Conversation

Notices

1. Jeff McFadden (jeffanddonkeys@spore.social)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jul-2023 07:43:19 UTC Jeff McFadden

   Consider for a moment how you feel when somebody tells you, "Back then, they didn't know slavery was wrong."
   Then think how I feel when somebody tells me, "We have to have all the things we get by burning fossil fuels and the living Earth."
   Slavery massively hurt one selected group of people.
   We are massively hurting every human, every animal, every plant, bird, fish, even every bug, now and for at least the next thousand years, for toys and speed.
   And excuse ourselves. Standard of living.

   • Jeff McFadden (jeffanddonkeys@spore.social)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jul-2023 07:43:15 UTC Jeff McFadden

     in reply to

     Here's how I work mine.
     You cannot force this kind of cooperation. You cannot abuse an animal into it.
     Yes there are abusers. They're fools and it never works for them.
     In much of the energy efficient world, women drive donkeys.
     Because women aren't inclined to beat on them, so it works.
     There's one crabby old bat in the Ethiopia video, but not violent.
     Her donkey gives her shit. She deserves it. https://youtu.be/Db1zYr1xPKM

     Wonderskeptic repeated this.
   • Jeff McFadden (jeffanddonkeys@spore.social)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jul-2023 07:43:15 UTC Jeff McFadden

     in reply to

     My Clara gives me shit, but of course I never deserve it.
     Clara also hugs. She knows what a hug is. Clara walks up, gently places her whole face against my torso with the top of her head about at my chin, and wait for me to wrap my arms around her head. We embrace, my slightly ornery donkey and I. I value it highly.
     Here's Clara being video subject/unpaid model for a harnessing video. When Iay under her you know I trust her.
     She and I are in this together. Her mom too.
     https://youtu.be/eaWtXFKU-WQ

   • Jeff McFadden (jeffanddonkeys@spore.social)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jul-2023 07:43:16 UTC Jeff McFadden

     in reply to

     I hear a great deal about animal abuse, but none of the animals in this video are abused.
     There is a donkey with a load of firewood going about his business entirely unsupervised. Donkeys work unsupervised all over the world, or not closely supervised. One man or woman to five, ten, fifty on caravans. They're just walking. Walking is what donkeys do, and they don't mind doing it for us.
     Look at these animals, look at these men. This is not abuse. It's partnership. https://youtu.be/KT_0S3uXlBo

   • Jeff McFadden (jeffanddonkeys@spore.social)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jul-2023 07:43:17 UTC Jeff McFadden

     in reply to

     I post links to this video all the time.
     On the average, these people are healthier than Americans. Very little diabetes, very little heart disease. Few of the ailments which keep Americans enslaved by health insurance companies.
     They don't look any less happy to me than lone Americans in traffic.
     I'm not glorifying anything. Perfect is not on the menu.
     These people have a foundation on which to build. We don't. https://youtu.be/ic2TvHPz7MI

   • Jeff McFadden (jeffanddonkeys@spore.social)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jul-2023 07:43:18 UTC Jeff McFadden

     in reply to

     As long as we don't personally have to do the work, well, somebody has to do it, you know, the slaves, oh I do hope they're treated well, or the machines, oh I hope they don't power those with fossil fuels - it's the same hopium, doing the same job. Justifying the unjustifiable.
     3/4 of all the people on Earth don't have the stuff we have.
     "Climate justice" means bringing them "up to" us.
     Psst. They're not burning fossil fuels. They've got it right, not us.
     We need to learn from them.

   • Jeff McFadden (jeffanddonkeys@spore.social)'s status on Tuesday, 11-Jul-2023 07:43:19 UTC Jeff McFadden

     in reply to

     We invented high energy machines to replace our slaves.
     If we had chattel slavery, based on skin color, today, millions would publicly agree it was awful and we ought to do something about it, but really, our standard of living would take an intolerable hit.
     I mean, that's why we "have to" emit more CO2 today than we did yesterday. Coz today we need one more gee-whiz gizmo than we needed yesterday.
     Free electricity for everybody!