Racism can be defined as “[t]he belief that race accounts for differences in human character or ability and that a particular race is superior to others.” Sexism can be defined as “[d]iscrimination based on gender, especially discrimination against women” and heterosexism can be defined as “a prejudiced attitude or discriminatory practices against homosexuals by heterosexuals.”
Racism, sexism and heterosexism—these are the discriminatory tools of the trade when it comes to debasing others so that injustices can be perpetrated against them and yet still be morally excepted by the masses.
Sadly, there are still many people out there that thoughtlessly prejudge others based on the color of their skin, their gender and/or their sexual orientation. But thankfully the world for the most part is at least aware of the terms racism, sexism, and heterosexism and thus these horrible tools of the trade are little by little being dismantled.
This cannot be said for another form of discrimination which leads to the massive exploitation and ultimate extermination of billions upon billions of other individuals every year.
Speciesism can be defined as “discrimination in favor of one species, usually the human species, over another, esp. in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans” and for the most part remains hidden.
Speciesism is the discriminatory tool of choice used by the masses to enslave, torture and steal the lives away from other animals without even a shred of guilt by the majority of people who inhabit this planet.
We human animals, at best, are omnivores. This means we can thrive without ever consuming another animal’s flesh and/or secretions. This, of course, also means that what we do to other animals is unnecessary for our survival. What this boils down to is that we commit horrific crimes against fellow beings mainly because “they taste good” and “it’s just too difficult” to change the way we see them.
Ethical vegans, those of us who have awoken to the fact that there are other animals out there that have similar feelings and desires, strive to cause as little harm as possible to all animals—not just the human variety. That is, we are simply expanding the moral community to include all animals rather than just the human animal and thus treat them like we would like to be treated which most certainly doesn’t include being enslaved, tortured and murdered.
Ethical vegans who prescribe to Professor Francione’s Abolitionist Approach to Animal Rights strive to awaken the world to the discriminatory tool of speciesism and how it is used to reduce other animal’s status to that of property so that they can be exploited beyond one’s wildest imagination. That is, we are working towards the day when all animals, not just humans, have legal protection against being debased to the status of property and thrust into a life and death of forced servitude.
Think, then Go Vegan!