Journal

You’re kind of batshit with this whole animal advocacy stuff, it’s scary.

if you can give me a legitimate reason to enslave, torture, and kill other animals, i’d be happy to hear it. from my experience, they’re all individuals. they think and feel pain and do other things that human animals do. if this is batshit, i wonder how you would’ve felt about african slavery if you’d lived a couple of hundred years ago…

of all the people i kow, though, i wouldn’t have expected you to be an ass on a post about mishti possibly dying. find a relevant post next time to criticize abolition.

Sorry, you lost any sympathy generated in the first part of your post with the 1st sentence in the 3rd paragraph, and of course afterwards.

I’m not a vegetarian, but I have always tried to eat little meat, as you should know. I’m also an animal lover, and while you may point out that I may be a hypocrit for being both, your negativity towards humanity in general lately doesn’t make me care much.

Perhaps it isn’t fair for me to think you’ve changed when the only contact I have with you is in these blog posts or on facebook, but when hasn’t your mood been so explicitedly published on the web.

Sorry for the use of batshit, but when I see you claiming such loving devotion to your pets and such utter disgust for your own species right next to each other I can’t help but shake my head – because you don’t get it.

first, i can’t apologize for my anger towards people for breeding animals with life-threatening deformities. vegan or not, it’s not a random fluke. it’s purely a human thing to crank out animals for sale without regard to the health of those animals.

second, i get it. i’m not sure what your disconnect is, but i see humans as an oppressive and exploitive group (just as much as most people are oppressed and exploited). that’s not up for debate, but if you think it is, given me counter examples. where hasn’t an indigenous population been wiped out or reduced to practically nothing? why are people going hungry? why are people being fed shit food?

third, i won’t comment on whether you’re an animal lover or not. you don’t seem compelled to help enslaved animals, that’s all i know.

i have changed, that is true. for once in my life i’ve been able to connect the pieces that haven’t made sense to me, and this is one of the main outcomes. i have a sense of purpose.

that isn’t to say i’m not going to do anything to help humans as much as i can. because as much as i hate our species, i hate the idea of people suffering even more (as a result of their own species). being vegan is just the first step in not wanting to be part of an exploitative system.

that’s one side i don’t talk about much, but please don’t judge. you don’t have a right to. what are you doing? what have you done? what do you think? you’re not one to share your thoughts. can’t say that i’ve ever heard you express any interest towards helping people, either.

I’ve done more pro-bono work and work for friends, for good causes than you can imagine. Sorry I’m not at the local pet shop, adopting the puppies that are too old to sell, but I’ve had 3+ animals all my life, well cared, all strays. If you think a couple years of veganism and a couple store bought rats allows you to ascend some throne, you’re just wrong.

You know what your problem is? You’ve never been able to understand people that well, so your retreat to weirdo animal kingdom isn’t that much of a surprise.

Which is too bad, because with all your lost faith in humanity you might take a moment to realize that while many humans are exploitative creatures, animals can’t help themselves, and wonderful caring people are your greatest allies in helping support your passion. Instead, all I read from you is negative shit, which if you ask me, is exactly what you were known for in college.

chinchillas aren’t rats, so fuck you for that. i can’t believe you’re attacking my family now. and shirin wasn’t store bought. most of our babies are rescues. asshole.

you don’t think i understand people? and you do? you’ve got a fast wit and are good at socializing but you’ve never shared much as long as i’ve known you, not in any medium. excuse me for putting my thoughts out here so that you can cherry pick from wherever you are whenever you feel like you need to put me in my place. as long as people don’t really know you they can’t challenge you. don’t give me that ascension bullshit.

and as negative as i can be, i’m a nice person in reality and try to go out of my way for *people*. you’re the one that always seems to come off as an asshole in person. even online. in fact, you were pretty harsh in the things you had to say for some of our roommates in college. but as long as you’re not bashing our entire species you’re a better man, eh?

you can’t tell me you love animals while you eat them. you took care of three strays, so what? those strays are food for people in other countries. do you think dogs and cats should be eaten? do you support that instead of euthanizing them in america? god knows there are starving people in this country.

or will you not question your hypocrisy? or the logic behind the things you’ve grown up to believe?

i know a lot of caring people that have and will continue to help me in what i’m passionate about. i do have the ability to differentiate between individuals and a species, sorry that point is lost on you. maybe i should post every single time i see a homeless person and feel sad. then you’d have a clue. more than likely, you’d criticize me for that too.

you are free to stop reading about my thoughts, by the way. if our friendship ends because you’re internalizing my criticism of humans, so be it. you can write me off as negative and a hater of humanity, but i will devote more of my time in my life to help humans directly than you will, most likely. not just doing pro-bono work as a proxy to helping. i will go on wondering who the fuck ryan james ruel is and what i saw in him.

but if you walk away from this argument not questioning how the world works, and instead retreat to your cutesy/designy/hip life thinking your place in the world is solid and you can do no wrong, that you don’t have to sacrifice some selfish part of your life to make a positive change, i feel sorry for you.

I think Obama is doing a way better job than Bush.