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Being compassionate doesn’t mean we get to be compassionate only to the people who agree with us or whose values we share. Compassion means being compassionate to everyone, even those who are not compassionate — even holding compassion for people who hurt animals or who contribute to animal cruelty.
The animals need us to be more compassionate — not less — and spewing anger, hatred, vitriol, violence, judgment, and arrogance in the name of compassion just means we create more anger, hatred, vitriol, violence, judgment, and arrogance in the world.
We don’t get a pass because we say we are on the side of the animals.
Compassion is not weakness. Compassion is not passive. Compassion does not condone cruelty. Compassion is strong. Compassion is fierce. Compassion can stand on its own and blot out bigotry and hate. It doesn’t need bigotry and hate to do so.
Don’t underestimate compassion. It contains everything we need to create the world we all envision for animals — both human and non-human.
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Hi! I’m Colleen.
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