I have no issue with "veganism" or animal rights activism in general. I do, however, take issue with the animals' struggle being equated to human atrocities such as the Nazi Holocaust, Native Indigenous genocide, and American slavery. The vegan community even goes as far as to accessorize black slaves to push their agenda. Considering the context of history and modern times, posts and memes are very insensitive and borderline racist. The moment when people of color (POC) speak against this racism, they're called "speciesists."
The more that I dive into POC history, the more that I learn about the extensive and torturous treatment of my ancestors and others. For instance, I learned that black babies were used as alligator bait because white men didn't want to lose limbs to alligators, all for the sake of precious alligator-skinned shoes. Additionally, I learned that there were human zoos. On Instagram, a couple of vegan pages posted the following image and, when they got backlash, they stood by it and disregarded the people of color who spoke against it.
The users of the accounts clearly didn't care about the insensitivity behind it and defended the intention, even after being told that POC are viewed as an inferior society and that they are dehumanized time and time again. The level of empathy for POC lives is lacking when compared to domestic and exotic animals (i.e. Cecil The Lion). Blatant racists have no issues with calling POC wild, untamed animals, so what does that make vegans who equate our ancestors' atrocity and us to animals? It's racist, even if it isn't their intention.
Whenever I hear vegans defend this with the "we're all the same" narrative, I imagine them being silent when POC are called monkeys by the blatant racists. When black people speak out against it, the vegan then asks them why they're so defensive about being called an animal, instead of defending their humanity. It makes me wonder if they see nothing wrong with blatant racism since they "see us all in the same way." There is a manner of addressing the inequality without dehumanizing POC and their struggle. Instead of making insensitive equivalencies, why not examine each struggle individually? It gets the point across just as effectively, if not more.
Other issues within the vegan community are classism and "ableism." The community implies that a vegan diet is accessible to all peoples without considering sociological aspects that may be a limitation. Not all are able to afford cruelty-free foods, clothing, shoes, and objects not tested on animals. The community also implies that all persons are physically able to have a vegan diet and that there's no excuse, not considering the people who have allergies or other health defects that make them unable to pursue the lifestyle. Not everyone is able to physically able to pursue the dietary, ethical lifestyle.
