The Importance of Bearing Witness
"Please don’t refuse with your eyes what the animals endure with their bodies."
-Shaun Monson
What Is It?
Though World War II ended 75 years ago, we will not allow ourselves to forget that travesty. We build memorials to the victims in camps, military heroes, and other civilians whose lives were so cruelly taken. We erect monuments at the sites of battles. We visit museums honoring the dead. We read books and watch movies and shows about nearly every facet of the war. We watch real footage of prisoners being killed and see their bodies piled up in mass graves, images we should only ever see in the most terrifying horror movies.
We do not do these things because it's fun and exciting or because we want to remember one of the greatest tragedies on Earth; we do them because we must remind ourselves of the dangers of power, to commemorate the lives of the victims, and to prevent future tragedies. This is what it means to bear witness. It's viewing something painful to remind ourselves why we need to remember it.
How It's Done
There are many ways to bear witness. The way most vegans hear about it is through the Animal Save Movement in which activists stand outside and watch animals being delivered to slaughterhouses, give them some water, words of kindness, and our deepest apologies. But the simplest and most common way is by watching videos and documentaries.
One trick I've found to be quite helpful when it comes to watching graphic footage is to remind myself that the individuals I'm seeing on the screen are gone now. Their suffering is over, and I'm just paying my respects, acknowledging their pain. Also, I discovered when I watched Dominion for the first time and when rewatching Earthlings, I found much comfort in having my dog with me. I believe this is because I felt such a desire to act; it feels wrong to sit back and watch abuse occur. Since I could do nothing to intervene, I could at least snuggle with my dog or a pillow to ease the restlessness in my hands.
Embracing Pain
Bearing witness is often painful, disheartening, and depressing. It hurts to see someone else suffering and be unable to do anything. And that's why so many people say that they don't need to do it, that they can do what's right without the reminders. But if that were the case, the world would be vegan.
However, bearing witness isn't all about you, especially when it comes to animal rights. Though it's helpful for staying committed to veganism and activism, bearing witness is also about the individual animals. It's about acknowledging and empathizing with their suffering, a way of being with them and sharing in their pain, maybe taking some small fraction of their pain away. Because if we don't do that, then who will? These poor, innocent creatures are viewed as worthless by the people paying for them to be in this situation; those people may never see the terror they cause. But we have, and we're witnessing the consequences of their actions and sharing their victims' stories.
Bearing witness is not easy, it's not fun, and it hurts. There may be tears, feelings of deep shame, and a sense of loathing for the world. Sometimes, you have to force yourself to do it even though there's almost nothing else you'd rather do less. But our fleeting discomfort is nothing compared to what animals are facing every moment of every day. You have to use these emotions as tools to aid in the elimination of their oppression.
Why It Matters
After going vegan, it's not like you've simply turned off the parts of you that want to be part of the group, that want to belong, that want things to be easy again. We're living in a speciesist, carnist world, and everything and everyone around us is trying to keep it that way. Every single day, we have to fight against ignorance and discrimination that is ingrained in our society. If you allow the animals to fall to the back of your mind, the life of indoctrination you had before will begin to seep in again, and it will become easier and easier to fool yourself into thinking that things aren't really as bad as you thought.
I know this firsthand because I've experienced it. In my earlier years of veganism, I did things I now regret, and even though I felt bad when I did them, I still let myself believe that I didn't need to bear witness because I was such an animal lover. I used to be proud that I loved animals so much that I couldn't bear to see them suffer, but now I know that was only weakness. It takes nothing for us to look away, but doing so takes everything away from them.
be conscious, be kind, be vegan
Related posts you may enjoy:
"Should Vegans Watch Graphic Footage?"
"7 Ways to Handle Being an Angry Vegan"
"The Five Factors of Veganism"
"Rewatching Earthlings for the First Time Since Going Vegan"