Vegans are Feeling the Bern. And the Clint. And the Trump??
Recently an animal activist – a Facebook connection I respect – realized she had vegan friends in the U.S. who plan to vote for Donald Trump. You may also know some. Do you quietly unfriend those people? Loudly unfriend those people? Stay friends but pointedly argue with them every chance you get?
To most blog readers, all twelve of you, a vegan voting for Trump sounds like, in the words of my friend, “a special kind of crazy.”
But here’s where we really have to talk about the vegan world we all want, a world in which no animals are exploited. In the campaign for a vegan world, do we want a big vegan army, or a small but tactical vegan troop? How are we best able to make this vegan world happen?
The big vegan army is necessarily going to be a big tent that includes conservatives, racists, sexists, homophobes, people with more than 12 items in the express checkout line, and other undesirables.
The more popular and understood our message becomes, the more people join our movement, the more diverse it becomes. Certainly there’s “good diverse” and “bad diverse.” It’s not likely we can have one kind without the other.
If we’re going to have this eventual vegan world, we have to accept – no, not just accept, we have to embrace – the idea that ultimately, all kinds of people will be vegan. Even racist, sexist, Trump-voting psychos.
It’s tempting to dismiss a vegan who oppresses women, people of color, LGBTQ, or the poor – as not truly vegan. When my misanthropic, antinatalist side comes out, I hear these same lectures: “humans are animals too,” and a “real” ethical vegan should feel only compassion for humans, even if they’re hunters, slaughter hobbyists, puppy millers, vivisectors. False. Being vegan has nothing to do with respecting human animals.
Being vegan also does not automatically make someone progressive and open-minded about social and political issues. I know a pit bull-rescuing, SeaWorld-protesting, Monsanto-loathing vegan who is also a Glenn Beck-loving Christian Republican military wife. And dammit, I love her. Of course I wish she wasn’t such a political moron, but I’d be happy to have her on my vegan island.
This brings us to people like Matthew Scully, speechwriter for George W. Bush and Sarah Palin, whose book Dominion (a title coded to a Biblical worldview) is considered one of the most persuasive in the animal rights genre. And Anthony Bellotti, founder of White Coat Waste, a “taxpayer advocacy organization” dedicated to divesting from animal research. As a young, internet-savvy political consultant, Anthony helped rack up big wins for conservative campaigns and Republican candidates. Trust me, this is a guy we need on our team if we’re going to create this vegan world.
Maybe we don’t want such a big tent and big army. There’s wisdom in previous interviews by an organizer of the 269 movement who believes in a smaller, more effective, less moderate community. “We have to radicalize our movement; even if brings less activists to it in the near future, they will be more qualitative and effective.”
After all, when you’re in the trenches of animal liberation, who do you want next to you, having your back? An animal rights activist who will fight and die for the cause? A hipster lifestyle vegan obsessed with aquafaba and taco cleanses? A plant-based dieter whose primary concern is human health? Unfortunately we don’t always get to choose who’s jumping in the trench with us.
They say there are no atheists in foxholes, but are there speciesists?
( My thanks to Lalo Alcaraz for the featured image. View it here. For an archive of Lalo’s political cartoons go here.)
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Chandler Klebs
February 27, 2016
“It’s tempting to dismiss a vegan who oppresses women, people of color, LGBTQ, or the poor – as not truly vegan. When my misanthropic, antinatalist side comes out, I hear these same lectures: “humans are animals too,” and a “real” ethical vegan should feel only compassion for humans, even if they’re hunters, slaughter hobbyists, puppy millers, vivisectors. False. Being vegan has nothing to do with respecting human animals.”
Are you saying that we should be speciesist against the humans? I tend to fall on the side of “humans are animals too. For many people, the idea of respecting the life of humans and other animals goes together.
Kezia Jauron
February 27, 2016
I find it’s a struggle to have respect and compassion for humans as a species. I tend to like us individually, but as a group, we’re overdue for a new plague.
ModVegan
February 27, 2016
I couldn’t agree more! It would be wonderful if people were all uniformly progressive, but unfortunately, that’s just not the case. There actually seem to be a lot of socially conservative people who embrace veganism. Life’s a journey. Thanks for mentioning Matthew Scully, too! He’s definitely a passionate advocate for animals, even if he doesn’t have the stereotypical politics of an animal rights activist.
Jason G
March 5, 2016
I am a Vegan and I love Trump.
Progressivism feigns itself as the most evolved perspective, and in the 60’s it was. Today, however, many of the battles that Progressives faced have been won. Now the Left is full of tired old limited mentalities that believe themselves to be very open minded. They are not open-minded at all. How many Progressives could even consider the perspective of the Right? Not many.
Today’s brightest are able to hold conflicting truths and to choose the right thing at the right time. They see through facades and read the energetics of people and situations. They are not bound by sensitivity. They are inherently sensitive, yet when pushed around will bring the house if necessary. They are thrifty and efficient. The have evolved beyond the need for group validation or substances to feel innately valuable and sane.
Trump says a bunch of zany things that expose the culture of over-sensitivity and telepromptered passive-agressivism. That doesn’t make him Hitler, or a bigot, or any of those other terms seeded by those are the real haters. Yes, hating Trump makes you a hater. Hating haters makes you a hater too. Hate is hate, and if you listen closely, Trump doesn’t hate anyone. He just has a ton of masculine bravado, which is probably the thing Progressives hate most.
When one truly loves all beings, everyone is lovable. When one is love itself, everything and everyone has its right place and time, beyond the narrow confines of yesterday’s battle cries.
Mike D.
March 11, 2016
“Even racist, sexist, Trump-voting psychos.”
I’m vegan and a Trump supporter.
Give me an example of how Trump is racist or sexist. I’m sure I’ll be waiting so long I’ll turn to dust.
http://i.imgur.com/XqwvEa4.jpg
Matt G
March 16, 2016
Nonhuman rights actually aligns more closely with rightism than leftism in my analysis. Leftism contains some hardcore speciesism with its obsession with “social justice” drivel, and its fixation on human issues in general. The suffering that factory farmed nonhumans undergo utterly dwarfs the “suffering” that pansies who get their feewings hurt when outside of their “safe spaces” endure – and the nonhuman rights movement serves to make an absolute mockery of the non-suffering of these professional SJW crybabies.
I’m a vegan and I support Trump.
jet
July 11, 2016
vegan for trump.
you cannot be vegan and support a pro-choice candidate. makes no sense.
Anna
July 18, 2016
I have been vegan for many years for all the 3 main reasons. Animal rights, health and our planet. I do support Donald Trump for president. Reasons are: political correctness, with it’s corrupt power over our free speech. Europe is in huge mess with Islamist. Trump is against political correctness, we need someone like that or sooner or later we will have Sharia law in our country. Do not let Islamisation happen and vote Trump.
jessica
August 9, 2016
As a vegan, you how can you not have the same respect for humans as cows? Is it OK to be a speciast against conservatives because you don’t agree with them? Really? I have never seen such a disdain for human life with Hilary Clinton. Just look at what she did in Haiti holding off emergency supplies for a photo op and using funds to help her business partners… Vegans for Trump
Alex
August 16, 2016
Another Vegan here for Trump. Your article is insulting and a perfect example of why political tensions are at an all time high in this election. You’ve broad brushed vegan conservatives who plan to cast a vote for Trump as “political morons” or “a special kind of crazy,” demonstrating a complete lack of the open-mindedness that progressives like yourself profess to be all about.
how accepting
October 16, 2016
This is just an attack article on Trump supporters. It’s divisive within the vegan movement.
What about vegan candidate Clifton Roberts though?? http://www.cliftonroberts.org/long-game-short-game
Would you vote for him?
Jeannie
October 23, 2016
I am a Vegan and support Trump because the majority of politicians either hunt or fish which is cruel.Although I hate Trumps sons for trophy hunting Trump said years back he didnt get it or support it but now since thet back him as a presidential candidate of course he backs him.We need guns to protect ourselves but not to kill innocent animals ao we have a long fight with the NRA.We need to get rhis Country fixed economically and many other ways or we will not have a Country to fight for the animals.Any democrat or other Republican presidential candidate will be a puppet.Trump can fix this Country.If he wins and pray he does then we go after him to change things for the animals. Humane Party sounds great and their presidential candidate Clifton Roberts who is a Vegan but unfortunately they and he will not win this time.Hopefully next time.