Everyone is talking about the podcaster’s actions which, yes, went above and beyond. But the teen who called in is the hero at the core of the story. In familial cases of sex abuse, reporting can get extremely tricky; you don’t know if your siblings will be placed together or if they’ll support your decision. Overcoming so much fear and confusion enough to disclose like that is incredible, and I hope he’s getting wrap-around services.

Have you missed what’s currently happening to history curriculums? School systems are wholesale whitewashing history - literally. If you’re truly asking with good intentions, here is an article that explains the history behind the month.

Haha it’s the Colorado River - that’s what formed the canyon in the first place.

What do you think is at the bottom of the Grand Canyon??

It really did, I reread that line a few times. It seems banal because you know at that point, but it’s really sad and gorgeous.

If you’re in the US, I’d recommend calling your state’s Humane Society, as most have a law enforcement arm for investigating animal abuse. Thank you for caring, and also remember your safety is important as well - if your neighbor has already threatened you, don’t completely ignore your own safety while navigating this.

I can’t be sure what OC meant, but I don’t know that they were saying no breeder loves their animals. My reason for thinking most breeding is unethical, for example, is the massive amount of dogs who need homes who are instead euthanized (390,000 dogs are euthanized each year in the US).

Context is important, for sure, and you have a life experience that is different from my own. I think what comes in here is a fundamental disconnect between the realities of mass scale animal agriculture and subsistence farming or hunting. Most vegans grew up thinking of animals as food, and cultural differences and traditions are really important to acknowledge and respect. And yet, again, if and when we have the privilege to be able to choose, we have the ability to choose something different. People will do a lot of things to avoid feeling guilt, and even though I don’t believe you would need to feel guilt for eating animals to survive, actively avoiding engaging with the reality of a situation to avoid uncomfortable feelings is Big Ag’s sweet spot. They will do pretty much anything to get people to avoid feeling guilty. Like I said, I cannot pretend my choices cause no harm (I drive a car, have an Amazon prime membership, etc). I know that in those instances I am prioritizing my convenience over the greater good. I feel guilt about that. Veganism is just a no-brainer for me, because the violence is on such a giant scale and I have the ability to opt out as much as I can. You get to make whatever choices make sense for you.

I’m not seeing a point here. You are welcome to do mental gymnastics however you want, but this isn’t a philosophical exercise, it’s just a day to day choice. It’s wild to me how complicated people will make their arguments rather than just saying, “I know there is mass-scale suffering that animals are experiencing, I know I could make different choices, and I don’t want to because I value my [convenience, tradition, comfort, taste buds, etc] above this.”

I think (?) I see where you’re trying to go, but no. It’s about privilege, not pity, and equity, not equality. In my value system, I try to minimize the amount of harm I cause, and try to mitigate harm where I encounter it - that is what makes moral sense to me. It is impossible to live in our world and not cause harm, and I am nowhere near perfect, nor even cutting out everything in my life I could to get closer. To me, a non-negotiable is veganism, because it’s wholly possible. We do not gain “freedom” by causing harm, which is what mass-scale animal agriculture is, full stop. It is not necessary for us to survive, and no, I don’t believe anyone is entitled to the lives and autonomy of other sentient beings under the guise of “comfort”. The abject torture that is all most animals in feedlots and factories will ever know is not okay, and not excusable.

To your last point, we are animals, and have a survival instinct. I will not judge anyone doing what they can to keep themselves and their family alive, because it would be a nonsensical expectation. I think I’m maybe in the middle ground of vegans in that I view things from a harm reduction lens and view things on a spectrum - so with my current privileges I would never subsistence hunt or buy eggs from my neighbor, but these things do cause less overall pain and suffering than buying a Big Mac and do think there’s a moral difference between those and engaging in the standard American diet when you have and are aware of the many other options.

Your argument sucks because it’s not even what’s being talked about here, which is meat consumption in industrialized countries that subsist on factory farms. There are absolutely vegan assholes who will shame folks with legitimately no other options for not being vegan, and most of us really hate them because they make us look like ignorant dicks. The majority of people in industrialized countries not living in food deserts have options.