Restricted To Happiness...

Such a busy day...I love the pressure of deadlines and intensity. It’s the trained journalist in me. I have so much to accomplish today but the sound of freedom is ringing sweetly in my ear so all the hard work is well worth it!

I’ve been thinking a lot in the past couple of days about the social politics of eating. For generations people have been gathering around food in joy, comfort and celebration. I understand that…completely, it just doesn’t do anything for me anymore personally. I constantly “did dinner” and lunch with my friends for years up until recently, but now that I’m only consuming organic WHOLE foods and not many restaurants (even ones that cater to vegans in my area) have organic (raw) vegan options...so I’ve decided to cater to my diet with my own two hands PROUDLY and NATURALLY. Why bother eating out…especially when I can whip up the safest and tastiest natural food right at home. Eating a nutritious raw diet enables me so many take along options that come in their own natural packages, making it easy to bring anywhere with me. I mean everyone likes being served…right? Though (I always consider) at what risk? I no longer feel comfortable eating out with such a high risk of contamination. It is just not worth it to me at this point. Every time there is an event people feel as if they have to cater to us, but we don’t care nor do we EVER expect that. Many think that EVERYONE in the world is focused on food, well…my life is sustained by food but my world doesn’t revolve around EATING IT. I have separated greed and hunger and I know that food is beneficial for health and being around friends and family is enjoyment enough. Don’t think we aren’t happy because you are eating a huge steak….and we aren’t. WE DON’T CARE. We don’t feel left out, we are vegans by CHOICE and we aren’t missing or losing out on anything! We see it exactly opposite! While you’re (the royal you) gorging yourself on animal parts and pesticides, we aren’t jealous…we are thinking of how lucky we are to be well informed enough to care for the one body that we are given while here on earth. We are thinking of our future and how healthy and non-toxic our bodies will be so we can spread the knowledge of health and cruelty free diets to our children… It’s no longer our issue at this point, it’s yours. I just wish that people could understand that we do this because we want to, we aren’t restricted. We feel that the SAD (Standard American Diet) is a hindrance and a restriction on life and what it could and should be…veganism is a gift we gave to ourselves. Honestly, I’ve never received something so amazing in my life.

We watched the Australian movie Rabbit Proof Fence on Sunday and it made us think of our time in Australia where we lived while I got my Masters Degree. It was a surreal and a great learning experience for us. Australia was the most beautiful land but there was such a lack of respect and representation of the Indigenous culture that were almost completely and strategically “wiped out”. These native people were considered Flora and Fauna (NOT PEOPLE) until the 1967 Flora and Fauna Act was passed. This movie was a true story of 3 little Indigenous girls that found their way home on an expansive voyage (they are referred to as half caste-meaning half Aboriginal and half white), after being stolen from their native land and family in the bush to be assimilated into the white Australian culture in hopes of eventually "breeding the black out of them". POPULATION CONTROL anyone!?! This was a very emotional film, I’ve studied a lot about Indigenous cultures and they’re portrayal in society and the media. It is something that I hold very close to my heart after living and experiencing racism first hand while living in Australia.



Reminiscent of what happened here…



Lucas came across this article (I don’t agree with the angel/spin of the article suggesting that sheep aren’t as important…but it’s the stats/facts that get me- http://www.eniar.org/news/health33.html) last night which correlates the racism/specism model. Animal and Human rights are one struggle. Disadvantaged people are treated poorly unless they serve as some kind of economic incentive (just like non-human animals), as you see in the article sheep serve the Australian economy so there was this concocted uproar about live export (but it’s def not for the sake of the sheep). Unfortunately, most of the Indigenous people do not serve as good and model consumers to provide an economic incentive so they are treated unfairly and are forced to live impoverished while others make money on land that their people have been on forever (there is much speculation that they’ve been there since beginning of time…as the ORIGINAL MAN). The similarities in the struggle are so similar that I couldn’t be morally consistent as a “black” person and inflict the same sort of injustices on other animals. If you believe in human rights you believe in animal rights…one struggle…one fight!





I'm off to IL tomorrow...I'll blog if/when I find the time until I'm back next Wednesday. Have a great week!!!