DO SOMETHING!

Be on the RIGHT side of animal cruelty!  Fight it!  It is wrong to be cruel to animals!  So far, despite how angry many of us are about animal cruelty, animal activists have proven that they are not mass shooters and terrorists.  Some have been called terrorists, because they have liberated animals from cruel experimental labs, but that's bullshit.  Animal activists certainly aren't terrorists like those who perpetrated 9/11, the attack in Paris that killed 130, or all those assholes who thought it was a good idea to run people over with vehicles.
It needs to be a war of words.  Fight it!  Confront those who are cruel to animals!  Far too many of them are getting away with it.  They support cruelty to animals over and over again, their entire life, and no one even makes them feel badly about it: bullshit!  "I only eat chicken."  What the fuck do you have against chickens?!  What have they ever done to you?!  Why don't you care about them?  Don't you see how small and vulnerable they are compared to humans?  Don't you see how wrong it is to exploit, torture, and murder them?!  People that support animal cruelty AT LEAST deserve to be confronted in such a way! 
Don't give them a pass!  On dating websites, when I contact a woman, sometimes they check out my profile, which mentions how I feel about animals, and they respond by saying something like, "I don't know if I'm right for you.  I eat meat."  I NEVER say it's okay, because it isn't!  Supporting animal cruelty is heinous!  I'm 99.9% sure I'd be better off with a dog or a cat than a girlfriend anyway (No offense, ladies.  I like animals more than men too.  Besides, you're not missing out.  I'm not young or tall.  I'm bald, and I ain't successful.).  You see, animals aren't JUDGEMENTAL (Though sometimes they let you know that you haven't given them enough treats!).  They don't criticize (at least not lucidly).  They don't talk too much.  And, most importantly, they might eat meat if you gave it to them, but they don't KNOWINGLY support a vicious system that cruelly exploits, enslaves, and murders peaceful, innocent animals on a massive scale EVERY FUCKING DAY!!!
I love animals so much, and I'm so sad for them.  Please help them.   

Unbelievable!

I work in a large hardware store.  Yesterday, I saw a strange sight.  A little girl was holding a guinea pig in a piece of cloth.  Later, the girl, the guinea pig, and, I assume, her parents approached me.  The man had a question for me.  I noticed that the girl hit the guinea pig on the face at least a few times.  She did this with the palm of her hand.  I didn't say anything, for which I am ashamed of myself.  I should have said something.  I don't know much about guinea pigs.  The guinea pig did not make a noise while this was happening, nor did she try to squirm away.  Maybe she didn't hit her hard.  It's no excuse.  I was at work.  Fear of being fired may have been the reason why I didn't act.  That is my only explanation.  But I was a coward.  I have said things to other people before about how they, or their kids, are treating animals.  Animals need people to take a stand and help them when they need it.  I let that tiny, defenseless animal down.  Is she living a life of fear and pain, because this little girl is terrorizing her?  Do the parents not care if the girl treats the guinea pig like a toy, and not a living animal that can feel pain and fear?  And, once again, there is another reason to not bring kids into this world.  Many of them abuse, terrorize, and torture animals.
I had hoped I would get another chance, but I didn't see that family again.  If I do see them again, I hope I will have the courage to say something.  The man was a tough-looking, muscle-bound guy, but I shouldn't be afraid.  Right is right, and wrong is wrong.     
But, again, as an animal lover, how can I possibly enjoy myself while tons of horrible shit is happening to animals all the time?
 

Reaching Out

I posted this on Facebook today-
"Everyday, I see a lot of people who are quite content with themselves. They really seem to like themselves and think they are good people. But they eat meat. Eating meat is unnecessary. I've survived quite well without it since 2002. I'm slim and probably healthier than a lot of meat eaters. When one buys meat, one supports animal cruelty. There's no way around that. It doesn't matter that most people are meat eaters. Two wrongs don't make a right. Billions of wrongs don't make a right. No amount of wrongs make a right. Yesterday, I heard a coworker talk at length about how he prepares lamb and how delicious it is. It's a real shame that it's socially acceptable to be so thoughtlessly cruel. He spoke in such a pleasant, carefree tone, as though he couldn't possibly be offending someone, but I was definitely offended. Not only are lambs living, breathing, gentle animals, capable of feeling fear and pain, they are also juveniles. So, if you think you are a wonderful person, but you eat meat, ask yourself, are you really?"    

Right and Wrong

Does she deserve to suffer because you like bacon?

As I was petting a beautiful dog at work yesterday, it occurred to me how simple it is.  I was looking at his sweet face, and he was looking at mine.  His eyes were like mine.  All animals are like him.  They all want, and deserve, to be treated well.  They don't want to be brutalized.  They don't want to suffer.  They are vulnerable, and many of them are completely under our control.  It's wrong to mistreat them.  It's wrong to pick and choose which animals you care about and which should suffer.   

Disgusted & Depressed

There's no escape.  I've mentioned before here how strongly I feel about two very important issues, and how I feel as though most people are on the wrong side of them.
It's wrong to eat meat.  When you buy meat, you support animal cruelty.  There's no getting around it.  At work, I have to hear coworkers talking about how much they like certain meat dishes.  I'm disgusted by it.  All I hear is "I'm cruel.  I don't care about the animals I'm eating."  I have to see them eating meat.  I watch TV and movies, and it's more of the same.  I'm disgusted by the fact that so many people have gotten together in their cruelty.  They don't think they're cruel, because most people are doing it along with them.  Vegans and vegetarians are few and far between.  Books, the Internet, and the radio aren't safe harbors either.  People content to be cruel to animals are everywhere.  I'd need to live in the wilderness to escape it.  But, like many, I'm addicted to life in this society. 
The other main issue, again, is procreation.  I was watching TV, and I figured I'd check out the independent film that PBS was going to show.  It turned out to be a documentary about the shooting in which all those kids were killed in Newtown, CT.  First of all, I don't want to watch a movie about the murders of a bunch of kids.  They showed clips from it first.  They showed parents of the murdered kids crying and complaining.  I definitely don't want to see that.  I don't feel sorry for any of those parents at all whatsoever.  Didn't it occur to anyone that these parents brought their kids into a very dangerous and violent world in which all sorts of horrible things could happen to them?  Clearly, in this society, it's more important to be a politically correct pussy than it is to be real.  When horrible things happen to kids, I never feel sorry for the parents.  The parents put the kids in harm's way by bringing them into this brutal world.  No one can do anything to my kids, because I've decided to not bring them into this fucked-up world. 
I went to Wal-Mart to see what they would charge me for a month's supply of my prescribed antidepressant: $127.  Not only can I not afford it, it would be depressing just to pay all that money for it.  It's not worth it anyway.  I still felt as though life sucks while I was taking it.  Fuck the greed in this country, and fuck it's piece of shit president: Trump.        

Taking Shit

Life is all about taking shit.  Now that I'm employed again, this is clearer than ever.  I've had to take shit from coworkers: but mostly from customers.  My coworkers have also had to take massive amounts of shit from customers.  Perhaps society is breaking down.  Some think that America is headed for a major fall.  Perhaps this is part of it.
I'll give you an example.  I was working, as a cashier, in the outside lawn and garden area of the store where I work.  A man was there with his woman.  I rang up the purchases, and he paid for them with his credit card.  When one uses a credit or debit card to pay, one approves the purchase amount first, so that's what he did.  After he did that and paid for the merchandise, he had a problem with the price of one of the items.  According to him, it had been put in the wrong place or the price was wrong.  According to him, it should have cost a lot less than it did.  But here's the problem; he approved the total purchase amount!  And now that it's gone through, there's nothing I can do to right this supposed wrong for him.  Returns must be done at customer service.  I told him that, and it made him very angry.
"You mean I have to go all the way over there?" he asked.  He said it like it was a mile or so away.  It wasn't.  It was much less than that: just a little bit of a stroll, which, considering his fat-ass physique, he wasn't very used to navigating.  Then he said, "Fuck it.  I'm not going there.  I'll hold up the line too.  I don't care."
I knew what to say to that, but I didn't say it, because it could have gotten me fired.  I would have said, 'Why did you approve the purchase amount if you had a problem with it?"
Here's another example.  A woman, with an English accent, approached me while I was manning a cash register.  She was a little bitchy, which turned out to be foreshadowing.  The store I work at has it's own credit cards.  We allow our customers to use them even if they failed to bring them to the store for their purchases.  We can look them up on the computerized registers.  That's what the bitch wanted to do; she wanted to use the credit card she failed to bring to the store.  So I looked it up, and the computer said, "no account found."  I told her that, and she got very bitchy
"I have an account here!" she yelled.  I double-checked all the info she had given me: no dice.  My memory is a little fuzzy, cause I've been drinking, but I think she requested the assistance of a manager.  She arrived and assisted. 
The manager, Trixie, asked "Could it be under your husband's name (which I had asked)?"
"No!" was the response,  "It's under both our names.  I think he (me) typed it in wrong."
It turned out that it was under her husband's name.  She had been a bitch for no good reason and fucked with two people who couldn't retaliate unless they were OK with losing their jobs.              

I'll Never Stop Trying

A family

Eating meat is wrong.  I'm sure of it.  There are a lot of grey areas out there.  But I'm convinced that it's wrong to eat meat.  I've written this before, and nothing has changed.  There are exceptions.  I wouldn't criticize a mentally disabled person for eating meat.  I wouldn't criticize certain people, who only know hunting and living off the land as means of survival, for eating meat: nor the very young or very old.  But, I firmly believe that the vast majority of people in this world are wrong to eat meat. 
Last night, I spent time with friends at a friend's house that's right on Lake Ontario.  It's a beautiful place to be.  I love it there.  I had a great time.  There was a bonfire, which I love.  It was a great night.  A man came to the house that I don't know well.  He's a nice guy.  I thought I had met him once before, but he seemed to think it was more than that: no matter.  We got along quite well.  I don't recall exactly how, but the subject of meat and/or my veganism came up in the conversation.  I relished the opportunity to let someone know that I think it's wrong to eat meat.  However, this time, I remembered that you can get more flies with honey than with vinegar.  I was determined to not get angry: or at least to not display any anger.  I drank, so it's a little bit fuzzy, but we had a good conversation about the subject.  I mentioned that I feel all the animals of the world are my sisters and brothers, and I really do feel that way.  I recall that he disagreed with me with a smile on his face.  It seemed to not matter what I said,  he just didn't feel the same way about animals that I do.  The last time I had a discussion about this subject, I yelled at my friend and pissed him off enough for him to avoid me for over a month.  That's not what happened this time.  The conversation never became heated.  He flashed his pearly white smile the whole time (I wonder if those teeth are real.).  Anyway, I tried.  I tried to get my point across in a civilized manner.  Gandhi and Martin Luther King were not known for being angry jerks.  They knew it wasn't a good idea to be like that.  They wanted to change the world, and they did.  They are real heroes.      

Let's Fight Bullying

I won't let them bully you Lucinda.

I did it again.  Yesterday, I looked out the window and saw Sloopy eating grass.  I also couldn't help noticing that there were many birds all around her.  I don't know exactly what kind of birds they are.  I've previously referred to them as black birds, but I doubt that's really accurate.  They're not black; they're multicolored, but mostly brown.  It's easier to list what they're not.  They're not crows, ravens, robins, sparrows, cardinals, doves, hawks, falcons, or eagles.  They are aggressive.  They attack each other.  One had something in her beak, and was trying to enjoy it, but the other brown birds kept chasing her wherever she went.
Anyway, because these brown birds were surrounding sweet Sloopy, I decided to watch for a little while.  It didn't take long for one of them to approach Sloppy from behind.  I didn't like the looks of it.  Sure enough, the bird started by pecking her tail.  I was ready to go, but I held off a bit.  I wasn't sure if Sloopy could feel her tail being pecked.  Soon after, the bird pecked her in the butt.  That's it!  "Leave her alone!" I yelled out the open window  Sloopy ran for cover and several birds flew away.  I regret that when I do this, I frighten the groundhogs I'm trying to protect, but at least it puts a temporary end to the bullying.  Until I come up with a better idea, it will have to do.
I was bullied when I was a kid.  It was so bad, that I may never forget it.  I don't remember anyone stepping in to help me.  I would have appreciated it.  This is a violent and cruel world; it always has been.  I encourage you to try to end bullying when you see it.  You'll feel better if you do.  Years ago, I was in Central Park, and I saw some kids throwing rocks at some ducks in a pond.  I wanted to tell them to stop doing it, but I was afraid.  I was thinking that one or more parents of these kids might become irate if I tried to tell their kid what to do.  I regret being a coward in that situation.  There would have been nothing wrong with me telling those kids to stop throwing rocks at the ducks.  They had no business doing that.  The ducks didn't deserve to be attacked like that.  Sometimes, there really is a right and a wrong in a given situation.  The kids were in the wrong, and they needed someone to tell them that.  I was in the wrong for not doing anything about it.  I hate fear.  I'm always trying to overcome it.  "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."  FDR said that, and it's one of the quotes that I agree with the most.
I'm not suggesting becoming a vigilante, like Batman, to fight bullying.  I'm just suggesting that we speak up and stand up for what is right and against what is wrong.  Calmly and politely asking someone to stop bullying an animal or another person would probably get the best result.  Even if it doesn't end the bullying, at least you took a stand and tried to stop something that shouldn't be happening.  At least it probably gave the bully some food for thought.  He or she will probably realize to some degree that he or she can't necessarily bully with impunity.   Of course, if a situation is out of control, and a person or an animal is being beaten mercilessly, and verbal attempts to stop the abuse haven't worked, then the abuser might need to hear a warning.  And if he or she doesn't heed that warning, then it might be time to take action to protect a person or an animal who needs it.  I'd rather be the person that took action than the guy who watched a man stab a woman to death.    

They Will Dance on Your Grave

"We will dance on your graves."

They look so cute.  They're baby groundhogs, they're sisters, and they're dancing.  Look a little closer though.  I asked Bumpkin and Sloopy why they were dancing.  Bumpkin said, and I quote, "We're practicing dancing on the graves of our enemies."  How has it gotten to this point?   It's not enough to impale and destroy, she also has to dance on her victim's graves?  And must she drag Sloopy into it, who I always thought was sweet.  I think she is, but, unfortunately, Bumpkin is probably controlling Sloopy to some extent, if not completely.  Sloopy hasn't been blessed (or cursed?) with the superpowers that have recently been bestowed upon Bumpkin by the dark netherworld. 
Bumpkin likes a lot of music, but lately she's been into Gangsta Rap.  She likes 'Pac, Jay-Z, and Eminem.  The dance her and Sloopy were doing was a sort of gangsta strut or gangsta stroll, as it were.  They stood up on their hindquarters (love that word), lowered their front legs, and did a slow gangsta roll, homie.  At least that's what Bumpkin called it.  It sounded about right to me; that's what it looked like, come to think of it.  But she could be wrong, we mustn't forget, she's superpowerful, but she's still just a wee-lil' baby groundhog after all.  So she could be wrong as far as what the dance she and Sloopy were doing is literally called, but she might be right too.  For a baby groundhog, she's a pretty smart cookie.  She'd likely destroy you in a trivia contest; she's a very quick study.  Of course, once she destroys you in trivia, she might elect to destroy your body and soul simultaneously.  And if she does, you're toast.  I've seen it before.  Consider yourself warned.  Do you want to become a fresh Bumpkin victim?  Maybe she'll write Sloopy's name in blood the next time she murders.  Her's was the first name to be written in blood on a sidewalk in my apartment complex.  I assume Sloopy will be next.  She seems to be closer to Bumpkin than their other sister, Lucinda, is.  Lucinda is, of course, very cute, but she's a little pudgy too.   She takes after her mother in that way.  Mother, like daughter, is a natural zaftig beauty.  There is photographic evidence to support these claims.  Trust me, if you are ever fortunate to have juvenile groundhogs living right next to you, you'd likely fall for them.  I love them.