I don’t generally comment on controversies within the vegan YouTube community
Though it would probably really help my view count…and when I do (which is now apparently)…it’s
incredibly late (which is probably why I suck at Twitter). But I suppose it’s time I tried
my hand at what YouTube seems to be built for: commentary on other peoples’ videos.
I feel so dirty.
Hi it’s Emily from Bite Size Vegan and welcome to another vegan nugget. So somewhat recently,
though in internet terms FOREVER ago both Freelee the Banana Girl and Gary Yourofsky
posted controversial videos that seemed to rather fluster people, to put it nicely.
There have been response videos and response response videos, accusations, name-calling,
unsubbing, and more. If you’re watching this video and have a more timely grasp of
current events in the vegan YouTube community- which doesn’t take much- then you’re familiar
with these videos. So I won’t rehash much. Basically, Freelee’s video says that perhaps
non-vegans who know the exact impact of their actions don't deserve to live,
and Gary says that he hates all humans.
Of course that’s an extreme distillation and paraphrasing which is never fair so if
you haven’t seen their videos in their entirety, please do so to understand the context.
What I want to talk about is what teachable moments we can pull from these videos and the
controversy surrounding them. Cause you know me…
...always the educational buzzkill.
Some of what I’ll say will be more for non-vegans and some more for vegans.
First off, I want to speak to something I find can be troublesome and dangerous, and that’s
hero worship. Now this is different from looking up to someone or thinking of them as a role
model, mentor or inspiration.
What I mean by hero worship is when we take community leaders, celebrities, or really
anyone and put them up on an inhuman pedestal. We believe everything they say without question
and see them as our leader and even more, our savior. Until the time they invariably
act human, as humans are want to do, and then we get pissed and we're horrified, we feel betrayed
and become disillusioned.
And honestly? That’s on us. It’s not fair to expect someone- anyone- to be everything
you need and want them to be all the time. And yes, public figures should be aware of
and cautious with the power they yield, but humans are humans.
So I won’t be blindly defending them or saying they can do no wrong because they can.
We all can. We’re human.
Second, as Gary himself has said, you don’t have to agree with him- or anyone- 100% of
the time to still agree with the message. If they say something that rubs you the wrong
way, it doesn’t automatically invalidate the message they stand for. And it certainly
doesn’t mean that animals are any less oppressed or dying any less by our hand.
Now, if someone goes from hardcore animal advocacy to saying it’s okay to eat animals
in select circumstances, then that’s another matter.
Now, what about what was said itself. Do non-vegans deserve to die? Should we hate all humans?
Well first off, if you listen, Freelee for one isn’t saying all non-vegans, but rather
those who know exactly and intimately what is happening to the animals of this world
and yet choose, even with this knowledge, to continue to pay others to enslave, rape,
torture and murder them on their behalf, and Gary is expressing his utter disdain for humanity due to these actions.
Stay with me, if you will, for an analogy that may seem absurd. I want to try to put
you in their shoes, if I can be so presumptuous. Not in hopes that you’ll agree with them, but
rather in hopes you may understand where their coming from: If someone knew that pushing
a button would cause a person in another room to suffer repeated rapings, or be skinned
alive, or have their throat slit, and decided to push that button anyway, we would be horrified and outraged.
These are the horrors of what’s happening to animals in numbers beyond we can even comprehend,
every second of every day all over the world. And it’s not the big evil corporations’
fault, so don’t demonize them, though they are not totally blameless. But really,
they're only providing the products we demand. We are the killers by proxy. If we eat meat,
dairy, eggs and honey, or wear leather, wool or silk, we are paying people to rape, to
kill, skin, maim, enslave, torture, and boil alive living being on our behalf.
And you may think “they’re only animals” and it’s extreme to use such human terminology.
But rape is forceful penetration without consent. Murder is the forceful and violent taking
of life. These atrocities aren’t exclusive to humans and we only want to make them so
in order to further distance ourselves from what we are doing. Call it pork, not pig flesh.
Call it leather, not cow skin.
I’m reminded of a chilling quote by Jewish philosopher Theodor W. Adorno who himself
fled from Nazi Germany, he says: “Auschwitz begins wherever someone looks at a slaughterhouse
and thinks: they’re only animals.”
So whether you think that’s an extreme view or not, or agree with their ultimate conclusions
or their deliveries or not, that is- at least where I believe- Freelee and Gary are coming from.
And imagine, if you will, that you were witness to trillions of human murders, injustices
and horrors beyond description. In all honesty, what would you say?
Gary’s been in the trenches fighting for the animals for years. He’s lived in the
thick of it, aware every moment of every day the lives that are being lost. Felt the pain
and terror of those he was attempting to defend and faced apathy, aggression, and outright
mockery from their tormentors.
Now I’ll say that from personal experience, if you stay acutely aware of what the animals
are going through and the mind-boggling enormity of our destruction not only in their lives
but to the planet. And the utter disregard of the vast majority of this world’s population-
if your’e aware of that intensely enough and for long enough, it will drive you into
rage, fury, desperation, sadness and utter heartbreak. And you will either do something
about it or choose to go numb again.
And Gary and Freelee have chosen. You may not like it. You may not agree with it. Hell,
I don’t agree with Freelee or even Gary all of the time.
Now I purposefully take a different approach in my activism. Using primarily educational,
fact-based information presented in an approachable way is how I feel I can best convey the vegan
message to the largest amount of people. I may have learned to hold back my swears and
couch things differently, but I do not pull my punches and I will never compromise when
it comes to the animals. I will speak out against any exploitation or abuse without
question and without hesitation.
What I won’t do is spend time criticizing and tearing down other activists. If I don’t
agree with them or like the way they said something, guess what? I can approach that
topic myself in a different way. We waste SO much time and energy nitpicking each other
and tearing each other down. And where, exactly, does that get the animals?
Now vegans, we can sit here and debate all day as to what is the most effective form
of activism- what is helping the movement and what is hurting it. Well I’ll tell you
one sure thing. Action helps. Inaction does not.
And nitpicking, name-calling, and tearing each other down is a form of inaction.
It's not productive and is sure as hell doesn’t help the dairy cow whose child was just taken
from her. It doesn’t help the male chick on the conveyer belt about to be tossed alive
into a grinder. It doesn’t help the sheep slowly dying from an infected wound from careless shearing.
And it doesn’t help the pig strung up over an electrified bath.
They don’t care who you’re subscribed to or when you hit the thumbs down button.
Let’s please focus on what- no, on WHO matters.
Don’t take your offenses out on the animals. If your’e non-vegan, please take a moment
to look into what these supposed lunatics are talking about, even if their delivery
was disagreeable. 99% of the time, when we humans get upset or offended it’s because
what was said hits something within ourselves that we are insecure, uncertain, or ignorant about.
Most people know something is wrong with how we get our food. It’s no secret why we don’t
visit slaughterhouses. So even if the way the message was said to you was upsetting,
search around and you’re bound to find some vegan out there who speaks in a way that works
for you. Vegans are just as diverse as non-vegans. Please don’t give up the message for the
messenger. They have awoken within you something incredibly important.
For my vegans, take the energy you’d spend writing a hateful comment or gossiping online
and make a video calling out the horrors of dairy or exposing the horrific life of laying hens.
Or going into the schools to speak about the truth of what animals are going through.
Or go volunteer at a farm sanctuary. If you think Freelee’s or Gary’s, or my activism, or anyone’s
is ineffective or damaging, then go do your own form of activism with everything
you’ve got. That is how we make change. Not by petty infighting, gossiping and hate.
That’s an insult to the animals in the highest degree and they deserve more from us. From all of us.
So do I personally always think what Freelee or Gary, or any activist out there says and
how they say it is ideal or exactly what I would say? Of course not. Because I know that
they're human and I’m human, and we’re not carbon copies of one another who always agree
on everything just because we’re vegan. Far from it. But what we do and, I hope will
always agree on is that the animals are the top priority. And I will fight to the death
for them, and for the rights of their defenders to defend them. Because I think the animals
would prefer freedom by any means.
Now I’d love to hear your thoughts on this in the comments.
If you liked hearing me weigh in on
some controversy, though late it may be, and most likely, will remain a rare occurrence,
give the video a thumbs up and share it around to spark understanding and action.
If you're new here, do hit that big red subscribe button down there for more awesome vegan content
every Monday, Wednesday, and some Fridays. If you want to help support Bite Size Vegan,
check out either of the support links in the video description below or click the Nugget
Army icon there, or the link in the icard sidebar.
Now go live vegan, take action in your own form, and I’ll see you soon.
Excuse me, sir?
Yes, I wanted to get your opinion on something.
What do you think of the way Freelee the Banana Girl dresses?
Too skimpy? Not skimpy enough?
No...comment...
Excuse me, ma'am?
Yes, what do you say to Gary Yourofsky's use of the term "rape" in application to animals?
Follow-up question: Would you give such a video a thumbs up or down?
Do none of you care about important issues?
Seriously! Trying to change the world here.