Save Yourself, Screw the Livestock

At this point, you're sick of vegans. You, along with the rest of the normal world, have long ago written them off for their annoying persistance. If veganism were a book, it would have countless plot holes in it, and why should you read a book like that? It's so much easier to turn a blind eye on the way animals are treated than to change your whole lifestyle, anyway. Why read up on the disturbing reasons why cows who should be able to live for 25 years dies 20 years early (The Guardian)? It's not like it's a secret that farmers care more about money than their livestock. And even if you let that fact affect you, what could you even do about it? One person swearing off meat that millions of others consume seems more harmful than helpful, even if it is filled with hormones (but again, you should just not think about that). Commercialization has consequences, but at least you're not the one feeling them. Yet.

And who are these vegans, anyway? It seems to you that most of them are just fitness freaks, or people whose lives are, in general, easier than yours. The only positive picture (and by positive, you mean funny, of course) that comes to mind is that photo of the PETA protest on Thanksgiving, with a person curled up next to two giant fake turkeys, and a large section of text that says, "We are all the same." There are so many things wrong with that statement, where can you even begin? Maybe you could start off by arguing that, in fact, animals don't wake up at 7 am every day in order to get ready for their corporate jobs. And anyway, we only consume animals that are healthy for us; it's not like we're still out there hunting elephants and tigers just for fun. At least most of us aren't. But the point is, vegans are absolutely exhausting. You have better things to do with your time.

Visual Satire

The people on the right resemble a group of zombies, with their lopsided features, wide eyes, and open mouths. This mocks the idea of a mindless mob, and the readiness of a group to assemble in order to fight for something that might not matter, just as long as everybody else is doing it. The twinkie represents a barely relevant issue that directly affects many people, while saving the Earth, as its condition will most likely not affect the current generation, is less important to the majority. People are willing to walk by matters of greater magnitude, as though ignorance will make them disappear, and instead focus their enthusiasm on more selfish causes.

The man and woman at left represent the rather helpless minority: those who are concerned for the world's future, but lack the proper attention to address the important issues at hand. They can only look on as people continue to disregard real problems. The "Save the Twinkie" sign is larger and more decorated, showing the greater appeal that the problem has in relation to the "Save the Earth" issue. The ground on which the two groups stand is separated, as though they live on different planets; this space represents the differences both sets of people have in their morals. The man's "We're doomed" text bubble hangs above everything else in the picture: if people continue to support issues that only affect those who live in the immediate present, eventually it will be too late to save anything. Like Miner's essay, this picture satirizes "the personality structure of [Americans]," (Miner 318). Today's society takes so much comfort in its rituals that it is only outraged by policy that prohibits their practice.