Journal

full moon
june 6, 2001 ~ 10:24 p.m.

I’m reading this book called Too Queer: Essays From a Radical Life, by Victoria A. Brownworth. I’ve been devouring it over the last few days, eating up every word, agreeing with her almost everywhere, and respecting her differing views on abortion and a few other things. But then I read this:

I, myself, am personally against abortion and call myself prolife. But unlike so many designated, my politics and beliefs are consistent: I do not do not believe in unneccessary killing of any kind. I have been a vegetarian for over twenty years, have been antiwar all my life, and am vehemently opposed to the death penalty under any circumstances (pages 170-1, emphasis mine).

This really pissed me off because it is so hypocritical -- in fact, it’s doubly hypocritical. One the one hand, it’s hypocritical to be vegetarian simply because the animals are killed: plants must be killed to be eaten too. If it’s simply the death that’s wrong, then neither is worse than the other. On the other hand, she is using her vegetarianism to show that she is not hypocritical. Many vegetarians recognize that their beliefs rest on the idea that animals have more right to live than plants; while I don’t agree with this I can at least respect it. However, to believe that meat is wrong simply because it’s death is blatently ignorant. Her point is that one shouldn’t separate different groups; one shouldn’t see a difference between fetuses, murderers, soldiers, and animals. And yet she is doing the very same thing by separating animals and plants.

Oh well, enough ranting...

The library finally mailed me a card to say that Rubyfruit Jungle had arrived, so I’m going to pick it up on my way home from work tomorrow. I can’t wait to read it, but I’ve read some pretty mixed reviews. A lot of people have said how wonderful it is, but some of the reviews on Amazon say it’s a bit simplistic and by today’s standards the writing isn’t very good. But I don’t always agree with the standard opinion, so we’ll just have to see.

previous ~ next

Diaryland