The
guilt and shame perpetrators feel for their violent actions stem from their
natural sense of kindness and caring, which they have blocked and are
violating. Their attitude toward bystanders may even be indignation: “If you
want to be a vegetarian, that’s fine, but don’t tell us what to do.” While at
first blush this seems reasonable, we quickly see that it is only because of
the disconnections and bias inherent in our culture. Perpetrators wouldn’t dare
say, “If you don’t want to beat and stab your pet dog, that’s fine, but don’t
tell me not to beat and stab mine.” We all recognize that we aren’t entitled to
treat others, especially those who are defenseless, however we like, and that
if we are responsible for doing harm, people have every right to ask us to
stop.![]()

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