Monday, November 19, 2007

Thanksgiving with the Turkeys--and then some ranting

This past Saturday was the annual Thanksgiving with the Turkeys at Poplar Spring. Two vegan friends from Baltimore, who I don't see nearly enough, came down for the day. I love them dearly and they're smart and fun chicas, so it's always good to see them.

Of course it's always wonderful to see the turkeys, chickens, pheasants, and others enjoying their fanciful feast. Catered right to their yard on table tops for their dining pleasure, and with the security that no one is going to hurt them ever again.

Being a potluck, ya gots to bring some food, right? So I made gonzo salad, cornbread, and I had frozen the massive amount of Greek Stuffing from the other night, so I heated that up and brought it along. There were GOBS AND GOBS of food--so much there's no way you could taste everything. I truly wish there was a Poplar Spring Cookbook, because some of the dishes were nothing short of incredible and I'd love to have the recipes.

After a satisfying lunch and three plates (yes, I said three plates) of desserts we passed around, we went to visit with the other animals. I am especially in love with goats and pigs. Why? Cuz they're goats and pigs! Have you ever spent any time with them? The goats are always fun--they're so curious and have such unique faces. It's always with the goats though that I start crying. Especially with the older ones or the ones who've suffered such cruelty they have obvious lifelong injuries. Pigs are just so freakin' smart and adorable and many are quite affectionate towards humans. How anyone could put the flesh of these beautiful animals into their mouths in beyond my comprehension. You have to be a pretty sick fuck to look into their soulful eyes and see "food." Toward the end of the day, V and I took a walk out to visit with the cows, who I think had pretty much had their fill of people by that time. Can't say I blame them.

Which leads me to the angry portion of this post.

What the fuck is wrong with people? The ENTIRE IDEA of Thanksgiving with the Turkeys is to, well, spend Thanksgiving with the Turkeys. Gee, I thought that was kind of, you know, obvious. And of course to visit the other animals and serve as a fundraiser for the monumental work done at the sanctuary. So why the hell when they were bringing out the birds' feast were there more people lined up at the potluck, waiting to dig in, than hanging by the birds?? Why? I shall tell you why. Because humans are selfish, ignorant, tacky, greedy fucks. Now I'm no Miss Manners, but if any one of you ever happens to run across this--YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. I was ashamed for you. You embarrassed yourselves. I don't care whether you're vegan or not; you demonstrated some high level assholery with that one. The birds were the guests of honor, and instead of even waiting until they had been served THEN going to get in line, your greedy asses were standing there, paper plate in hand, waiting to be given the "go" signal. Next year, how about you just write a check out to Poplar Spring and leave your sorry ass at home, k? Thanks.

And another thing--I know some of you brought non-vegan food to this event. In fact I saw you, Hippie Boy, walk in with those two large containers of grocery store-bought doughnuts. Being that this is DC and we don't have vegan doughnuts like Seattle, Portland, and Vegas, you broke the basic rule of the potluck. Way to go. Doughnuts aren't even vegetarian. And I noticed a lot of store bought things, especially on the dessert tables. I'm not saying you gotta rock the kitchen like Isa or Colleen, but come on. Most of that shit was likely not vegan. Don't have the time or talent to make something? Grab some pita and hummus on your way, but don't you dare bring non-vegan food to an ANIMAL SANCTUARY event. Oh, as for the TWO hummers in the parking lot? FUCK YOU.

And finally, I invited no less than 16 people to this event, and NOT ONE would attend. Kind of getting used to no one in this town ever wanting to do anything, but seriously, not one? For something fun, educational, and including free food? And for something that was actually pretty important to me? Then again, when I asked everyone I know to go vegan just for ONE DAY as a personal favor to me, I had exactly one person grant my request. One. Hope no one else ever needs a favor. Yes, I am aware that this could be nothing more than a failure in my activism, and that's probably something I should explore further. But in general, I have had it with omnis (yes this includes you, pescatarians) and vegetarians too afraid or too guilty or too stubborn to face the reality of what they're doing. What they're doing to the animals and what they're doing to the environment and what it all means with regard to social and environmental justice. It is NOT a personal choice. When YOUR so-called choices affect the well-being and the very existence of others, they cease to be "personal" choices. If you could have gone to this event, or a similar one in your area, and you didn't, well--you suck.

And while I'm starting my third paragraph with the word "and," I have had it up to HERE with people telling me how much they looooove animals. Yes, they love animals so much they put it into practice by tacitly participating in their murder and then eating their corpses. Please stop saying you love animals. It's obvious you don't. Just say you love dogs and/or cats, cuz that's really all you're talking about. And if you don't see the hypocrisy in saying you love your dog but you're eating a pig, well then I'm not really certain of your intellectual capacity.

This really shouldn't have turned into a big ole rant. Saturday was a beautiful day in so many ways. Overall it was wonderful seeing friends, sharing a meal, visiting with the animals. Just can't forget the asshats who always seem to stick out.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

we love you.

Anonymous said...

*hugs* <3

I wish I could come to visit you right now <3

Gymmie