Carnism and Pinocchio - Parallels and Lessons

sbeast

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  1. Vegan
Introduction
I recently watched Pinocchio, and couldn’t help but notice some parallels to carnism and veganism. For those who haven’t seen the film, there is a scene where Pinocchio and a group of boys are taken to ‘Pleasure Island’ by a character called The Coachman. On this island they engage in various hedonistic activities, such as smoking, gambling, drinking and vandalism.
Jiminy Cricket, who plays the role of Pinocchio’s conscience, discovers that the boys who stay there long enough transform into donkeys, and are sold into slave labor. He goes to find Pinocchio and one of the other boys called Lampwick to warn them, but they have already begun to transform into donkeys, or as The Coachman calls them: “jackasses”.

[Video Clip – Pleasure Island]

Parallels
There are several key themes in the film: tell the truth, listen to your conscience, and be careful of the dangers of hedonism. All of these lessons also apply to how humans should treat animals. Carnism, which is the ideology that conditions people to eat certain animals, is based on lies, requires you to ignore your conscience, and is often justified by hedonism (“taste tho”).
Comparatively speaking, carnism is like pleasure island, and many nonvegans have begun the process of turning into jackasses (“bacon tho”). For many there is still hope, but unfortunately for others, it appears that Jiminy Cricket has left the building.
Humans aren’t meant to harm or kill animals, unless it is in self-defence or there are no alternatives. Going vegan is the equivalent to leaving pleasure island, which you do by listening to your conscience and telling the truth about how humans treat animals. Common ‘counterarguments’ to veganism (“natural”, “tradition”, “ancestors”, etc.) are really just excuses to not make the change, and carnism is like an ideological drug, which numbs people to the reality of what they have become.

[Picture: Pinocchio and Carnism]

Conclusion
It can be difficult at times to self-reflect, and it is far easier to dismiss vegans as “extreme”, “crazy”, or “militant”, but the price of neglecting your conscience is arguably considerably worse.
Rather than focussing on what we will lose as a result of going vegan (meat, cheese, etc.), instead we should focus on what we will gain (clearer conscience, less violence, better environment, being on the right side of history).
In conclusion, it is better to be an ex-slaughterhouse worker who became an animal rights activist, than an eternally braying jackass who refuses to admit they made the wrong choice.

“It’s hard to be rational in an irrational world; it’s hard to be compassionate in a caustic culture; it’s hard to be aware in a society that is asleep.” ~ Bitesize Vegan

Links
Carnism – The Secret Reason We Eat Meat – Dr Melanie Joy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ao2GL3NAWQU
101 Reasons to Go Vegan
Other Vegan Posts http://luxbellator.com/veganism/
Vegan Music Videos http://luxbellator.com/veganism/vegan-music/
 
Well, I think you are reaching a bit. but I like the sentiments.

To be fair there is a lot to unpack in the Pinocchio story.

If I remember right the original book, which I no longer recall very clearly was written as some sort of political statement.

The Disney version took a lot of liberties with the original story. And like many Disney movies, it borrows heavily from the Greek concept of a morality play.

The movie is also a product of its times and you can see pro-capitalism and pro-Christian virtues touted pretty easily.

Speaking of Pinocchio, IMHO this is one of the funniest scenes ever made.

 
Yeah, this wasn't meant to be a 100% accurate scientific analysis exactly, just a thought that came to me really.
I've not read the original book, I may check it out at some point.
That clips hilarious, and thanks for the comment :)
 
I'm going to regret writing this... Oh boy, here we go...
I don't know, I must have misunderstood something here, I'm not very good at jokes, sarcasm, etc. so your point must have lost me.

But to call meat eaters jackasses, isn't very nice. I'm vegan, and I think that it's the right thing to do, my conscience couldn't let me do otherwise.
But I know many meat eaters who are intelligent, gentle and over all genuinely good people.
They have the potential of becoming vegan someday... but even if they never go vegan, that doens't change the fact that they aren't hedonistic jackasses.
And I don't like the way this makes us vegans sound like we are above everyone else, when I'm pretty sure that we are just as stupid as the rest of the human kind, just with the difference that we don't accept cruelty.

Okay, damn... Please, don't kill me for saying this.
But I do take critique.

Thank you.
 
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I'm trying to communicate that metaphorically speaking all carnists are on pleasure island, and some have begun turning into jackasses, such as those who say 'bacon tho'. I agree with you that there is hope that many will potentially become vegan some day, but I worry that some may be lost causes too.
Vegans aren't necessarily 'above everything', but we are morally better in this regard.

Anyway, have a good day :)
 
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"it is far easier to dismiss vegans as 'extreme', 'crazy, or 'militant'"

At one time, I thought that vegans were a bunch of eccentric animal lovers. I thought they needed to get in touch with reality. I also believed that vegans needed to prioritize human rights before animal rights. First, we fix the human rights issues. Then, we work on the animal rights issues.

I am not an animal lover in the traditional sense. I would rather not spend my time around animals. I remember how good it felt when a bunch of young pigs rubbed against my legs. I felt like I was special. In addition, pig farmers told me that pigs are very emotional animals. But, I have no special desire to be around pigs.

I might not want to hang out with pigs. However, I can at least remember that they have feelings. I now believe that animal rights and human rights are the same issue. We need to think about how humans and pigs feel.
 
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I'm trying to communicate that metaphorically speaking all carnists are on pleasure island, and some have begun turning into jackasses, such as those who say 'bacon tho'. I agree with you that there is hope that many will potentially become vegan some day, but I worry that some may be lost causes too.
Vegans aren't necessarily 'above everything', but we are morally better in this regard.

Anyway, have a good day :)
Thank you. I understand better now. :)
Good day to you, as well.