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“Vegans are like Hitler” and other Logical Fallacies
Posted on September 4th, 2012 by Colleen in Food for Thought Blog Podcast Writings
This Post has 10 Comments
This Post has 10 Comments
Join me today as I talk about fallacious arguments: cheap and easy tactics for attempting to discredit veganism and undermine animal activism. Though there are many, some of the more inflammatory ones are discussed today, including the ad hominem attack/logical fallacy that tries to create a connection between Hitler and animal/vegan activists and one that blatantly misuses a word (discrimination) to scare people away from veganism.
(Here is the link to the sermon mentioned on this podcast, I Am My Brother’s Keeper.)
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10 Comments for this Post
September 4, 2012 at 11:48 pm
Hello,
I am really looking forward to listening to the podcast (as always!) yet I can´t find the way to download it as an mp3 file. It used to be possible with the past episodes but I wonder whether there is any way to do it with this one too. Thank you for all suggestions!
Best regards
September 5, 2012 at 9:22 am
Hi there!
You can view and download the individual mp3 files for each of the podcasts at http://www.vegetarianfoodforthought.com. That archive allows you to search by category and by date and the most recent podcasts are always on the first page.
Hope this helps!
Amanda
September 6, 2012 at 1:10 pm
Thank you, Amanda. That´s exactly what I needed!
Kristina
October 5, 2012 at 10:28 am
hi
i am new to podcasts and such and i really want to listen to this on my ipod. I don’t have an iphone/ ipad and am wondering how i dowload these to put them into my itunes library to listen on my ipod. Sorry for being such a dinosaur!
September 5, 2012 at 8:26 pm
Brilliant podcast, as always – thank you!
I’ve heard these ridiculous Hitler comparisons before … they’re pathetic and they’re very easy to shoot down.
Just pick practically any really, really horrible infamous person – preferably who has commtted an atrocity/atrocities (or perhaps some political person whom the “just like Hitler” utterer finds offensive politically, philosophically, etc.) and then say, “You know, ______ (Dr. Mengale/Idi Amin/Charles Manson, etc.) eats/ate meat. You eat meat, too, don’t you? OMG – you’re just like _________! (Gasp!)”
You can also ask them if all of Hitler’s henchmen were vegetarian, as well. You know, the millions and millions of people who followed him? Really, a Vegetarian Nazi Germany? Or did Hitler act on his own?
And then you can point out to them just how ridiculous their Hitler comparison sounds.
Personally, I find the war monger, economy destroyer, rancher and animal eater “George W Bush” an excellent person to mention. Gets them EVERY time.
Carry on!
September 6, 2012 at 4:34 pm
This was FASCINATING. I loved all the bit with the debate vocabulary. All new stuff for me.
AND — I grew up in the UU church and all its progressiveness.
I’m pretty shocked too at your church’s verdict in that story. So short sighted of them. And yet, as you pointed out, look what developed as a result.
Thank you for sharing your experiences here. This has been one of my favorite of your podcasts so far. (And that is saying a lot. I have so many favorites.)
September 9, 2012 at 8:06 pm
I really appreciated your sharing of your experiences that fed into your current work, Colleen. It’s very inspiring to hear about the evolution of your activism and the struggles that you encountered. I am so impressed by the way you are able to express yourself and handle these tough situations with grace and intelligence. Thank you for sharing.
This is an interesting topic to listen to, since just a few days ago, I met a new coworker who was describing herself as a vegetarian who eats chicken and fish sometimes (which also relates to another recent podcast), and I and another coworker were offering her one of the Boca burgers that had been brought to the event we were attending for me (since I am the vegan in the room, as you say). This new coworker decided to have a hamburger, and she then described herself as “not a vegetarian Nazi,” or something along those lines. I thought this was a terrible thing to say. Describing someone who follows his or her beliefs into consistent practice does not make them a Nazi, especially when those beliefs and behaviors are centered in compassion and non-violence. To respond to my new coworker’s remark, I decided to say, “That’s not a very nice word!” in a playful and lighthearted tone. Other things were happening at the moment, but I’m sure otherwise we could have had a very nice dialog, and hopefully me responding to her use of the word “Nazi” will stick in her mind. She and I did have a nice dialog later about my reasons for being vegan (as people almost always ask when meeting me), but we did not speak about her remark. I do hope that she and I will be able to speak more as we spend more time together, and hopefully my openness will allow for more opportunities to adjust her perspective.
Thank you for your podcasts! They are perfect running companions, and they are helping me to communicate with others openly and not be secretive about my veganism which is so central to who I am.
E
October 10, 2012 at 9:30 am
You might want to remind her that Nazis were responsible for the horrible deaths of millions and vegetarians are not.
September 25, 2012 at 8:06 pm
I recently read Charles Patterson’s book, Eternal Treblinka. In it he describes evidence that Hitler’s choice to refrain from eating animals was due to gastric intestinal issues- not ethical reasons.
…In other words, Hitler refrained from eating meat b/c meat gave him gas.
Also, he supposedly regularly ate sausage..so in fact was not a vegetarian.
February 16, 2013 at 10:35 pm
Excellent podcast.
I had a similar experience with UU. I just became a member in January and a few weeks later, a UU Animal Ministry (UUAM) started up at the church. I went to the first meeting but had issues with it…I was essentially outnumbered in my thoughts and shut down….I was very disappointed as I wanted to be a part of their animal ministry but I feel I would be unethical to my principles as a person of compassion/animal rights activist if I stayed with the group. So I left and, like you, transferred all my passion and energy that was to be at the UUAM to creating my own ministry outside the church.
I still am a member and love UU dearly. The church I go to feels like a home away from home in many ways, but it’s far from perfect…but what church, or any large group is close to perfection? And I’ll still give them tips if they need advice regarding animal ministry but I’m going to have my own ministry so I can do it in the way I feel is the best way regarding veganism/animal rights and keep my integrity.
Mega props to you!