The Best Arguments Against Veganism

To find yourself, think for yourself.

Socrates

Evil comes from a failure to think.

It defies thought for as soon as thought

tries to engage itself with evil

and examine the premises and principles

from which it originates,

it is frustrated because it finds nothing there.

That is the banality of evil.

Hannah Arendt

I try to encourage people to think for themselves,

to question standard assumptions... Don't take

assumptions for granted. Begin by taking a

skeptical attitude toward anything that is

conventional wisdom. Make it justify itself.

Be willing to ask questions about what

is taken for granted. Try to think

things through for yourself.

Noam Chomsky

It is impossible for a man to learn

what he thinks he already knows.

Epictetus

Many are destined  to reason wrongly; others,

not to reason at all; and others to persecute

those who do reason.

Voltaire

Those who will not reason, are bigots,

those who cannot, are fools,

and those who dare not, are slaves.

Lord Byron

The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die.

As well the minds which are prevented from

changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.

Friedrich Nietzsche

You were not made to live as brutes,

but to follow virtue and knowledge.

Dante Alighieri

Let me give you a definition of ethics:

it is good to maintain and further life

it is bad to damage and destroy life.

Albert Schweitzer

Two percent of the people think.

Three percent of the people think they think.

And ninty-five percent of the people

would rather die than think.

George Bernard Shaw

First, they ignore you, then they laugh at you,

then they fight you, then you win.

Mahatma Gandhi

Don't worry about siding for or against

the majority. Worry about taking up

any of their irrational beliefs.

Marcus Aurelius

It is difficult to get a man to understand

something when his salary depends on

his not understanding it.

Upton Sinclair

Humans lack humanity, not protein.

Eddie Mah

Everyone "loves" animals until they hear

the word "vegan". Then they'll argue tooth

and nail why it's acceptable to abuse them.

Rob Zombie

All the arguments to prove man's superiority

cannot shatter this hard fact:

in suffering the animals are our equals.

Peter Singer

Ultimately evil is done not so much by evil

people, but by good people who do not

know themselves and who do not

probe deeply.

Reinhold Niebuhr

The indifference, callousness and contempt

that so many people exhibit toward animals

is evil first because it results in great suffering

in animals, and second because it results in

an incalculably great impoverishment

of the human spirit.

Albert Einstein

Progress is impossible without change,

and those who cannot change their minds

cannot change anything.

George Bernard Shaw

The worst sin towards our fellow creatures

is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them:

that's the essence of inhumanity.

George Bernard Shaw

The Art of Conversation

Nature has given us two ears, two eyes

and but one tongue to the end that we should

hear and see more than we speak.

Socrates

Every word has consequences.

Every silence, too.

Jean-Paul Sartre

The more you discipline yourself,

the less you will be disciplined by others.

Napoleon Hill

I'm not entitled to have an opinion unless

I can state the arguments against my position

better than the people who are in opposition.

I am qualified to speak only when

I've reached that state.

Charlie Munger

Change happens by listening and then

starting a dialogue with the people who are

doing something you don't believe is right.

Jane Goodall

Love your enemies, for they tell you you faults.

Benjamin Franklin

One of the most sincere forms of respect is

actually listening to what another has to say.

Bryant H. McGill

People are taught how to speak,

but their major concern

should be how to keep silent.

Leo Tolstoy

1. Your plans. Move in silence.

2. Your finances.

3. Your love life.

4. Someone else's confidential information (malicious gossip).

5. Your drama.

6. Your controversial views (religion, politics, social taboos).

7. Your good deeds.

Three can keep a secret,

if two of them are dead.

Benjamin Franklin

It is better to be king of your silence

than a slave of your words.

William Shakespeare

A fool is known by his speech;

and a wise man by silence.

Pythagoras

Wise men speak because they have something

to say; fools because they have to say something.

Plato

Strong minds discuss ideas,

average minds discuss events,

weak minds discuss people.

Socrates

If you propose to speak always ask yourself,

is it true, is it necessary, is it kind.

Buddha

He who speaks, sows. He who listens, collect.

Pythagoras

Think before you speak, read before you think.

Fran Lebowitz

Speak only if it improves upon the silence.

Mahatma Gandhi

The trouble with the world is that the stupid are

cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt.

Bertrand Russell

Opinion is really the lowest form of human

knowledge. It requires no accountability, no

understanding. The highest form of knowledge

is empathy, for it requires us to suspend

our egos and live in another's world.

Bill Bullard

You can tell more about a person by what

he says about others than you can by

what others say about him.

Audrey Hepburn

1. Jokes about something that is true and sensitive.

2. Jokes with your opinions that are not positive.

3. Sarcasm that goes too far (if the person does not understand that you're being sarcastic). 

4. Jokes about stereotypes (racial/stereotypes/sexist/groups of people).

5. Vulgar jokes (sexist/sex/toilet humor/swearing).

6. Self-deprecating humor.

7. A badly told joke (storytelling - how the build-up process works. Work with pauses).

Nothing shows a man's character

more than what he laughs at.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

If you think your belief is based upon reason,

you will support it by argument rather than

by persecution, and will abandon it if

the argument goes against you.

But if your belief is based upon faith,

you will realize that argument is useless,

and will therefore resort to force.

Bertrand Russell

Words are the clothes thoughts wear.

Samuel Becket

Listen with the intent to understand,

not the intent to reply.

Stephen Covey

There is an almost universal tendency, to suspect

the good faith of a man who holds opinions

that differ from our own opinions. It obviously

endangers the freedom and objectivity of our

discussion if we attack a person instead of

attacking an opinion, or more precisely, a theory.

Karl Popper

I don't want easy. Easy doesn't make you grow.

Easy doesn't make you think.

Madonna

Intelligence is measured by a person's

ability to see validity within both sides

of contradicting arguments.

F. Scott Fitzgerald

The greatest thing in the world is not so much

where we stand as in what direction

we are moving.

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

People will forget what you said,

people will forget what you did, but

people will never forget how you made dem feel.

Maya Angelou

In order for the truth to be heard, it must

be spoken with love. No matter how wise

and true a spoken word will not be conveyed

to someone if it's spoken in anger.

Leo Tolstoy

Self Love 💝

Integrity: Choosing courage over comfort;

choosing what is right over what is fun, fast

or easy; and choosing to practice our values

rather than simply professing them.

Brené Brown

Integrity is doing the right thing.

Even when no one is watching.

C.S. Lewis

Find your purpose

You are God's masterpiece. You were designed for the purpose that you were made for. What are your gifts and passions?

Personal branding

- How do you want people to experience you?

- Have a set standard for yourself on how you look and behave. Treat others the way you want to be treated.

- Take pride in the way that you present yourself. No matter who you're interacting with - it's a reflection of you. Your self-identity depends on your conduct at all times.

Enjoy your blessings

Don't dim your light to make others comfortable. Don't let others define you.

I speak to everyone in the same way,

whether he is the garbage man or

the president of the university.

Albert Einstein

The true measure of a person's character is

how they treat others, especially those less

fortunate. Do not let success or failure

define you.

Marcus Aurelius

Luke 7:47

For this reason I say to you, her sins,

which are many, have been forgiven,

for she loved much; but he who is

forgiven little, loves little.

1. Education.

2. Awareness.

3. Detachment.

In individuals, insanity is rare;

but in groups, parties, nations and epochs,

it is the rule.

Friedrich Nietzsche

- What are your values and goals?

- How do you spend your time and money?

- Are your habits aligned with who you want to be and the life that you want to live?

- Are what you think, say and do in harmony?

- Do you want others to do/say to you/someone you love, what you do/say to others/yourself?

- Do you honor your word? Do you keep your promises to yourself and to others?

- Do you respect yourself and your choices?

- How do you treat yourself, your body, your belongings and others?

- Write down what you want to change and what you'll do instead.

- Have a visual reminder. Remind yourself.

- Fast.

- Build habits.

- Track your behavior. Journal.

- Do you need help in certain areas?

- Do you have role models?

- Are people around you helping you or holding you down?

We gain the strength of

the temptations we resist.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Self-respect is the fruit of discipline;

the sense of dignity grows with

the ability to say no to oneself.

Abraham Joshua Heschel

No man is free who cannot control himself.

Pythagoras

We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then,

is not an act, but a habit.

Aristotle

- Personalize your life. Write down what you need to operate at your maximum potential.

- Personal excellence in everything (appearance, behavior, work etc). Go the extra mile.

- Pay no attention to haters.

- Be willing to learn.

- Have a neutral attitude to both compliments and negative opinions about you.

- Work on your posture. Eat and drink well. Exercise. Don't drink alcohol.

- Confidence in God.

It must be our business to act our given role

as best we possibly can and to refrain from

complaining about it. Where ever you find

yourself and in whatever circumstances,

give an impeccable performance.

Epictetus

The only person with whom you have to

compare yourself is you in the past.

Sigmund Freud

My method is to take the utmost trouble

to find the right thing to say,

and then to say it with the utmost levity.

George Bernard Shaw

Learn the rules like a pro,

so you can break them as an artist.

Pablo Picasso

1. Don't take things personally.

2. Set goals.

3. Learn how to be happy alone.

4. Take care of your health.

5. Heal from your past.

In order to love yourself,

you must behave in ways that you admire.

Irvin D. Yalom

Identity capital is our collection of personal

assets. It is the repertoire of individual

resources that we assemble over time.

These are the investments we make in ourselves,

the things we do well enough, or long enough,

that they become part of who we are.

Meg Jay

- Be gentle to yourself.

- Develop your emotional intelligence.

- Create and communicate your boundaries.

- Who you are is enough.

- Embrace your uniqueness.

Be humble, hungry and

the hardest worker in any room.

Dwayne Johnson

Pick Me Vegans & Ex Vegans

People's opinions are mainly designed to make

them feel comfortable; truth, for most people,

is a secondary consideration.

Bertrand Russell

We are haunted by the horror of what we do

to animals, but we are equally haunted by

the knowledge of how unhaunted others are.

J.M. Coetzee

When people meet vegans, they become aware

in that moment that they eat animals.

They become uncomfortable and place

the feeling on the vegan. Their own sense

of mercy and compassion arises and

makes them uneasy. Mercy asks of you

to abstain from this cruelty.

Gary Smith

The hottest places in hell are reserved for

those who, in times of great moral crisis,

maintain their neutrality.

Dante Alighieri

When you see a good man, try to emulate

his example, and when you see a bad man,

search yourself for his faults.

Confucius

Cowards can never be moral.

Mahatma Gandhi

All rivers and some people are crooked because

they follow the path of least resistence.

Napoleon Hill

If you don't stick to your values when

they're being tested, they're not values:

they're hobbies.

Jon Stewart

To be yourself in a world that is constantly

trying to make you something else is

the greatest accomplishment.

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Courage is the most important of all the virtues,

because without courage you can't practice

any other virtue consistently.

Maya Angelou

We only become what we are by the radical

and deep-seated refusal of that which

others have made of us.

Jean Paul Sartre

The individual has always had to struggle

to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.

If you try it, you will be lonely often,

and sometimes frightened. But no price

is too high to pay for the privilege

of owning yourself.

Rudyard Kipling

🦀🦑 Sealife 🐟🦐

Man worships an invisible God

and destroys a visible Nature.

Unaware that this Nature he's destroying

is this God he's worshiping.

Hubert Reeves

We're at war with nature. If we win, we're lost.

Hubert Reeves

Many of us feel so removed from fish and other

animals from the sea that we don't think of

these beings as having lives that matter to them.

Their suffering remains invisible

even when it's in plain sight.

Melanie Joy

No one will protect what they don't care about,

and no one will care about what

they have never experienced.

David Attenborough

The question is not, "Can they reason?"

nor "Can they talk?" but, "Can they suffer?"

Jeremy Bentham

Jo Frederiks

Animals can communicate quite well.

And they do. And generally speaking,

the are ignored.

Alice Walker

Man can no longer live for himself alone.

We must realize that all life is valuable

and that we are united to all life.

Albert Schweitzer

The greater your capacity for love,

the more beauty you find in the world.

Jane Smiley

The most ethical diet just so happens to be

the most environmentally sound diet and

just so happens to be the healthiest.

Michael Greger

Why are you so afraid of change? Nothing

in this world can be without change. Only

one rule is constant: do not do anything

inhumane to others.

Marcus Aurelius

Answer me, you who believe that animals are 

only machines. Has nature arranged for this

animal to have all the machinery of feelings

only in order for it not to have any at all?

Voltaire

Our task must be to free ourselves... by widening

our circle of compassion to embrace all living

creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.

Albert Einstein

I realized as I watched him fight for breath,

that his life was as important to him

as mine is to me.

Paul McCartney

True empathy is not self-focused but other-

oriented. Instead of making humanity

the measure of all things, we need to

evaluate other species by what they are.

Frans de Waal

Happiness is in your ability to love others.

Leo Tolstoy

We're all members of the animal kingdom.

Leave your brothers and sisters in the sea.

Prince

Even in the worm that crawls in the earth

there glows a divine spark. When you

slaughter a creature, you slaughter God.

Isaac Bashevis Singer

K-Wave

There are three classes of men; lovers of wisdom,

lovers of honor and lovers of gain.

Plato

The successful forms of life are the parasites,

the ones who bleed their environment to

optimal exploitation, who stunt everything by

taking a lion's share, who leave their hosts

alive but shriveled.

Adam Johnson

Many of the actions by which men have

become rich are far more harmful to

the community than the obscure crimes of

poor men, yet they go unpunished because

they do not interfere with the existing order.

Bertrand Russell

Do not waste your time on social questions.

What is the matter with the poor is poverty;

what is the matter with the rich is uselessness.

George Bernard Shaw

The inherent vice of capitalism is

the unequal sharing of blessings.

The inherent virtue of socialism

is the equal sharing of miseries.

Winston Churchill

Both optimists and pessimists contributes

to society. The optimist invents the airplane,

the pessimist the parachute.

George Bernard Shaw

There are two ways through life:

the way of Nature and the way of Grace.

You have to decide which one you'll follow.

Terrence Malick

Why should man expect his prayer for mercy

to be heard by what is above him when he

shows no mercy to those under his power?

Pierre Troubetzkoy

Jo Frederiks

I think there is a connection between the way

we treat animals and the way we treat people

who are at the bottom of the hierarchy.

Angela Davis

The animal liberation movement is fighting

what is arguably the most entrenched

and widespread form of exploitation

in human history: speciesism.

Melanie Joy

In relation to animals, all people are Nazis;

for the animals it is an eternal Treblinka.

Isaac Bashevis Singer

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress

can be judged by the way its animals are treated.

Mahatma Gandhi