Nazi's and Me

As a continuation to the whole WWII being a reflection of specieism argument, Isaac Bashevis Singer, a holocaust survivor and advocate for the Animal Rights/Holocaust comparison, writes "In htier behavior towards creatures, all men [are] Nazis" (732). This is, obviously, a pretty harsh and unfounded claim that is more irritating than anything else, but is there any truth at all to it? It is hard to me to rationalize a direct comparison between everyday meat-eating humans and the radical Nazi party. It seems to me that you can point out similarities in the actions against Jews by the Nazis, and the actions against animals by Humans, but I don't think that merits a direct comparison. I would argue that this is really a question of intent. Why did Nazi's persecute the Jews? Was it for food? Was it to conduct medical experiments and ultimately improve the quality of life for themselves? No. I was always taught, and I think this is right..., that the Nazi's thought that Jews were a plague to the human race. They were not PRIMARILY an opportunity for medical advancement or profit. The Nazi party argued that they were an inferior race, and the world would be better off with out them. This was their initial argument for persecution. What happened afterwards is no secret. People were exploited, tortured, and killed.
Now, let me take a look at myself. I eat animals. Does this make me a Nazi? I doubt it. I, for one, love animals. I love being around them, talking about them, looking at them, etc. I love how naturally and beautifully they fit into this world. I can't imagine a world without them, and I hate trying to do so. I feel like MOST people also fit into this category. Clearly, the intent is different. So why, if our intent is so different from the Nazi's, does the outcome look so similar? We drive cattle into giant cramped factories where they are exploited, tortured, and slaughtered...sounds eerily familiar. I feel like a lot of it is how far removed the product is from the production. When I go eat a Crispy Chicken Sandwhich from Wendy's, I don't see pictures of the meat plant, I don't hear the sounds of the machinery and brutal living conditions, I don't witness the cattle being killed. Instead, I just see the tasty looking sandwhich.



Instead of saying that we are all Nazi's when dealing with animals, I would argue that we are both (Nazi's and us) part of a larger group. "Pain is pain, no matter what the species of the being that feels it." (637) Nazi's were famous for having no reservations about inflicting horrifying amounts of pain and brutality on the Jews in order to achieve their ultimate goal of extermination. In the same way, we are capable of justifying the same thing (the torture and 'murder' of animals) in order to achieve our own goals. This is a comparison that isn't really refutable. If you buy a burger, you are endorsing specieism. Buut there is definitely a large disconnect between the two. Nazi's were committing crimes against humanity. Man killing man. I am committing crimes (this implies a set of laws, which I don't think exists. I personally have no problems eating meat) against animals. Man killing animals. There is a clear difference here, and I would argue that humans and animals are in no way equal beings. Buut that is a whole different argument. I'm just trying to lay out the comparison here.



"Should he mourn? Is it proper to mourn the death of beings who do not practise mourning among themselves? Looking into his heart, he can find only a vague sadness" (679). Can we, and should we mourn the death of "beings who do no practice mourning among themselves"? What makes the death of an animal so much less significant than the death of a human? Is that the way it should be? When Jake (my dog of 13 years) died my senior year in high school, I was definitely sad for a week or so, but there is just no comparison between the death of a dog and the death of a human. If my sister died, I would be completely torn apart. Does this make me a Nazi? Hopefully not.