Cognitive Dissonance “Sometimes people hold a core belief that is very strong. When they are confronted with evidence that works against that belief, the new evidence cannot be accepted as it would create a feeling that is extremely uncomfortable. And because it is so important to protect the core belief, they will rationalize, ignore and even deny anything that doesnt fit with the core belief.” ~ Frantz Fanon ________________________________________ A compelling example of this was captured by Timothy Pachirat a PH.D from Yale who worked for five months on the kill floor of an Omaha slaughterhouse as a food-safety quality-control worker: “A cow that escaped from a slaughterhouse up the street from the one I was working in. Omaha police chased the cow and cornered it in an alleyway that bordered my slaughterhouse. It happened to be during our ten minute afternoon break and many of the slaughterhouse workers witnessed the police opening fire on the animal with shotguns. The next day in the lunchroom, the anger, disgust, and horror at the police killing of the animal was palpable, as was the strong sense of identification with the animals treatment at the hands of the police. And yet, at the end of lunch break, workers returned to work on a kill floor that killed 2,500 animals each day.” ________________________________________ How is this possible? How is it that these workers who are directly complicit in the deaths of 10,000 animals a week can manage to feel outrage over the death of one at the hands of law enforcement? Cognitive Dissonance . . . This same phenomenon occurs every day among meat-eaters who distance themselves from the horrors of the slaughterhouse by purchasing neatly packaged products in their grocery stores which sanitize and remove nearly every reminder that what they now hold in their hands was once a living, breathing creature who died violently and unwillingly for their palate pleasure. Isnt it time you made peace with your plate and with the animals? Start making vegan choices today. Choose compassion over cruelty and life instead of death. ~ DWR ________________________________________ Artwork by Jo Frederiks
Posted on: Sun, 10 Aug 2014 19:16:38 +0000
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