On a recently locked struggle session thread, someone made the claim that

i love how people who hate my existence are just as evil as someone who doesn't care about eating a McRib

meat eating is bad but I don't think im going to compare them to people who don't want me to exist

The user in question is a woman and I'm not, so I think the best way to respond to this is to discuss it in the context of an oppression that applies to me. Here's a post where I've already done so:

I'm autistic. I struggle a lot with things that allistic people can typically do very easily or even effortlessly - things many would consider fundamental to being human, like socialization and romantic relationships. Over the course of my life, countless people have said and done things to me that make it clear that they view me as less than human. I've seen them say and do things to other autistic people because they make it clear they view them as less than human. This immediately gives me very good reason to be critical of the thought process that says "They're not human, so we get to be cruel to them."

I think this warrants elaboration, though.

I had the misfortune of being active for many years in communities were "autistic" was considered an insult. Just as most people are offended to be compared to animals, it was seen as demeaning and shameful to be compared to called autistic - "you're like one of those inferiors!" I would be extremely suspicious of anyone who claims to be an ally to autistic people but who flies into a rage if someone dares suggest that a crime against us carries comparable moral weight to a crime against them.

Am I offended to have my struggle compared to our society's crimes our fellow creatures? Do I think it carries with it the implication that I'm beneath moral consideration? No, because I don't consider animals beneath moral consideration.

  • dat_math [they/them]
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    edit-2
    1 year ago

    Am I offended to have my struggle compared to our society's crimes our fellow creatures? Do I think it carries with it the implication that I'm beneath moral consideration? No, because I don't consider animals beneath moral consideration.

    Damn, dawg. Well said.
    I've been wracking my brain (since the struggle session preceding the one preceding today's/yesterday's) trying to formulate an argument in that direction and nothing I wrote was even close to this succinct.