Masculine Veganism in the Age of COVID-19
After it had been discovered, then deceitfully switched to a narrative of 'COVID-19 was invented in a laboratory, but accidentally let out', that the Wuhan virus (COVID-19) started with bats, along with other zoonoses (Ebola, Rabies, Spanish flu, bird flu and swine flu), you can't help but wonder if the lives of the people that have died, and those that will die from it in the coming months, could have been spared if we treated animals better and had secure borders. Although we are learning many lessons from this virus spreading worldwide and causing us to go into self-isolation or lockdown, I will only mention the argument of improving the welfare of animals in this article, and leave a comprehensive examination of what we've learned for a later date, when the virus is fully controlled.
Although I can't honestly call myself a vegan at the moment, as I am moving towards being vegan from being a vegetarian, I have been brainstorming this concept of 'masculine veganism' in these past few months. To what is probably my audience of largely non-vegans, and the apathetic to the condition of animals and their wellbeing, hopefully this article is food for thought. The ethics and practices of this concept are the same as mainstream veganism, but the mindset has slight differences, and is partly influenced by Savitri Devi.
Instead of slogans like 'Compassion. Non-violence. Equality. For the people. For the planet. For the animals.' I prefer to believe in: 'Love. Protection. Quality of life. For my progeny. For a strong ecosystem. For the wellbeing of humans and our animal friends.' This means that we should adopt a 'blood and soil' mindset, where we care for animals in the same way men protect women and children. Furthermore, that we should live in homogeneous nations, having the same beliefs and ethics, working together, not against each other, and constantly striving to improve our morals and the living standards for all beings. The genius of a people is derived from the race and the soil they dwell and meditate upon. Many defenders of jus animalium throughout history may surprise you, as well as the profound wisdom they dispense.
The two sayings I disagree with the most in the above slogans are non-violence and equality. I don't believe in non-violence, and equality is a falsehood. Mainstream veganism also can have deep-rooted influences from feminism, thus the equality rhetoric. As I have written before on this site, I view violence through a neutral light: as something that isn't good or bad in itself, but a means to an end, and necessary in certain situations. Violence is a synthesis which keeps the wheels of history turning. It is something that should be used when necessary, like when someone wants to transgress upon you, your duty to yourself is to defend yourself to the best of your ability. Thus, when an animal is attacking you for whatever reason, it is better that you survive and injure the animal, instead of dying or killing it. Equality on the other hand is the wrong word to use in this context, as animals already have certain rights in many countries, but whether these rights are acted upon, and the utilitarian ethos is followed by the masses is another thing. The phrase 'compassion' also denotes a slight victim mentality and a defeatist attitude, through its association with 'pity'. We should not embrace victim mentalities, but heroism!
We should not want to call animals equal to humans, since we are different in many aspects to non-human animals, without denying that we are animals too, but rather strive to give animals the possession of their own existence, and for them to avoid all forms of suffering and exploitation. Animals should be friends, not ingredients, clothing, exploited for entertainment or test subjects. They have an innate essence, as do humans, and we owe it to them to respect that and allow it to flourish. We wouldn't like it if our pets were treated that way, so why not the rest of the animals? In such an advanced age, this treatment of animals is no longer necessary, nor desirable.
Ideas about linking meat consumption to being a man and masculinity are largely a product of mass marketing and dishonest advertising, and meat and dairy industry-sponsored 'studies'. It's the exploitation ever so present under capitalism at its finest; capitalism survives on the exploitation of your senses. They are tricking you into eating a diet that is linked to causing cancer and heart disease, among other health problems that veganism can heal, over fears of feeling or being viewed as effeminate. Masculinity is also warped by propaganda, and is largely misunderstood in contemporary society, as there is confusion over what characteristics real men should have. What is more masculine than protecting vulnerable people in society, having strong morals and being healthy? Men are protectors, and brutes are cruel and dominate weaklings. Treating our animal friends better and not consuming their products would mean less viral diseases, a better quality of life for us and them, and better working conditions for workers who currently work with them.
As strong and noble men protect women and children because they are more vulnerable, we should extend this mindset and its practices to animals too. If we are the supreme species, then we should act like we are and steward animals and our environment, rather than dominate them. Stewardship is an essential part of being a masculine man. Only cowards are cruel and violent to the vulnerable of society, like a wife abuser or an animal abuser. Behaviours like these can be found in many serial killers throughout history, and come from a place of anger and bitterness, instead of love and fondness. These ideas are not new and have existed for hundreds of years.
Just as Adolf Hitler, a noted vegetarian and animal rights advocate, put an end to the exploitation and plundering of Germany in many ways in the 1930s by greedy capitalists and bankers, among other elements, it thus my opinion that all other contemporary National Socialists should be vegetarians or vegans too. Environmentalism was done the best by the NSDAP, through their institution of 'blood and soil' policies, thus allowing all life to flourish; if you are not pro-all life, you are anti-life. We should do the same in our contemporary society as masculine men, protecting the vulnerable (women, children and animals) against abuse. With the improving health you can have on a vegetarian or vegan diet, all men should also practice self-defence, which will be helpful when someone decides they want to transgress upon you or your family. Engaging in effective environmental activism should also include cleaning up oceans and beaches, neighbourhoods, caring for sick animals and spreading the message.
A smart mate of mine who has been keeping up with the latest news on the Wuhan virus has recently explained to me how COVID-19 did start with bats. They have always been a carrier of all sorts of viral diseases throughout history. The Wuhan virus is believed to be traced from bats and pangolins. They do this by cross-referencing the viral RNA with the animals they believe it to come from, by looking at the 'for sale' sign in Chinese wet markets. They store these animals in stacked cages of one animal on another. The animal in the bottom cage will be soaked with the faecal matter of the six to ten cages of all different animals above it.
It's not the poor people eating the exotic animals, it's the rich in China who have influence and can sway lobbying groups, which is a good reason to hate the rich, for their immorality. Additionally, the average Chinese person doesn't eat bats, but in that same breath, the average Chinese person also won't stop it, another reason to dislike the Chinese. Will China face repercussions for the damage the Wuhan virus is causing? I doubt it. Although the citizenry may wish to boycott China, the politicians and rich people of the world will still want to engage in the global market. Any anti-Chinese rhetoric will be disregarded as blind racism by the powerful and progressives, and the virus will be swept under the rug. Life will resume as normal.
Total domination of our surroundings would mean the end of our species from the collapse of the ecosystem, which we are already facing. With that said, nature can be very resilient and powerful, and we should not kid ourselves about the power of mother nature to wreak suffering upon us. 'Green capitalism' also can't stop what is in store for us, only a total reversal of our practices and attitudes towards nature and animals. Devoid of all moral influence, the sanctity of life will diminish, and we will choke the life out of the planet, causing our progeny to suffer. The practices of humans are what is making the environment degrade so heavily, not the existence of humanity. What are these misanthropes going to do? Kill nearly eight billion people so the planet survives? It's not going to happen. It would be preferable to instead change our practices. We should not adopt an anti-human stance during these trying times. Many people online are saying that COVID-19 is nature's vaccine, and that humanity is the disease. This is deeply antisocial, destructive and wholly misanthropic, instead of socialist, constructive and communal. Humanity has the potential for greatness, like totally clean sources of energy, the conscious decisions to not pollute and not be a blight to the ecosystem, if we are guided correctly. If not, as we are now, we will only bring destruction and misery. As a former meat-eater who would laugh at vegans, I don't think meat-eaters are bad people, just their practices are. A harmonious relationship with nature is what we should all desire when this virus is fully controlled. Don't forget what we are currently learning.
Talk about dominating your surroundings, there's no life left in there!
"All morality implies the idea of some sort of community: generally tribe or country, race or humanity as a whole. Our morality is based, as our religion, upon the conception of the unity of all life (within astounding diversity and God-ordained hierarchy) and upon the birthright of every healthy creature to enjoy, to the uttermost of its capacity, throughout its full span of years, the sight of daylight, which is beautiful. We also believe that the greater the claims of a species — as of a single individual — the greater also and the more exacting are its duties towards the rest of the living. Noblesse oblige. The real superman, if any, is the man in whom boundless kindness to all creatures goes side by side with the utmost intelligence and power. The actual master races surely cannot allow themselves to think and feel as it would seem natural to man of a mean type. And the real master species, if any, is the one that puts its consistent nobility above any advantage; the one that would not, even to save its existence, even to broaden its intellectual horizons, renounce the privilege of remaining at peace with the whole of the living universe; the one that would rather lose than break the great Law of Love — the inborn law of its best representatives; — that would rather die out than degenerate." -- Savitri Devi, Impeachment of Man.