Leave the Rabbits Alone!

baby groundhog

I had seen some kids playing around here.  They were chasing and terrorizing wild rabbits.  I never saw them hurt any rabbits, but I saw them poking at them with sticks.  Obviously, you would be terrorized if you were being chased by giants, and you couldn't understand what they were saying or what they wanted.  They can play amongst themselves, and not be living nightmares for little wild animals.  I haven't hesitated in the past to intervene in such situations, but I regretted not saying anything the first time I saw it.  I had another chance today.  I said something, but it wasn't loud enough, so they didn't hear me.  I saw a girl throw a tennis racket at a rabbit.  The next time they came around, they heard me.  All I said was, "Leave the rabbits alone!"  And they did.  Unfortunately, it's only natural for humans to want to make life miserable for animals.  If protecting them is the right thing to do, then do it.  I certainly wouldn't have touched those kids.  All I'm willing to do is talk to them or yell at them.  Heroes of mine include Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr, both believed in non-violent resistance.
On a more positive note, I have come to realize there are at least five baby groundhogs living right next to my building.  So far, Veronica is my choice for mother of the year.  She was out grazing with one of her babies.  Suddenly, she ran toward the family hole in the ground.  That's something I've seen groundhogs do plenty of times.  This time was different.  On her way to the hole, she made several high-pitched noises with her mouth.  It was instantly obvious why she did that.  It was for the sake of her baby, who immediately followed her mother to the hole.  What was all this about?  I looked around and saw an animal I had never seen around here before: a large raccoon.  Veronica watched the raccoon carefully from her position, which was right at the hole.  It's possible she had never seen one before.  Even after the raccoon had been gone for several minutes, she continued to look around cautiously.  Her baby even helped out.  She stood on her hind legs and looked around.  I'm not sure if she even knew what she was looking for, but her intentions were good.  Baby groundhogs are among the cutest animals I've ever seen.               

The Week in Wildlife: Life and Death

Baby Phoebe with mama Veronica

This is the week I realized I have new neighbors: baby groundhogs.  Love those groundhogs: especially the babies.  I had been out, and before going up to my home, I figured I'd take a peek at the groundhog hole that's been right next to my building for at least as long as I've been living here: a few years.  I saw some kids plugging up that hole with debris one day last year.  I told them to stop doing that, then I cleared the stuff out so the groundhogs could use it again.  That, and other incidents, have convinced me that I am my (groundhog) brother's keeper.  So I just wanted to make sure the hole was clear.  I peeked around the corner of the building and saw two baby groundhogs poking their little heads out of the hole and looking at me.  What a great surprise.  There are at least four of them, and they are currently the size of little fur balls.  I've taken some photos, but I need to take as many as I can, because they grow up quickly.   
While I was out walking, I saw a police car.  The cop turned the flashing lights and siren on.  Then he or she put the pedal to the metal.  Unfortunately, a sparrow was crossing the road.  If the cop hadn't been accelerating so rapidly; everything probably would have been fine.  But the police car hit the poor sparrow, which threw her violently into the street.  It was a horrible thing for someone like me (a lover of all animals) to witness, and I had a front row seat.  She flapped her wings some, and she managed to get a little bit off the ground, but, ultimately, she faltered.  Within seconds, she was dead.  On the way back, I noticed that she had been squashed completely: probably by a car's tire. 
Maybe I was meant to see that.  My car died this past fall.  I haven't replaced it yet.  One of the good things about that is not being able to hit an animal with my car.  As far as I know, I've never hit an animal with a car I was driving.  As far as I'm concerned, one of the worst things I could do is hit an animal with a car.  I hate seeing road kill.  It's a real shame how us humans have made life so horrible and dangerous for countless animals.  Maybe I'll be able to afford to live in NYC again one day.  You truly don't need a car there, and that's a great thing.        

A Letter for President Obama

I had to include Michelle, because she's hot.

Mr. Obama, I believe this country, and world, are backwards in certain ways.  In the way it bothers me most, animals, like cows, pigs, chickens, and turkeys, are treated horribly, because people like to eat their flesh.  They don't NEED to eat their flesh; they just WANT to.  The amount of violence and torture people inflict upon animals is depressing and disgusting to me.  I believe that crime should be all about violence and stealing.  Violence includes sex crimes.  Please spearhead a movement that seeks to make any unprovoked violence against any animal a crime.  I firmly believe that all animals should receive the same protection from violence that people do.  They live under our thumb.  Why not be proud of ourselves and treat them well?  Of course we'd need to make more room in jails and prisons; legalize all drugs.   People are free to kill themselves with alcohol, tobacco, prescription drugs, and food.  The war on drugs has been a failure for quite some time.  The drug laws tend to be racist.  Free all non-violent drug offenders to make room for those who have committed violent acts against animals.  Tax the crap out of all those drugs and have plenty of money for helping those who need it.
Another way in this country (and world) is backwards is that most people bring other people (their kids) into this brutal, miserable death world.  And they get tax breaks for doing so: ridiculous!  Stop giving tax breaks to people who irresponsibly bring other people into this violent, vulgar world, and instead give them to people who refuse to bring others into the world.  You could really make a difference.  The human population has exploded in recent years.  There are just too many people.  Plenty of people can't get jobs, because they're competing with too many humans for them.
Another way in which the country/world is backwards is religion.  God was created out of fear and ignorance.  Many things couldn't be explained, because science hadn't done so yet.  We used to be afraid, so we believed in a god who would watch our backs.  It's clear that no one is watching our backs.  Horrible things happen to many every single day.  And science can now explain so much of what was once thought to be unexplainable.  The time for religion has come and gone.  I have no problem with people worshiping, but let's start taxing churches.  They do not deserve tax-exempt status.  I resent the fact that my mother used to drag me to church every week as a boy.  As far as I'm concerned, they filled my head with lies.  That's what adults do to kids; they lie to them.  They tell them that god exists, and so does the Easter bunny, Santa Claus, and the tooth fairy.   

A Letter Written by a Squirrel for Humans

My name is Nutsie.  The bald vegan named me that, because I love nuts.  I really do.  He tried to feed me a piece of carrot.  After sniffing at it for one second, I knew I didn't want it.  Fortunately, he also had a whole walnut for me too.  He gave it to me.  But that silly bald vegan kept trying.  He tossed a piece of broccoli to me.  This time, it took a few seconds of sniffing for me to decide I didn't want it.  Then he tossed a whole almond to me.  Next time, he gave me a slice of cucumber.  Once again, one sniff, and I was done.  He gave another almond to me.  He's silly, but he tries.
Other people aren't as nice as the bald vegan.  I heard they had something in Holley, NY called a "squirrel shoot."  That wasn't nice.  They had all kinds of people shooting at, and killing, squirrels.  I don't understand this.  What did we ever do to you?  We're all so afraid of you.  We know it's your world, and we're just squirrels trying to get a nut.  Some people eat us.  But is it really worth it to kill us for food?  We're so small.  And so many of you are so fat.  The meat of one squirrel can't make much of a dent in those super-sized bellies I've seen.
And please be careful when driving your cars.  So many squirrels have been run over by cars.  If you can avoid us, please do so.  The bald vegan saw someone run right over a squirrel with his or her car.  He or she killed her.  The driver made no attempt whatsoever to avoid running over the squirrel.  There were no pedestrians or other cars around, so the bald vegan thinks the driver should have tried to avoid the squirrel.  People need to be attentive when they're driving.  This person killed the squirrel, kept driving like nothing happened, and parked at a nearby restaurant.  The bald vegan thought about confronting the driver, but he was too sad to do it.  He was more sad than mad.  But if he had been more mad than sad, he might have at least yelled at the driver.  And if the driver messed with him, he might have gotten physical.  You should keep that in your mind.  There are people who are willing to fight for animals.            

A Letter from a Parakeet to Her Human Warden

How would you like to live like this?

Why do you keep me in this cage?  I don't understand you.  You tell me you love me.  I don't believe you.  I don't believe you at all.  You say you love your kids too, but you don't imprison them in cages.  You say you love your husband, but he doesn't have to live in a cage.  Why me?  What did I ever do to you?  I've never hurt any person or animal.  I've never stolen anything.  I've never robbed a bank.  I'm not a terrorist.  I don't understand why I'm locked in this cage.
Are you jealous of me?  Are you jealous of my ability to fly?  Is this your response to that jealousy?  To imprison me in a cage so I can't fly?  It's not my fault I can fly.  I was born to have this advantage.  And I guess you were born to have the ability to take it away from me.
I want to be free.  I want to fly.  I want out of this cage.  If you really loved me, you wouldn't keep me in this cage.  Polly want a cracker?  No.  Polly wants to be free: free to spread her wings and fly.

The Bald Vegan adds-"If you have a pet bird, that bird is dependent on you.  Perhaps he or she has spent his or her entire life being dependent on humans to be fed.  So, if by some miracle, what you've read here has moved you, and you want to free your pet bird, that might not be the right thing to do.  On the other hand, it might be the right thing to do.  You should do some research into the matter before setting the bird(s) free: to see if it's the right thing to do.  Find out how they would fare in the wild before doing it.  Please don't buy any more birds that you'll imprison in cages.  You know you wouldn't want to live that way, so why force an animal to live like that?  Sting sang, 'If you love somebody, set them free.'  If, after doing ample research, you've determined that your bird inmates would thrive in the wild, then set them free.  Ideally, you'd leave the cage by an open window, with the cage door open, so the bird can make his or her own choice whether to remain  free or return."     

Sometimes, it's not easy to be a vegan

 
I got into an argument with my best friend last night.  He is someone who eats meat.  He is also someone who is religious to the point of not wanting to take the Lord's name in vain.  He also doesn't want to hear me doing it.  I believe it's because he has a young daughter and close family members that are devout Christians.  Lately, I'd gotten a little tired of him scolding me for using language he doesn't appreciate hearing.  I couldn't help thinking it's hypocritical for him to get all hot and bothered by people saying words.  Words don't do physical damage.  "Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me" does sound childish, but there's a lot of truth to it.
We were in a friend's car, on the way home, when he scolded me for something I said.  I became angry.  I pointed out to him that words are just sounds that fly harmlessly through the air.  However, when he spends money on meat in a store or a restaurant, he is supporting cruelty to animals.  I yelled.  With the exception of disabled people, those who are afflicted with a serious disease, kids, and elders, people who eat meat are either ignorant or selfish.  They're either ignorant of the suffering they're supporting when they buy meat, or, they know about it, and they don't care, which would make them selfish.
He pretty much said he doesn't want to hang out with me anymore, to which I said something like "Fine!"  Then there was no more conversation for the duration of the trip.  It was quite an uncomfortable silence among 4 people in a car.  Then we were dropped off at his house.  The initial plan had been for me to sleep over, and he'd drive me home the next day.
But he asked me, "Are you ready?"  I knew he meant ready for the trip home.
I responded "sure."  So he drove me home in complete silence.  It was only broken when we arrived at my apartment complex when I said "thanks" to him before getting out of his car.
I tend to not confront friends and family about eating meat, but this time, I couldn't help myself.  I had thought he was being hypocritical by being so focused on words and not actions: like eating meat and supporting murder and suffering in the animal world.  It finally came out.  Our friendship has survived much.  I hope it will survive this.       

A letter written by a pig to humans.

This is how we want to live.

This is how many of us are forced to live, because people eat our dead bodies..

Please, please, please stop confining us cruelly and killing us.  Life is hard enough in this world.  Why are you making it a nightmare for most of us?  There are people out there who say we're at least as smart as dogs.  So why do you kill and eat us and not them (for the most part)?  Just like you, we want to be happy.  We want to be free.  We want to be with our young uns.
I live in a tiny stall.  It is just barely big enough to contain my body.   It is metal, and the floor is hard.  I have no soft bed to sleep in.  I don't even have enough room to turn around.  I can't walk anywhere.  This is my life 24 hours a day/7 days a week.  How would you like to live like that?  The first time they put me into this stall, I couldn't believe it!  How could they expect me to live like this?  When they went away, and I realized I would be stuck here, I panicked.  I tried to get out of here.  All I could do was throw my body against the walls: trying to free myself.  I did it for hours.  I exhausted myself completely.  I realized that, no matter what I did, I would not be able to free myself.  That's when I gave up, lied down, and began to cry.  This is my life.  I'm forced to stay in this stall, and I never get to leave it.  From what I've heard, I'll only get to leave this stall when it's time for me to be murdered, so people can eat bacon, ham, and pork chops.
I've heard about pigs that are so lucky.  They are people's pets.  People love them and treat them like many people treat dogs and cats.  I've heard about pigs that push soccer balls around, then put them back into their toy boxes when they're done.
Please stop eating meat.  You don't need to.  It's so much healthier to eat fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains.  It's much less cruel to do so as well.  

A Letter from a Dog to Humans

Please be nice to me and don't hurt me.

Please be nice to us.  Please don't ever hurt us.  Sometimes my dad comes home from wherever he goes, and he's very mean to me: even if I did nothing wrong that day.  He yells at me; sometimes he hits or kicks me, and I don't know why.  It seems like he's mad about what happened while he was "out there."  I love him so much, and I still do, no matter what he does to me.  But I love him unconditionally, no matter what, and I wish he'd love me that way too.  I never get mad at him: not even when he gives me a bath or takes me to the vet.
We trust you completely; it's been that way for hundreds of years now.  We put our lives in your hands.  We give you all we have to give: our entire bodies.  We can't give anymore.  Don't you see how wrong it is to betray our trust?  But people have made us fight each other.  People have hurt, tortured, and killed us in lab experiments.
If you're a breeder, please stop bringing more dogs into the world and spend your time doing something better.  So many of us are living in cages in shelters.  When you bring a dog into the world, and someone buys him or her, then there is a dog living in a cage in a shelter that could have been adopted if you hadn't sold that dog.  So many dogs need good homes; please don't make matters worse.
Please don't give up on your dog.  My friend, the bald vegan, was living with his ex-girlfriend years ago.  His ex-girlfriend wanted to get a dog.  The bald vegan asked her to not get a dog, becasue he was too lazy to walk a dog every day at the time, and he didn't yet know how great dogs are.  His ex-girlfriend got a dog anyway.  Just as he suspected, he was expected to walk him every day.  But the bald vegan has strong feelings about animals.  Even though he had not agreed to get a dog, he never once suggested that she get rid of him.  He believes that when you make a commitment to a pet, it should be for life: either the life of the pet or the person.  Even though the little guy bit him several times, he fell completely in love with him, and would not have wanted him to leave his home at all.  Getting a dog, then having a baby, then getting rid of your dog cause you're worried about the baby is a crappy thing to do.          

Backwards World

If you eat meat, I hope you choke on it.

I believe human society is backwards in 2 major ways.  I think it is backwards to be a meat eater.  I am hoping, that in the not-too-distant future, the trend will be reversed.  I hope it will be commonplace to be a vegetarian or vegan, and meat eaters will be the minority.  Of course, I'd rather meat eaters not exist at all.  HUMANS DO NOT NEED TO EAT MEAT TO SURVIVE.  If you think you wouldn't get enough protein without meat, think again.  Mac Danzig was very competitive as a vegan MMA fighter in the UFC.  It is healthier to eat fresh veggies, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.  That is part of what is so frustrating for us animal-loving vegans and vegetarians; most people would rather contribute to the suffering of animals by eating meat, which frequently destroys the health of the meat eater.  Not only are you being cruel to animals, you're being cruel to yourself.  It's backwards.  It makes no sense.
Another way in which this world is backwards is amazing to me.  There is so much unhappiness in this world.  So many people are depressed, miserable, living lives and working jobs that they can't stand.  Tons of people commit suicide every year.  Don't believe me?  Look it up.  The media doesn't report it because the CDC has asked them not to, because it leads to copycat suicides.  Yet, most people become biological parents.  It blows my mind.  I've written it here before.  I think virtually everyone who brings someone into this cruel world does so for selfish reasons.  If someone wants to be a parent, why not adopt?  There are always kids who need homes.  Why bring another person into the world to suffer?  Life sucks.  I wish I had never been born.  I've never brought anyone into this world, never gotten a woman pregnant, but it's been done to me.  I am the result of a teenage pregnancy.  I am paying for the mistake my idiot parents made every day of my life.  Parents are supposed to be obeyed and respected.  That's a bunch of crap.  There's nothing wrong with hating biological parents.  They brought you into a world filled with pain, brutality, and death.  People who refuse to bring another person into the world, and adopt instead, are heroes.
Say or think what you want, but I don't eat meat, and I'm not a parent, so at least I'm not a hypocrite.    

A Letter Written for Humans from a Chicken

This is how we want to live.

This is the current reality for many of us.

Dear Humans,
Please stop eating us.  Please stop putting hens in tiny cages and taking their eggs.  Please stop being mean to us and start being nice to us.  What did we ever do to you to make you treat us the way you do?
Many of us are crowded into window-less warehouse-like buildings.  We're crowded in so tightly; it is so stressful for us.  We never get any relief.  We end up pecking each other becasue of the stress we experience from these crowded conditions.
I remember how I was treated when I was a chick.  I was kept in a drawer with a lot of other chicks.  I was tossed onto a conveyor belt.  It was so scary.  Why would you treat living beings like things?  Not only do you treat animals that way, but you treat baby animals that way.  Why are you so cruel to us?
I've seen people throwing live chickens against a wall as hard as they could.  I've seen people stomp on live chickens too.  I don't understand why.  Humans have been victimizing and brutalizing us for so long now.  Why would you be so angry at us?  We're just living completely under your thumb and control.
Cholesterol is bad for you, but you continue to take our eggs and eat them.  And egg farts are the worst.  Hens are forced to live in such tiny cages.  The cages are stacked on top of each other, so they poop on each other.  Our feet were meant to walk on dirt and grass: not a wire cage floor.  Sometimes our feet grow around the wires of the cage floor, and we end up trapped where we stand.  If you want to know how we're really treated, there are many places to get info.  You could read books like Animal Liberation by Peter Singer.  You could go to the websites of PETA and Farm Sanctuary.   
Dr. Joel Fuhrman is a very smart man.  I heard him say that chicken meat contains about as much nutritional value as white bread does.  You'd be much better off if you didn't eat us: or our eggs.  You should stop eating processed foods, dairy, sugars, and meat.  You should eat fresh fruits, veggies, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.  You'd be happier and healthier if you did.  You could stop eating us animals and instead free us or take care of us as beloved pets.  We've seen how well some of you treat dogs and cats.  Why are they so lucky and we're so unlucky?  Please, please, please start treating us well.  We want to have happy lives too.    

Find the Light in the Darkness

sister baby groundhogs

I'm feeling good today.  Recently, until yesterday, I had been in a pretty deep depression.  A friend of mine likes the movie Yes Man, with Jim Carrey, and so do I.  Say yes.  Say yes to going out, trying new things, etc.  Yesterday, I had very low energy right from the start.  Then I walked for about an hour and did some pushups & crunches.  Then I was feeling exhausted.  I ate something I'm not very used to eating as of late, cashews, and I may have eaten too many.  I wasn't feeling well.  I felt depressed, tired, and a little bit sick to my stomach.
However, my friend had left a message for me earlier in the day about going out to a bar to see a band.  I wanted to go.  I've been too lonely.  If I had a car, things would be different, but I don't.  So I kept that option open.  I was still depressed, tired, and sickly, but I thought maybe going out was what I needed to get out of my funk.  I went.  I had to take the bus.  Some moron messed-up the schedule.  I was standing where the online schedule said I should stand, but the bus went right by me.  I ran after it and caught it at another stop.
I met 2 friends at that bar.  Then we went to one of their houses.  We stayed up late and had a good time.  I slept on a couch.  I woke up and had more good times with my friend (The other had left early.).  We have a lot in common.  He fed me, gave me coffee, and drove me home.  He is a great friend, and I'm lucky to have him as one.  We might go out tonight too.  I hope so.  Friends are important, and I've never had too many.
I continue to eat chick pea salad with green onions, tomatoes, and cucumbers.  I put olive oil and salt on it.  I love it.