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Fake vegans (sopuli.xyz)
submitted 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) by rbn@sopuli.xyz to c/yepowertrippinbastards@lemmy.dbzer0.com

Vegans being banned and comments being deleted from !vegan@lemmy.world for being fake vegans.

From my perspective, the comments were in no way insulting and just part of completely normal interaction. If this decision reflects the general opinion of the mod team, then from my perspective, the biggest vegan community on Lemmy wants to be an elitist cycle of hardcore vegans only, not allowing any slightly different opinion. Which would be very unfortunate.

PS: In contrast to the name of this community, I don't want to insult anyone here being a 'bastard'. I just want to post this somewhere on neutral ground. I would really appreciate an open discussion without bashing anyone.

PPS: Some instances or clients seem to compress the screenshots in a way they're unreadable. Find the full resolution here: https://imgur.com/a/8XdexTm

Linking the affected users and mods: @Cypher@lemmy.world @gaael@lemmy.world @gredo@lemmy.world @iiGxC@slrpnk.net @veganpizza69@lemmy.world @veganpizza69@lemmy.vg @jerkface@lemmy.ca @TheTechnician27@lemmy.world @Sunshine@lemmy.ca @Aqua@lemmy.vg

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[-] gaael@lemmy.world 59 points 3 weeks ago

Lol found out here that I had been banned from the community. Ty for sharing the information :)

Regarding the matter, I understand their reaction.
I've been interacting with some vegan circles IRL and some are more "hardcore" (not in a negative way) than others. When you consider animal exploitation as mass slavery, mass torture and mass murder, it becomes increasingly difficult to tolerate even light deviations from the all-vegan path.

This being said, I would have preferred they had a better wording for the temp ban reason than "fake vegan" by which I feel insulted and hurt.

[-] quirzle@lemmy.zip 27 points 3 weeks ago

(not in a negative way)

Debatable.

One of my best friends is a long-term vegan. He generally avoids telling people because he so strongly hates being lumped in with this crowd of asshats.

[-] AngryishHumanoid@reddthat.com 24 points 3 weeks ago

Not a lot of 100% vegan grocery stores, where do they get their food?

[-] SnotFlickerman 11 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

EDIT: It's pretty telling that everyone is reading this as an excuse to keep murdering instead of accepting that murder is part of being alive. "Life feeds on life." It is not pretty, it is ugly and dark. What should be taken away is a greater respect for all life and an understanding of what we're taking when we feed on life. It should be used as a pretext to respect all life and do your best to reduce harm to all life. Whatever life you're taking should be considered valuable and a sacrifice made. (Mass deforestation to make way for agricultural farming doesn't just hurt trees, it hurts the animals that live in them and among them, for instance. A soybean farm doesn't have the same ecological importance as an old growth forest, sorry.) The fact that this view is seen as a reason to kill more instead of kill less and have respect for the life you take is pathetic.

But keep ranting to me in your total misread of what I'm saying.


Just popping in to say the main reason that attitude is dumb because there is no such thing as moral absolutism.

animal exploitation as mass slavery, mass torture and mass murder

Do we consider antibiotics exploitative to penicillin? Do we cry over every breath we take in which our immune system automatically murders billions of bacteria?

Just because plants don't have faces like ours and don't look like us and don't scream when we kill them killing plants is fine somehow. They're all alive, you're still killing life, and in our great inhuman lack-of-wisdom we've decided that if it doesn't have a brain and consciousness like ours, then it most not have consciousness and thus it's okay to murder and exploit them.

Just call me the fucking Lorax. Who speaks for the trees, dude?

Anyway, no such thing as moral absolutism and these people will continue to climb higher and higher on their holier-than-thou-mountain only to become caricatures of a real person.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 14 points 3 weeks ago

Isn't it pretty apparent?

If it can feel pain and suffer it shouldn't.

Bacteria do not have the capability to feel suffering. They cannot even feel.

Plants and fungi, despite their increased complexity, do not have the capability to suffer either.

The entire point of the field of ethics and half the field of philosophy is to reduce suffering. Torture is bad because it causes suffering. Killing is bad because it causes suffering. Slavery is bad because it causes suffering. Rape is bad because it causes suffering. Abuse is bad because is causes suffering.

Veganism extends this to animals who are capable of suffering in ways identical to us humans. It also raises important questions: Would it be ethical to treat aliens the same way humanity treats non-humans? What if the aliens are sufficiently stupid, yet still capable of civilization? What if they're smarter but live in solitude? Why exactly is it unethical to kill severely mentally disabled people? Is it just because humans view themselves as superior to every other living being in the universe?

I believe veganism is the objectively moral choice. Still, I'm not vegan for various reasons. But I don't have any qualms with admitting my behavior is objectively wrong.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 3 weeks ago

The entire point of the field of ethics and half the field of philosophy is to reduce suffering

this is just a lie. one type of ethical study, utilitarianism, is focused on that. many ethical theories don't regard suffering at all, or only as a facet of some other concern.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 3 weeks ago

I'd argue minimizing suffering is basis for all ethics, just that they are achieving it in different ways.

Deontological ethics in a vacuum cause more suffering than utilitarianism. Yet (most) deontological philosophies seek to achieve as much good as possible - and therefore minimizing harm. Kant's categorical imperative is - as a layman - just a formalization of: "Do what is good for you AND others. Don't do what is good for you but bad for others."

And I believe if you ask an ethics board at a why something was not permitted, you will always get the result: "Causes too much harm". This happens despite them being allowed to evaluate based on many different philosophies.

I know very little ethics systems that don't inevitable lead to a society with less suffering if strictly followed by most. Although that might just be because society as is is objectively unethical.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 weeks ago

all divine command theories only incidentally reduce harm, and only sometimes. and kant (like all deontologists) is not concerned with outcomes, only the correctness of the action.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 3 weeks ago

From my limited knowledge, Kant was concerned with rationality first and foremost. But suffering just happens to be one of the most irrational things there is. In no world is there ever a benefit to increasing suffering because if you apply this universally you too would experience increased suffering which is irrational.

I don't think this is a coincidence. You could create a deontological philosophy that bases everything on irrationality and it would remain consistent if viewed through the lens of itself. Irrational maxims lead to contradictions, meaning this philosophy too is irrational and contradictory - which is consistent if you seek to apply irrationality universally.

Why didn't Kant come up with the inversion of his philosophy if it remains consistent? I'd argue because it would have lead to maximizing suffering which (mostly) nobody wants.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 weeks ago

you don't know what you're talking about.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 weeks ago

Indeed, I have not studied philosophy and have only received an introduction and high-level overview from school. Which is why I'm continuously stating that I am far from an expert in regards to ethics and philosophy and this is more of an amateur reading.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 weeks ago

if you don't know, you can just not say anything.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 weeks ago

I don't know maths beyond university linear algebra and calculus. I can still provide my opinion on math problems despite my limited knowledge because knowledge is not binary.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

you didn't frame it as an opinion. it was stated as fact. and it's wrong

[-] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

If you presented your ideas on mathematics that are above your understanding level, you'd be called out on the same way.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 10 points 3 weeks ago

Plants and fungi, despite their increased complexity, do not have the capability to suffer either.

you can't prove this

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 3 weeks ago

When talking about suffering, I am generally speaking of "pain, as processed by a nervous system".

At least for bacteria, their structures are simple enough to be understood to a large extent by humans. We know chemical reactions cannot suffer and we know proteins cannot suffer. Due to the simple nature of bacteria, it is highly doubtful that they are capable of suffering since all "processing" occurs through varying level of chemicals and minerals.

But I cannot even prove that rocks do not suffer, therefore it is worthless to prove the absence of suffering. Rather, the ability to experience suffering must be proven.

[-] Zagorath@aussie.zone 9 points 3 weeks ago

FWIW I don't think you need to define suffering so narrowly to make an argument for veganism or vegetarianism. You can accept that plants do feel suffering and still do it. Because the amount of plants that get killed per kilojoule of energy in beef (feeding the cows) is way more than the amount of plants killed per kilojoule of directly eating plants.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 weeks ago

I cannot even prove that rocks do not suffer, therefore it is worthless to prove the absence of suffering

you got there eventually.

[-] SnotFlickerman 5 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

I cannot even prove that rocks do not suffer, therefore it is worthless to prove the absence of suffering

This take is a big fucking YIKES from someone who claims to care about living things.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 3 points 3 weeks ago
[-] SnotFlickerman 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

Oops, I meant the person you were responding to, sorry buddy. I'm on your side here. I'm sorry I wasn't more clear.

The fact that they compare other living things to rocks... just... wow. I edited it to make it more clear who I was referring to. Once again, my bad and I'm sorry friend.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago

it's not clear that they do care about living things. it seems they're only concern is suffering.

[-] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 3 weeks ago

Just saw your comment, I meant it in terms of that the absence of something is often impossible to prove, therefore it is a worthless metric. The metric that should be looked at is whether something is showing indication of suffering.

I couldn't even prove humans are capable of suffering either. You can prove that pain manifests itself through activation of certain brain regions but that doesn't prove the existence of suffering. It's like trying to prove that the color red is accurately visualized in your brain.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 3 weeks ago

When talking about suffering, I am generally speaking of "pain, as processed by a nervous system".

if you define it in a way that specifically precludes other creatures, that seems biased. you don't know how a single-celled organism might be able to suffer. that doesn't mean that they can't.

[-] nsrxn@lemmy.dbzer0.com 9 points 3 weeks ago

Bacteria do not have the capability to feel suffering. They cannot even feel.

you can't prove this

[-] gaael@lemmy.world 7 points 3 weeks ago

I will not debate about whether animals, plants and bacteria suffer the same way.
This is an argument I've heard time and time again from the antivegan crowd and imo falls into the "at best very uninformed, more likely troll" category.

[-] Makeshift@sh.itjust.works 7 points 3 weeks ago

Plants feel pain too so it’s okay to stab babies. There’s no difference between pulling a potato out of the ground and punting a chihuahua over a fence! :)

If you disagree with that, you must be a moral absolutist.

[-] FelixCress@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

It's pretty telling that everyone is reading this as an excuse to keep murdering instead of accepting that murder is part of being alive.

What murder, sweetie?

[-] FelixCress@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

When you consider animal exploitation as mass slavery, mass torture and mass murder,

... it is the time to speak to a psychiatrist.

[-] gaael@lemmy.world 6 points 3 weeks ago

Hello dear internet user,
It looks like you need to educate yourself on at least 3 topics before using your keyboard again:

  • why is it hurtful and not ok to rebutt other's opinions by suggesting they are mentally ill?
  • are other animals sentient, sociable and do they feel emotions and pain?
  • how are meat and dairy products produced and how many animals live in this system?

Once you've done the work, we'll be able to agree on the basics facts and exchange arguments on how we see the situation and the precise words we want to use.

Looking forward to engaging with you in good faith in the future,
Me.

[-] FelixCress@lemmy.world 1 points 3 weeks ago

Hello dear internet user

It looks like you need to educate yourself about the terms like "food chain" and "what is the difference between food and humans".

Once you've done the work, we'll be able to agree on the basics facts and exchange arguments. Looking forward to engaging with you in good faith in the future.

this post was submitted on 10 Jan 2025
199 points (100.0% liked)

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This is a community in the spirit of "Am I The Asshole" where people can post their own bans from lemmy or reddit or whatever and get some feedback from others whether the ban was justified or not.

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