general fail to understand the affliction of the human animal and these practices end up perpetuating symptoms, distress, and more.

Most psychotherapeutic practices -including the so-called "alternative therapies"- are usually focused on adapting people to certain patterns -preset by families, traditions, governments, therapists, doctors, priests, gurus, etc.- and they are intended to approximate people to a supposed state of "normality". When someone comes off of the preset patterns, it is often felt by others as "upsetting for their tranquility". Psychotherapies usually make people "work better", but they do it within the same structure of hypocrisy, lies, utilitarianism, exploitation and injustice that sickens most people. In my view, this is evident in psychotherapy with children, which commonly operates on the assumption that what should be "repaired" is in the child, not in the parents. Children are "subjected to reparation", when those who should analyze their lives are the adults.

Psychodiagnostics, psychotherapies and psychopharmacological medication are in most cases inoperative and useless practices -even harmful in many cases-, but they are currently a huge business with a growing demand. We can see that these practices are very popular; this is because they give to people what people want: A false and quick relief without having to think too much. Although some "improvements" can be achieved, these practices make people unable to understand their ailment, therefore one way or another people will continue undergoing or otherwise harming others.


My approach has nothing to do with "fixing", "repairing" or "normalizing" anyone, because there is no reference of normality that is valid beyond the arbitrariness and convenience dictated by those who have authority in a particular place and time. This is why I do not perform psychodiagnostic assessments, neither do I focus on curing “mental disorders”. My approach is neither based on mystical, religious or spiritual beliefs.

Psychological symptoms -even many physical symptoms- and other issues and situations that cause distress or affliction can certainly change when people start talking, thinking and finding new paths and new effects of signification. This depends only on the constancy and interest that a person has in following a good analytical approach.

Within my practice, I help and encourage people to speak, think, listen, analyze and question everything; because that’s the smartest way to work things out. Holding a space for one to think is the right decision. From there on, things will begin to change and improve for the one who took the analytical choice.


Work dynamic:
Online meetings via Skype videocall once a week, or else at least once every fortnight. Each meeting lasts around 60 minutes.

My policy is to charge an affordable and fair price according to the place where the interested person lives/works. I charge less to students, unemployed and low income people (10 euros per meeting, or its equivalent in local currency); I'm flexible with the particular situation of each person. Payment is made after the service, not before. Vegan ethics and guaranteed confidentiality. Non-vegan people (who sympathize with veganism) are also welcome.

Read more about my affordable price policy here: https://www.facebook.com/veganpsychologist/posts/495400873883862

If you are interested and want to know more details about my practice and approach, send me a contact request to www.facebook.com/psicovegan then send me a message so we can schedule an online meeting via Skype. I’ll give you all the information about my degree and my professional license. FIRST MEETING IS FREE OF CHARGE.


The Vegan Psychologist
https://www.facebook.com/veganpsychologist

Yeah that peeves me off the most when people start comparing being Vegan to being religious. There is a huge difference as you said.

I've been doing a lot of thinking into the idea of "Carnism" and why this thought process is so prevalent. I feel that it is just systemic of the overall selfish capitalist economic system that we have in place atm.

What is pure unfiltered Capitalism? It is the never ending pursuit of profit regardless of social cost. I'm just starting out studying economics at Uni. We have a political, economic and financial system that is slanted towards big business and a dog eat dog mentality.

That is why we have these things called factory farms. It is the businesses themselves looking to lower costs during the production process (and therefore increase profits) that is the reason for the horrific conditions. A caring, thoughtful society would never allow these concentration camps to exist but in a capitalist (for profit) society all they care about is the bottom line.

I recently watched a doco that showed me how deceitful and counter productive our financial/banking system is. This system helps create the feelings of selfishness and scarcity in society and makes people focus more on there own interests than interests that aren't their own. For anyone interested (there is a 2 & 3 somewhere as well):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqvKjsIxT_8

People are taught from a young age not to question the norm, not to ask the really deep questions, not to question anything that might be unfair or unjust. Because if we did then we might get in the way of someone trying to make profit which is a big no no in today's society (look at Tony Abbott already only giving a shit about how much profit the live export makes rather than the welfare of the animals).

This thought process continues with the way animals are treated. The amount of times I have heard in defence of carnism "But what about the farmers who are trying to make a living" or "But I like the taste of meat". These are the responses people have been conditioned to provide when challenged on the subject.

IMO until we change the overall thought process of society and change the economic system from one where income inequality is always rising, we won't make a dent in animal cruelty. If I was Animals Australia or any other animal rights movement I would be spending a large amount of time in schools and lobbying to have animal rights issues taught in schools (I know this may be difficult due to the stranglehold the meat, dairy and egg industries have but we have to try). We need to try and reach the kids that have not been indoctrinated yet and still have the ability to feel empathy and compassion for their fellow man and the animal kingdom.

This article may interest you:
http://www.abc.net.au/environment/articles/2010/04/12/2870334.htm

I have been working towards freeing myself from dependence on money for the last year or so, living in a van at free campgrounds with off-the-grid solar power, and making very few purchases outside of food.
It's very liberating, and I hope more people start to move away from money and get back in touch with the impact they have on the world around them.

Another documentary of interest (although it may be a bit too out there / conspiracy theory-ish for some people) is called Thrive, and is available to watch for free online:
http://www.thrivemovement.com/the_movie

Interesting article. Sounds like a great man. That is something I've thought about doing myself.

And I have seen Thrive before and agree with a lot of it. Though he got fractional reserve lending wrong, banks don't lend debtors money from the money they gain from depositors (called the money multiplier) they actually create money themselves through an accounting trick. When someone (be it government, business or an individual) goes to loan money from the bank, the bank just makes the money up out of thin air, and then they have the gall to charge interest on this money they created out of nothing. In that "Money is Debt" documentary I posted it shows how this system works. There is actually more debt in the world right now than there is money to pay it back. That shows how hopeless the situation is under the current system.

Almost every economic crisis of the last 100 years has been manufactured by these bankers (the Morgans/Rothschilds/Rockefellers etc) who create and lend everyone huge amounts of money (often to people they know can't pay it back), then at a chosen period of time they stop lending money and raise interest rates (which makes people start defaulting on their loans and the economy to crash). They then buy up stocks, smaller banks, assets for virtually nothing and further tighten their control over everything.

And if you think Australia is different then think again. The big American and European banks have huge shareholdings in all the major banks and corporations here in Australia as well.

These elitists create and finance wars to create profit (Iraq and Afghanistan etc), they subdue new technology/thought/knowledge/resources to ensure people continue to consume the products they have monopolies on, they subdue the mass media and try to dumb down the public through the education and media avenues, they make us sick through the foods we consume, then they profit from the pharmaceutical companies who are supposed to make people better again.

The JP Morgans and John D Rockefellers of the world and the people that have continued their agenda since their deaths are very evil men (and women). These people are so rich that it can't be more money that motivates them but control of everyone else can be their only reason for doing what they do.

And factory farms and carnistic thought is just a part of this overall system. Until the population actually wake up and stop watching their reality shows and music videos and start asking the real questions then nothing will change. People had the right idea with the Occupy Wallstreet movement but they have to realise who they are protesting against and become educated before they can actually make a difference.

That article was really interesting. I wish more people cared about water usage and other things.

If depopulation really is on the Bilderberg agenda, they would certainly have the capacity to do so through our money, food, healthcare system, etc. But I guess ultimately, it is still about power. (I think a smaller population would be beneficial for many reasons, but I imagine they're not the reasons motivating such people.)
Thanks for the link, I'll watch that video sometime soon.
Sorry for getting off topic.

Thanks for all your replies friends xxxxx I am so glad there are people like you guys in this cruel world... I am very different to everyone else in my family friend circle... Xxx I also help greyhounds too... If you know anyone that wants to adopt a greyhound and save a life... Check out www.egreyhound.com.au xxxx

Yeap, you are not alone - the world can totally bring us down. Having these support forums and groups is really good. It helps to keep us together and strong. Sometimes we don't even realise the world has brought as down. We can get angry for no real reason.

What you are doing is really amazing, and I am sure that your loved ones and friends will come around.