(12-14-2011, 03:07 AM)Whitefeather Wrote: I agree with Oceania. I was going through the thread and Monica, you said it was 'amazing' and 'wow' so I clicked on the link. Huuu! It is a video only for insensitive people. I know that some people may think that it is a good thing to getting used to be insensitive but I disagree with that ...Don't watch if you are like me. I am very shocked and upset by the pictures in this and now, I am depressed too. I know what is happening in the meat industry but watching it again is a totally different experience than being aware of it.
I'm stunned, actually. I'm very, very, verrrrrrrrry sensitive to slaughterhouse video footage, to the point of feeling nauseous and depressed, and having horrible nightmares afterwards. But I have, at times, forced myself to watch the worst of the videos, because I wanted to know just how bad it was, so that I could try to do something about it.
It's a testament to just how horrible slaughterhouses are, if you found that video harsh. It was extremely tame in comparison to what I've seen. The footage I've seen, is the stuff of nightmares.
And it goes on every day, for billions of animals, many who are as smart as our dogs. For them, the nightmare never ends.
The photos of animal suffering were not what I was referring to when I said the video was amazing. Photos of animal suffering can never be amazing!
What was amazing about that video was the results the campaign got. People who were unfazed by photos of animal cruelty, were going vegetarian after being shown that baby pigs are just as cute as puppies, and chicks just as cute as kittens.
What was amazing was the brilliance of whoever came up with that idea, of appealing to people's natural love for cute furry animals, instead of hoping to stir compassion in them by showing them graphic images of violence to animals.
The graphic images didn't work very well. The cutesy images of piglets did work.
What matters is that it worked. THAT is what I found amazing. And I feel so strongly of the importance of this campaign, that I was able to put the 27 seconds of graphic images aside. They were so very mild, anyway, compared to what I've seen.
In courtrooms, images of the victims are shown to the jurors. For a reason. They must face the reality of the crime, in order to reach a fair verdict.
I was certainly not suggesting that anyone become insensitive to graphic images of violence to animals! On the contrary; animal activists hope that seeing such images will help open people's hearts and help them become more sensitive, and hopefully quit contributing to such atrocities.
I've actually refrained from posting any truly graphic videos of slaughterhouse cruelty. There are plenty of far worse footage that I could have posted, but didn't. This one was so very very mild in comparison, that I truly didn't expect that it would disturb anyone. And, I contend that its redeeming value far outweighs its disturbing qualities. We cannot escape the disturbing aspects of the meat industry. Well, on second thought, people can and do escape it all the time. But this particular campaign isn't seeking to gloss over it. (Atrocities should never be glossed over.) They're just going about it in a much milder, less in-your-face way.
And it's working. I'm very excited about the fact that it's working.
Note: I added a disclaimer to my original post.
Vegetarians Have Less Risk for Diverticulitis