By Dan Hanley
A few weeks ago some of my friends went to hear Janet Mock speak in southern California. I had never heard of her but instantly became interested as my friends wrote about being changed by meeting her. Janet is a trans woman and I am reading her book "Redefining Realness".
A quote on the cover says "You will be changed by the book".
Indeed.
I am only in the first few pages. As she discusses seeing trans women out and about (before she came out as trans) she writes "They were dismissed and dehumanized, which made an overwhelming majority of them vulnerable to the harshest treatment, exclusion, discrimination, and violence."
She is writing about trans women but those lines hit me hard.
The man I am today is not the man I have always been. While reading this I was jolted back to the days when my life was what Janet was writing about. Not as a trans woman but as a closeted gay man struggling to come out.
Experiencing unkindness and serious hatred from those in my inner circle and even family members. Not knowing how someone would react, especially when thinking that all would be OK because this person or that person loves me so much.
At 21 being in the middle of the ocean on a US Navy ship and being called faggot, with nowhere to go. The idea that people would be violent towards me was one that took me a long time to get used to. I just could not understand it. At first.
Of course the self-imposed hate and shame are the worst. Yet as I struggled through coming out, I kept being in awe about how hateful human beings could be. And at this point of my story it wasn't the hate and unkindness from strangers, but from people who knew me.
As I kept reading the words that Janet so perfectly wrote, my eyes filled with tears remembering the unkindness. Wanting so badly for my family members to just love me, regardless of what they felt about gayness. Wanting friends in the Navy who knew me so well, knew me as a good person and a good sailor, to take back the hateful words.
It took a long time to let the ugliness go.
As a gay, vegan blogger I get to experience the ugliness of hate and unkindness a lot. These days it doesn't bother me. Those who perpetuate hate and violence and unkindness towards anyone are small people, cowards actually. They are most likely dealing with their own demons. And their pathetic use of anti-gay slurs or threatened violence are sad attempts to break out of whatever crap is going on in their own lives. Don't get me wrong, I call anyone on their bullshit bigotry, but them being a bigot has much less affect on me than it did those many years ago as I was struggling.
(Except when they try to legalize their bigotry. That's a different story!)
Still reading "Redefining Realness". And today I say thank you, with a heart filled with love, gratitude, compassion and passion, to all of those who stood by me in those darkest of days and to all of those who have stood by me and loved me and been a part of my incredible journey ever since.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
A few weeks ago some of my friends went to hear Janet Mock speak in southern California. I had never heard of her but instantly became interested as my friends wrote about being changed by meeting her. Janet is a trans woman and I am reading her book "Redefining Realness".
A quote on the cover says "You will be changed by the book".
Indeed.
I am only in the first few pages. As she discusses seeing trans women out and about (before she came out as trans) she writes "They were dismissed and dehumanized, which made an overwhelming majority of them vulnerable to the harshest treatment, exclusion, discrimination, and violence."
She is writing about trans women but those lines hit me hard.
The man I am today is not the man I have always been. While reading this I was jolted back to the days when my life was what Janet was writing about. Not as a trans woman but as a closeted gay man struggling to come out.
Experiencing unkindness and serious hatred from those in my inner circle and even family members. Not knowing how someone would react, especially when thinking that all would be OK because this person or that person loves me so much.
At 21 being in the middle of the ocean on a US Navy ship and being called faggot, with nowhere to go. The idea that people would be violent towards me was one that took me a long time to get used to. I just could not understand it. At first.
Of course the self-imposed hate and shame are the worst. Yet as I struggled through coming out, I kept being in awe about how hateful human beings could be. And at this point of my story it wasn't the hate and unkindness from strangers, but from people who knew me.
As I kept reading the words that Janet so perfectly wrote, my eyes filled with tears remembering the unkindness. Wanting so badly for my family members to just love me, regardless of what they felt about gayness. Wanting friends in the Navy who knew me so well, knew me as a good person and a good sailor, to take back the hateful words.
It took a long time to let the ugliness go.
As a gay, vegan blogger I get to experience the ugliness of hate and unkindness a lot. These days it doesn't bother me. Those who perpetuate hate and violence and unkindness towards anyone are small people, cowards actually. They are most likely dealing with their own demons. And their pathetic use of anti-gay slurs or threatened violence are sad attempts to break out of whatever crap is going on in their own lives. Don't get me wrong, I call anyone on their bullshit bigotry, but them being a bigot has much less affect on me than it did those many years ago as I was struggling.
(Except when they try to legalize their bigotry. That's a different story!)
Still reading "Redefining Realness". And today I say thank you, with a heart filled with love, gratitude, compassion and passion, to all of those who stood by me in those darkest of days and to all of those who have stood by me and loved me and been a part of my incredible journey ever since.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
I write a lot about getting active politically and getting to know those who represent us throughout political levels.
Watching so many people protest in cities around the country for or against issues that are local, I decided to write about being active with one's city council.
Who is the city council member that represents you?
In Lakewood, Colorado, where we live, we have two folks on city council who represent our part of the city. Some cities have one for their area and then some who can be elected city-wide.
The city council has more power than you might think. A lot of politics is local.
I have met with our city council members about issues as diverse as chain laws for dogs kept outside, marijuana stores in town and seeing what can be done to make sure our police officers are trained in a way that they never feel they need to shoot and kill a dog.
Some cities have hundreds of employees. Do they honor same-sex couples? Smaller cities may not even have considered how animals labeled as "pets" are treated. A locally-supported Meatless Monday?
Recently a city council of another suburb of Denver, Castle Rock, were inundated with citizens who wanted them to hold off on slaughtering a colony of prairie dogs so a mall could be built. Those pleading with the council were only asking for time to move the colony. The way some council members treated those speaking for the prairie dogs made me sick.
Find out who represents you on city council. Let them know what issues are important to you. You never know what amazing difference that can make or what voiceless being you could support.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
I have been reading news and posts about where people shop (and where they don't want to shop!) and have always wanted to write about where we shop.
Why?
Every week I get emails from folks who are newly vegan. Believe it or not the grocery store is a whole new world when newly vegan, and I often get asked where we shop.
We live in the west suburbs of Denver and have many choices. For the last nine years my main place to shop has been Safeway.
It's a chain, pretty big in Colorado. For those of who shop only at all-vegan markets, you'll want to skip this one.
There are many reasons why I love my local Safeway. There are always items on sale (I love their 10 for $10 specials) and even when items aren't on sale most of what I buy fits into our food budget. They have a great organics section and over the years have progressed into selling more and more vegan items.
They carry national vegan products like Gardein and Daiya and Immaculate Baking. And in some Safeways (not ours yet) the in-store bakeries are making vegan cake. Mmmm.They also have an amazing assortment of breads that don't cost $6.00 a loaf!
I also am often surprised by finding vegan products there that I haven't heard of before.
When I look at all of the places we shop (Safeway, Whole Foods, King Soopers and Vitamin Cottage) I always end up back at Safeway and happy. And so is our budget.
If you have a Safeway in your area check it out. If you live in the Denver area ours is the one at 38th and Wadsworth.
Happy grocery shopping.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
Last weekend I ran into a couple of friends of mine who told me about a 5K race they were running the following day.
I got super excited. I am training for my next half marathon and thought this would be perfect. So I decided to join them.
Fantastic decision!
I arrived to the race and it was 17 degrees out! It was 19 degrees when the race began.
I finished with a time of 34:30. I felt amazing.
At 49 I feel like I am healthier than I have ever been.
I decided to write about this race to hopefully inspire those who want to get healthier. It's possible. At any age. Being vegan and living a live that includes exercise, whichever form, is awesome.
And remember, two years ago I wasn't even a runner. Since then I have run two half marathons.
I try to get to our gym twice a week. I also try to go heavy on fruits and veggies and focus on whole foods. Don't get me wrong, we eat our fair share of processed foods. Have you tried the new Gardein meatloaf! But I must say that over the past several years Mike and I have definitely been eating more fruits and veggies.
I physically feel incredible and I think being vegan and exercising have a lot to do with that!
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
I wish I was writing about ET but I'm not.
I recently attended the Creating Change conference and sat in several
sessions about federal detention centers that are packed with people who
are undocumented. I was learning about the how transgender folks are
treated, but learned so much.
I left each session horrified. And angry.
Regardless of how you feel about immigration, how we treat human beings in the federal detention centers is abhorrent.
First, when one is brought in they are given a nine-digit number. The number begins with an A, which is for Alien.
Seriously.
Alien 987654321 has a visitor.
Alien 123456789 is not breathing.
I also learned that on any given day there are 75 transgender folks in a
federal detention center. Their gender identity is not honored and they
are put with what to them are members of the opposite sex. Imagine a
trans woman being put with men.
Yes, violence happens. And so does death.
I guess now is a good time to remind you that we are talking about human
beings here. Just a few weeks before this conference I was telling
readers about a Saudi blogger in jail and being beaten. Now I am asking
you to consider what is happening right here.
I still have so much to learn.
I'll share what I learn with you. I hope you find this as interesting as
I do and I hope it makes you as angry as it has made me. Then we can
make change and be a voice for these voiceless brothers and sisters.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
I have used my blog many times to urge people to vote and to become politically active.
So much is going on in our world, in our communities. So many battles going on to support causes we believe in or to fight against issues we believe are wrong.
I believe we have a better chance of being listened to when we get to know those who represent us. Whether it's our local city council member or school board member or those who represent us at our state capitol, we should get to know them.
It starts with a simple email.
"I live in your district and would like you to know that I think ______ ."
Or "I live in your district and would like you to vote yes on this bill."
You get the idea. I send notes to our state rep and state senator when our annual session begins in January. And I keep in touch with them throughout the session.
We can be a much stronger voice for the voiceless when those in political power know who we are.
Now it doesn't always help. Some of you live in areas where your representation is totally against most of what you believe in. I still say to connect with them and let them know how you feel.
Speak out to those in power.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
As we are fortunate to have readers from all over, we get to hear about what is going on in activist, especially animal rights activist, communities around the country and around the world.
Unfortunately the news isn't always good. We often here of communities that are fractured because one person doesn't get along with another, then terrible things are said, and done, people take sides and before the community knows it they have one big mess. She said that. He did that. I can't believe that they are like that. Those others are truly crazy and this is why.
Whew.
It's a shame for sure. The focus is more on fighting each other rather than on fighting those who do disgusting things to animals. Billions are suffering. The fight against that suffering is how many of us met. For the animals.
I wish this could stop.
I have issues with folks too. Recently I forgave a person who approached me and apologized for some things she had said about my sexuality several years ago. I accepted her apology. I won't be hanging out with her, but I forgive her.
I haven't ever slammed someone or been critical of them because of their sexuality (well, I might have been just a tad harsh once with a friend in the Navy who just wasn't gay, no matter how much I wanted him to be!) but I for sure have said things that I later regret.
Forgiveness is powerful stuff.
I know a lot of these issues that people have with each other are not necessarily simple to resolve. Yet they have to be resolved.
In the late '80's and early '90's 40+ thousand people were dying every year of HIV/AIDS. It was a battle to not only stop the disease but to care for our friends and family and community. I remember those days well. Not everyone always agreed or got along. That's an understatement. People were dying every day. Some days all we could do was try to make them comfortable. And there were all the attacks coming from outside of our community by the right wingers. My goodness.
If what was going on now in some animal rights communities was allowed to happen then, I know the epidemic would have been much worse. More suffering. More death. Total disruption of community.
It doesn't have to be like that.
We can reach our hands out in peace. We can gather as a community to fight animal cruelty. We can apologize. And we can forgive.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
I spend a lot of time writing about and for journalists and bloggers who are persecuted for simply writing. Hundreds are in jail. Many have been killed.
As a blogger I get occasional hate mail from folks who do not like gay people, do night like vegans or do not like the idea of animals not being anything other than a product, but I have never felt that I could not write or that I would be imprisoned or killed for writing.
Today I ask you to take a moment to spread the word about Raif Badawi. A Saudi blogger, father of three, husband. He was sentenced to ten years in prison and 1,000 lashings for his blog writings.
At this time the next series of lashings have been postponed due to his physical health being so poor from the previous lashings.
I have tried to get as much information about his sentencing and "crime". Rather than write paragraphs and paragraphs I am adding two paragraphs from a Washington Post editorial that for me sums it up nicely:
"Mr. Badawi acted in the spirit of freedom of the modern age. A blogger, he called for open debate about interpretations of Islam. His blog posts were sometimes satirical and sometimes irreverent. They also infuriated the kingdom’s hidebound religious clerics. On Friday in Jiddah, he was given a punishment from a bygone century: 50 lashes, the first of 20 floggings, once a week, to a total of 1,000 lashes for his outspokenness. The word barbaric hardly captures the depth of this depravity.
As we described it last year, Mr. Badawi was arrested in 2008 and questioned about his Web site but released. Then he was charged with setting up a Web site that insults Islam, and he left the country. He returned when prosecutors apparently decided to drop the charges, but in 2009 he was barred from leaving. In 2011 prosecutors alleged that his Web site “infringes on religious values,” and he was arrested in 2012, when a well-known cleric issued a religious ruling that Mr. Badawi was an apostate who must be tried. His Web site was shut down, and his family left Saudi Arabia. A judge threw out the charge of apostasy, which carries the death penalty, after Mr. Badawi assured the court that he is a Muslim. In a subsequent trial he was sentenced to 1,000 lashes, 10 years in prison and a fine equivalent to $266,000."
Ever since reading of this and learning more and more about Raif, I think of him all of the time.
Would you please help me spread the word? We have the power to shine a light on Raif and to support him.
Amnesty International is working hard to get Raif released. Here is a link to their site: help Raif. On their site you can send a note to the Saudi's and then promote that on Twitter and Facebook.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
So many churches and other places of faith express that they "welcome all". Many have cool pastors or clergy or whoever leads them. They are friendly, loving and seem like awesome places to worship.
But many of them are anti gay. To be specific, they believe that gay people are going to hell. To be a little more specific, they believe that gay people who have sex are going to hell.
They might not talk about it. They might try to convince you that no matter what you believe, no matter how many gay friends and/or family members you have, that being in a sexual gay relationship means hell.
They say things like "we're not against something we are just for Jesus" and "it's really between the person and God". Yet invariably something negative will be said about gay people. My favorite is when these same people refer to our marriage as "so called gay marriage".
I acknowledge that this is a difficult topic for many, and that biblically speaking it is a topic with a lot of feelings and emotions.
I also believe that it is well past time for equality-loving folks to stop supporting anti-equality places of faith.
One of the most difficult things for me to experience in my life is watching people I love, and who I know love me, support places of faith that teach that I am going to hell.
I see this often. I am reminded by it all of the time by posts I see on Facebook. It's heartbreaking.
It's heartbreaking because I know these folks love me, and Mike. I know they support us 100%.
Financially supporting places of faith that denigrate gay people, in any way, is taking action against gay people, against equality.
Our church does not believe that we are going to hell. There is absolute love for us as a married couple. Those who preach at our church believe fundamentally that our love, our marriage, is not "sin".
This is a tough topic for both of us. We both have experienced hate and persecution from religious people.
Please don't support them. As with many things, we can vote with our dollars.
Thanks for reading.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
I wanted to title this post "Why on earth are The Gay Vegans following me?" but that was a bit long of a title, especially for twitter.
I love building community. And I do a lot of that online. Our blog has accounts on Google+, Instagram, Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. I use each one for different purposes, and I never blindly connect them all so the same post goes to all of them. I do use them to spread my blog posts, but I also use them to meet folks I'd like to know and to build community with folks who might not normally be in community with gay vegans.
Being 48 and wanting to be as healthy as possible, I like connecting with others who work out and are into fitness. When I see someone who says that they are vegan are into fitness too, I like to connect with them.
That doesn't always go over well. So I want to clear the air if you will.
If I connect with you through social media it is because that something you are doing either inspires me, I want more of it in my life, or it's something I want to learn more about.
It doesn't mean I am hitting on you for goodness sake! Or that I want to offend you in any way!
There are a bunch of folks out there who inspire me. They may be totally out about being a follower of Christ, or vegan, or raw, and I make the attempt to connect.
They are not always thrilled. Recently on twitter, a vegan guy wrote how he couldn't believe The Gay Vegans would connect with him. After all, he's Christian, and far right. We exchanged some tweets and after I saw other tweets where he wrote to others saying that he was just going to have fun with us I disconnected.
Seriously?
He is a vegan athlete, including being a runner, and of course I would want to be connected with him.
But I get it. There are just always going to be folks who for whatever reason do not want to be connected with gays and/or vegans.
Another guy, on Instagram, deleted my comment on a photo of his saying that he was inspiring me.
So...
If The Gay Vegans connect with you on any of the social media listed above and you do not want to be connected with us, please just tell me. I will disconnect and all will be well in the world. I honestly only wanted to build relationship and let you know that something you are doing inspires me or teaches me.
I hope this clears the air.
Thanks for reading.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
Have you heard of this?
Awesome idea. The gist of it is to ask people who are not vegan to try
going vegan for the month of January. It is sponsored by a who's who of
animal rights and vegan groups. This post is going live on the 3rd so if
this is the first you've heard of it and you want to try it's not too
late.
As I write many times, I became vegan for the animals. I wanted to do as
least harm as possible. This was almost 19 years ago. During that time I
have learned that my veganism supports the environment and also makes
me a physically healthier person (as long as I exercise and eat the
right foods!).
Want to know more? Here is the official Veganuary website: http://www.veganuary.com/
This site has a TON of information. Even if you are already vegan I
suggest taking a look. Also, you can spread the word to your non-vegan
friends.
Veganism rocks. And personally, being vegan is the perfect fit for me
and really anyone who cares about animals, the environment or their
health.
Welcome to Veganuary!
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
So much is being written about this past election, as if one party had never controlled both the US House and US Senate, ever. We know this is not the case. As a progressive, I remember that, in not so distant time, both chambers and the presidency were controlled by Republicans and we got through it. Yes, it might have sucked and yes there were some bad things that happened, but we got through it.
After spending a lot of time helping candidates I support get elected, and hanging out at election parties, I was reminded that I have always wanted to write a note to those in politics in regards to my thoughts on what they could do better. This goes to folks in all political parties.
Here you go:
When in public, be kind. Don't be arrogant. This goes for your staff too. Nothing is worse than running into arrogance-filled staff members at events. Anyone representing you or your campaign should be rocking it for you in public.
If you were part of something good, talk about it. Even if it means talking positive about someone who is not popular. For example, the economy seems much better off than it was two or four years ago. Certainly better than six years, no matter who is talking about it. Sure someone who hates the President will tell you, when talking about better unemployment numbers, that this number doesn't include folks who stopped looking for employment, but they never have. Never. So it is still apples to apples.
If you like something, admit it. Don't bs us. I firmly believe that folks will respect someone who sticks to their beliefs, even if those folks don't agree with those beliefs.
Thank people. Yes, you won. It was close. Thank those who took their personal time and decided to do what they could to help get you elected or re-elected rather than spend time with their family, go for a run, or volunteer for a non-profit.
Show up. Nothing sucks more than to see ads with you being attacked for not being present at work. This doesn't fly for most of us, nor should it for you. If you have missed a bunch of work, in any capacity, tell us why.
If you lost an election, don't stop. If it is a four year term that is a bit tougher, but for two year terms run again. And again. If you firmly believe that you are a better candidate and would support the citizens better than the other person, keep going. Rock it in between elections and run again.
Give a shit. This is crucial, although many folks get elected who don't. Many folks in politics want to be mayor or governor or president. If that is the only reason you are running for state house or some other position, please don't tell me that. I want to believe that you actually care about the people who you are asking to vote for you. I get that folks aspire to a higher office, and I also want someone who represents me on any level to give a shit.
And my regular readers would be shocked if I didn't include this part. If you want to make change but do not want to get into politics, the least you can do is vote.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
What an amazing week!
Watching gay couples get married in Oklahoma, Virginia, West Virginia,
Nevada. Legal marriage is now in a majority of the states. I wept as I
watched couples who had been together 20, 30 years finally being allowed
to legally marry.
Of course many are not happy. As I write, the state of South Carolina is doing everything they can to not allow gays to marry.
And as hundreds of couples marry around the country, I ask each of you to not forget.
Please don't forget the bigots and the religious extremists. Please
don't forget those who used every waking breathe to keep marriage from
us.
Please don't forget those who had the power to simply say yes, or vote yes, and instead said or voted no.
Please don't forget those who demonized us, and continue to demonize us.
Which brings me to my point.
Many of these same people are running for election or re-election
across the country. Some of them want people to forget their horrible
words and votes against gays and lesbians. Some of them think they will
get more votes by demonizing us.
Don't let them do it. Don't let them win.
We have the power. It's called the vote.
Vote. Make sure they know we haven't forgotten. Make sure we speak with a loud voice.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
I have been vegan for 18 years. I have been out of the closet (openly gay) since 1990for 24 years.
So I am used to dealing with folks who are openly and verbally judgmental towards vegans/veganism and gays/sexual minorities.
Being used to it, many times I just shrug it off. Sometimes I engage in a kind way, especially when it comes to legal marriage or what the Bible says about married gay men living in the 21st century who want to have sex. Or when someone asks "do they really hurt the animals?"
And seldom does this negativity get to me.
Until the other day.
When talking about leaving some vegan food aside for a future day, someone I do not know said "well you definitely don't need to worry about me touching it!" They just said it, not directed to me, but as a public announcement.
Inside I became enraged. Like, WTF. Like, was that really necessary?
The rage stayed inside me for hours. It was tough to let go.
I did, finally.
I do not want to be angry, or carry anger. I don't understand why people judge or shame or ridicule. I don't like it. So the easiest thing for me is to not become those people.
After all, I can't change people. I can only control me.
I like being kind and loving. And I like being vegan and gay.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
We all have our favorite animal non-profit. Whether that is our local pound or a far-away animal sanctuary whose work we love and respect, most of us financially support groups that are helping animals in some way.
In Colorado we have a variety of such groups. They are a diverse lot, many companion animal groups saving the lives of mostly dogs and cats, some with huge operations and smaller ones with all volunteer fosters. I have worked with and/or fostered animals for many of these groups. I love that there are so many organizations here working to end animal cruelty and working to support companion animals who have been abused.
As a side note, the first time I met a cow, and fell in love with pigs, was at a sanctuary here in Colorado, one that is no longer around. I remember loving on the cow and being a little surprised about how big she was. And strong. And how much she loved it when I scratched her neck.
So many organizations. So many wonderful people working against animal cruelty.
Several months ago an activist friend of mine asked me if I would help with asking a local animal shelter to stop serving meet at their fundraising dinners. It is a fundamental problem that I have always thought about: Why do I have to order a vegan-specific meal at a fundraiser for a group whose mission is to end violence towards animals and to love and support animals? My point being that, in my head, all of these groups would of course be serving only vegan meals at their fundraisers.
I passed on helping for the same reason that I have passed on other actions: time. I have never in my life felt as crazy busy as I feel now. It has a lot to do with my day job, a job I am hugely passionate about, but nonetheless I simply do not have time to jump onto another campaign.
And I haven't stopped thinking about it.
By Dan Hanley
What an amazing week!
Watching gay couples get married in Oklahoma, Virginia, West Virginia, Nevada. Legal marriage is now in a majority of the states. I wept as I watched couples who had been together 20, 30 years finally being allowed to legally marry.
Of course many are not happy. As I write, the state of South Carolina is doing everything they can to not allow gays to marry.
And as hundreds of couples marry around the country, I ask each of you to not forget.
Please don't forget the bigots and the religious extremists. Please don't forget those who used every waking breathe to keep marriage from us.
Please don't forget those who had the power to simply say yes, or vote yes, and instead said or voted no.
Please don't forget those who demonized us, and continue to demonize us.
Which brings me to my point.
Many of these same people are running for election or re-election across the country. Some of them want people to forget their horrible words and votes against gays and lesbians. Some of them think they will get more votes by demonizing us.
Don't let them do it. Don't let them win.
We have the power. It's called the vote.
Vote. Make sure they know we haven't forgotten. Make sure we speak with a loud voice.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
Everyone seems to love bacon.
When some folks find out that I am vegan they make sure they let me know how much they love bacon.
I became vegan because I do not want to do harm to any living beings, including pigs. I haven't had bacon for over 18 years.
When I see or smell bacon, I think about pigs and how awesome they are. I
don't think about missing bacon or wishing I could eat it.
I think about torture, abuse, cruelty, sadness, intelligence, and squealing.
While considering this post I read articles on pigs. I could have spent
months on this. Pigs are quite the intelligent beings. There is plenty
of data online if you'd like to learn about that.
For me though, pigs could be the dumbest creation on earth and I would
still not want to kill them. I firmly believe that if given a choice, a
pig would run away from a dude about to slit her throat. She wouldn't
want to die. She wouldn't want to live her life in a gestation crate,
unable to turn around and unable to truly care for her piglets.
Pigs are product to those who make money off of them. Pure and simple money.
As I write this I am thinking of a little pig named Lucy. This past week
she was found by neighbors of a woman who rocks compassion in my book. I
found out about Lucy from friends on Facebook and immediately donated
to her care. She is so young and so sick, and so precious. I am grateful
that she got in the hands of humans who give a crap.
I'm not sure about Lucy's story, or where she was born. Not sure if her
mom was bred so Lucy could be bacon or not. Regardless, she's in great
hands now and I hope that with her illnesses she come through everything
OK.
If you would like to donate to Lucy's care, click here.
We donated not only because Lucy touched us, but also because we
believe that as animal-loving folk, we have to support those who go out
on a financial limb to help animals that are suffering when possible for
us to do so.
Every time someone buys bacon they support the maltreatment of living,
feeling, intelligent beings. They pay someone to inflict harm and
cruelty on that same being.
It's totally not worth it.
On our blogs main page we have several links that could be supportive of you if you would like to consider going vegan.
This post originally appeared on Dan Hanley's website The Gay Vegans. Republished with permission.
By Dan Hanley
I know. This isn't a food blog. I like to do reviews on vegan food, on restaurants and once in a while on vegan products. I have hardly ever passed along a recipe.
Last week Mike and I weren't sure what we wanted to do for dinner. I had bought green peppers at the farmer's market and thought I would finally try to make stuffed recipes. They came out so good that I just have to share my recipe.
This takes less than 15 minutes to prepare, and then the bake time. And so easy!
Recipe after the cut.
By Dan Hanley
I have written hundreds of blog posts. I always try to focus on the positive, on what we all can do to make the world a better place for all living beings, and that we all have more in common than not.
My motto is: kindness rules.
This post might not come across that way. The main point I want to get across is that any person fighting for a cause becomes a direct representative of that cause. Their actions and behaviors can have a positive or negative affect on the cause.
How fortunate am I to have a place that sells vegan milkshakes within walking distance of my office?!?!
Once in a while, on my way back to the office from an appointment or a special trip to just get out of the office and take a deep breathe, I swing by WaterCourse Foods to enjoy a delicious milkshake.
Several weeks ago I was sitting in the front waiting for my milkshake when a group of three folks walked in wearing animal rights t-shirts. The one that caught my attention was the gentleman wearing a t-shirt that had the words "F%%K MEAT" on it. Keep in mind that I'm not using the entire word, although the entire word was on the t-shirt.
