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Setting the Record Straight About Donald Watson

1/15/2019

5 Comments

 
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     After I wrote my last post, someone emailed me a link to a professional looking website that meticulously laid out a very contrary perspective regarding Donald Watson and his motivations for helping to start the vegan movement. Though the author of that site does not disclose who they are, they went to a lot of trouble to weave together evidence obviously intended to mislead people about the fact that Donald Watson was primarily motivated by wanting to avoid exploiting animals-- while stating that Watson was really most concerned with food and diet.

     But then on a different page of the site, as part of the evidence they present there trying to discredit something else, they post an image of the very first vegan newsletter that Donald Watson authored. Though the image they show of the newsletter, does not allow you to read past the first few paragraphs, the actual document -- posted online and by a credible vegan organization does make the entire newsletter readable -- and here, in the fourth paragraph is the source of Watson's famous quote:  "We can see quite plainly that our present civilization is built on the exploitation of animals..." Making it clear that for Watson, veganism is not just about food and health but foremost IS a moral and spiritual practice -- intended to evolve humanity away from exploitation. Here are screen shots of that entire page:


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l     A wise former cattle-rancher (now vegan) that I very much look up to, once advised me, "Never get in a pissing match with a skunk." So for that reason I am not going to link to the nefarious revisionist website. But do be on the lookout -- who-ever did this, appears to be very motivated to undermine veganism by presenting a false narrative, and appears to have ample resources to promote it widely.

     But I AM going to do my part to raise awareness of the real facts and I hope that all those who care about creating a more just world, and ending exploitation of other beings will join me and do what they can to help more people know who Donald Watson REALLY was and what he really cared about AND why the word vegan was created -- to NORMALIZE in our culture non-exploitation/non-violence.


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5 Comments
Matthew
1/16/2019 09:01:08 am

Wow... that is scary that someone would try to go to that level.

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JoAnn Farb
1/16/2019 07:46:57 pm

I find it sad myself. Thanks for your thoughts.

Reply
Jack McMillan
1/16/2019 07:26:30 pm

JoAnn, thanks for the link to the full 1st newsletter. I had not seen the full text.
This is helpful, for many say that the genesis of veganism and the vegan movement in 1944 was based mainly on diet concerns, and that we are infusing our ethic into the original intent of Watson, et al.
It is unfortunate that the anti's would go to such extremes to try to discredit, by any and all means, what we are all about. But, desperate ppl resort to desperate means, so it shows we are making serious headway toward changing conventions. Soon veganism will be the new norm. Thanks again for that. It helps me be on solid footing when I say that the origin of the vegan mvmt was based on an ethic of non-exploitation. And not just added later by Leslie Cross, etc.

Reply
JoAnn
1/16/2019 07:50:10 pm

We just need to keep sharing those original documents and people will see for themselves what is at the heart of veganism.
: )

Reply
Victoria Hart
1/18/2019 07:16:47 pm

Thanks for the warning, JoAnn. I find this matter to be as unsettling as what I've seen for myself in the vegan movement: An agenda to erase, deny, or render as irrelative (or as embarrassing) the religious roots of early veganism. I'm not talking about today's more commonly used and socially accepted term -- "spiritualty" -- since both agnostics and atheists alike can claim to be "spiritual." I'm talking about the influence that Albert Schweitzer's religious thoughts had on the Vegan Society's (UK) founding members and also on the founding members of The American Vegan Society. Along with the attempt to remove traces of religious thought from the roots of veganism, I'm also distressed about the movement's agenda to erase Schweitzer's term "Reverence For Life" from any of the vegan definitions that show up online or in recent books. (I challenge any vegan out there to do their own research on this matter!) To me, this censorship matter is as alarming (if not more so) than the effort to discredit Watson's care/concern for animal exploitation. Certainly it is a far more pervasive and prevalent toxicity in today's vegan communities.

For years, I've tried to raise awareness of this agenda in the movement but it seems that most every vegan is okay with the censorship. I'm confounded, to say the least, by this blatant double standard.

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