Cotorra
07-ago-2013, 10:06
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When I learned of Thomas Ponce I was blown away. You mean to tell me that a 12-year-old started his own lobbying group? And was the regional coordinator of Fin Free Florida? I can’t recall what I was doing at age 12, but I certainly wasn’t trying to make the world a better place for animals. As I got to know Thomas, I was very impressed by his intellect, compassion, and strategic view of animal rights. He is the Mozart of the animal rights movement. I am sure you will be equally blown away by Thomas.
Let’s start with your journey to vegetarianism and then becoming vegan. Were you the only vegetarian in your family and community at the time? How do your peers regard veganism?
I decided to become a vegetarian when I was four and then a vegan when I was around 9 or 10 and yes, I was the only vegetarian I knew. My parents had not yet made the commitment nor did they express any desire to do so (yet). They always instilled in me a love for animals. I grew up with two cats, Harley and Shadow, and later on Figaro and my very interesting dog Flower. To me eating a chicken or a cow or any other animal would be like eating one of them and that thought was horrifying to me. As I learned more about factory farming and animal experimentation and all the other horrors that go on every day against animals I started showing my mom the things I learned, and slowly she came along. Once I had my mom converted, my dad was kind of forced to join us, as my mom is the one who does all the cooking. I am proud to say now that both my parents are vegan. That’s not to say they haven’t slipped once or twice but they are only human and I forgive them.
As far as how my peers regard veganism, they don’t get it. Most respect my views and don’t comment at all but there are those, and there are quite a few, that feel the need to challenge my decisions usually with rude comments and uneducated assumptions. They feel the need to try to impose their way of life and their beliefs on me. They mainly want to debate why I don’t eat meat. I’ve gotten the whole “God gave us the animals to eat” speech, the “you’ll die without the protein you get from meat” speech, the “that’s what animals are raised for” nonsense and so on. These people are so closed minded that they’ll say anything just so they can feel superior. Is it frustrating, sure. Does it deter me, never. I’m different and I believe strongly in what I’m doing and no amount of words will make me give up my beliefs.
I will discuss being a vegan with whoever wants to truly learn about it, but the others who just want to argue are not worth it. I usually know a few minutes into the conversation whether or not the person I am speaking to is really listening or not, and I make my decision from there. I used to debate it back and forth and get very frustrated but I’ve learned from my mistakes. Some people are just not ready to learn and open themselves to the truth, and those people I don’t waste my breath on. Will I continue to try to raise their awareness? I most definitely will but I no longer allow myself to get all worked up and aggravated over them, I make my points and then move on. There’s no point talking to a wall and sometimes you have to realize talking to some people is the same as talking to a wall. People like that, who try to bully and humiliate anyone who doesn’t think or feel the same way they do, and I’m now not just referring to being vegan, are like talking to a wall. The people who treat others this way will always find something to pick on people for, whether it’s for being vegan or dressing a certain way or looking a certain way or believing differently than they do. These are the type of people that are not worth my time. It is an amazing feeling to know that you are making a difference and helping those who can’t help themselves, and bullies in any form will never experience that feeling. So to answer your question on how my peers view veganism, it doesn’t matter how they view it, all that matters is that I know what I am doing is right for me, my world and all the inhabitants of it. If I can educate those around me, great, but if not I know that I am being the best I can be and that’s what matters. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, we all have them. The difference is that some opinions are based on research and fact and some are based on misconception and ignorance. I’ll stick with my way of thinking. It works for me.
You’ve also been an animal advocate since you were four. Tell us about some of your early activism, and about starting an animal rights group in the fourth grade.
I would have to say that my first step in my animal advocacy goes back to your first question on becoming a vegetarian. As soon as I put two and two together and learned where our food came from I knew I couldn’t eat it anymore. I couldn’t understand or fathom eating another living being. I think that realization is what prompted me to start asking more and more questions, like why do we eat animals, how do they kill them, etc. I remember watching a show called Zoboomafoo on TV and on the computer and always being fascinated with all animals and seeing how smart and beautiful they were. I started watching shows on Animal Planet and National Geographic, and learned about poaching. That year in kindergarten I entered The Reflections Program at school. The topic was “Wow.” I had to create an essay or piece of artwork that in our opinion made us say wow. I put together a collage of tigers and leopards alive and then next to them I put pictures of them skinned by poachers. My explanation of my project was “This makes me say Wow! I can’t believe what people do to such beautiful animals, it’s cruel and wrong! What have they ever done to us to deserve such treatment and torture”? I won for my grade level and my project went on to compete at county. My teachers were always very supportive of my passion.
As I started using the computer more I found out about PETA and thought that what they were doing was amazing and I wanted to help. I put together a dog wash in my complex and sold dog treats and dog washes to my neighbors. I set up a table with some literature I got from PETA, made signs and spoke to everyone that came over about being vegetarian and about animal cruelty. I raised over $600 and donated it to PETA and to a local rescue group. I felt great! My next steps in advocacy came when I learned about protesting. I found out about events that were going on in my area, speaking up against animals in entertainment like Ringling Bros., Sea World, etc. I asked my parents if I could attend and my dad started bringing me. I really enjoyed the feeling of spreading the word of how animals were being treated. Everything kind of just progressed from there. I continued to enter essay contests at school, always writing about animal rights issues and always moving on to compete at county, I continued to attend protests and I entered the PETA walk for animals as a fundraiser and then a coordinator for my area. I would speak to anyone and everyone that would listen (and some that really didn’t want to) about animal cruelty and how it should be stopped.
When I was in fourth grade I asked my teacher Mrs. Rivera if I could start an animal rights group in school. She said the school didn’t host clubs at this time but that I was more than welcome to start something up during free time in class, recess, and at lunchtime. I got a few kids to sign up and I passed out PETA coloring books and literature, shared books I had on how to live a cruelty free lifestyle, and passed out petitions I printed online about various issues. The club lasted all year but with very few members. The kids around me were just not interested in learning about making changes in their lives to fight animal suffering. The majority of them had the mindset that animals were put on this earth for us to eat. It had been drilled into their heads by their parents and they were not truly open to hearing any different. I learned that as long as I was talking about a cute and fluffy kitten or puppy I had their attention, but move on to a chicken or cow, and I’d lose them. They didn’t get it that it was the same thing. Killing is killing regardless of the species.
I put together a presentation for my principal this year about starting an animal rights club at my middle school and it has been approved, so hopefully that will go into effect next year. I plan on addressing all animal rights issues, from vivisection to factory farming to animals in entertainment as well as lobbying and learning about different ways to help in the fight for animal rights. My club will be called Harley’s Home (named after my recently passed four legged friend Harley). It’s going to be a sister site to Lobby For Animals and will discuss all facets of animal cruelty. We’ll be working on lobbying, attending protests, petition writing, living a vegan lifestyle, etc. I plan on having speakers come to talk at my school about these subjects and I will share books and documentaries like Sharkwater. I’m hoping it will appeal to a lot more people than my previous fourth grade club. Middle school has a larger audience with different ages and I’m hoping some of them will be more open to learning about such issues.
When I learned of Thomas Ponce I was blown away. You mean to tell me that a 12-year-old started his own lobbying group? And was the regional coordinator of Fin Free Florida? I can’t recall what I was doing at age 12, but I certainly wasn’t trying to make the world a better place for animals. As I got to know Thomas, I was very impressed by his intellect, compassion, and strategic view of animal rights. He is the Mozart of the animal rights movement. I am sure you will be equally blown away by Thomas.
Let’s start with your journey to vegetarianism and then becoming vegan. Were you the only vegetarian in your family and community at the time? How do your peers regard veganism?
I decided to become a vegetarian when I was four and then a vegan when I was around 9 or 10 and yes, I was the only vegetarian I knew. My parents had not yet made the commitment nor did they express any desire to do so (yet). They always instilled in me a love for animals. I grew up with two cats, Harley and Shadow, and later on Figaro and my very interesting dog Flower. To me eating a chicken or a cow or any other animal would be like eating one of them and that thought was horrifying to me. As I learned more about factory farming and animal experimentation and all the other horrors that go on every day against animals I started showing my mom the things I learned, and slowly she came along. Once I had my mom converted, my dad was kind of forced to join us, as my mom is the one who does all the cooking. I am proud to say now that both my parents are vegan. That’s not to say they haven’t slipped once or twice but they are only human and I forgive them.
As far as how my peers regard veganism, they don’t get it. Most respect my views and don’t comment at all but there are those, and there are quite a few, that feel the need to challenge my decisions usually with rude comments and uneducated assumptions. They feel the need to try to impose their way of life and their beliefs on me. They mainly want to debate why I don’t eat meat. I’ve gotten the whole “God gave us the animals to eat” speech, the “you’ll die without the protein you get from meat” speech, the “that’s what animals are raised for” nonsense and so on. These people are so closed minded that they’ll say anything just so they can feel superior. Is it frustrating, sure. Does it deter me, never. I’m different and I believe strongly in what I’m doing and no amount of words will make me give up my beliefs.
I will discuss being a vegan with whoever wants to truly learn about it, but the others who just want to argue are not worth it. I usually know a few minutes into the conversation whether or not the person I am speaking to is really listening or not, and I make my decision from there. I used to debate it back and forth and get very frustrated but I’ve learned from my mistakes. Some people are just not ready to learn and open themselves to the truth, and those people I don’t waste my breath on. Will I continue to try to raise their awareness? I most definitely will but I no longer allow myself to get all worked up and aggravated over them, I make my points and then move on. There’s no point talking to a wall and sometimes you have to realize talking to some people is the same as talking to a wall. People like that, who try to bully and humiliate anyone who doesn’t think or feel the same way they do, and I’m now not just referring to being vegan, are like talking to a wall. The people who treat others this way will always find something to pick on people for, whether it’s for being vegan or dressing a certain way or looking a certain way or believing differently than they do. These are the type of people that are not worth my time. It is an amazing feeling to know that you are making a difference and helping those who can’t help themselves, and bullies in any form will never experience that feeling. So to answer your question on how my peers view veganism, it doesn’t matter how they view it, all that matters is that I know what I am doing is right for me, my world and all the inhabitants of it. If I can educate those around me, great, but if not I know that I am being the best I can be and that’s what matters. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, we all have them. The difference is that some opinions are based on research and fact and some are based on misconception and ignorance. I’ll stick with my way of thinking. It works for me.
You’ve also been an animal advocate since you were four. Tell us about some of your early activism, and about starting an animal rights group in the fourth grade.
I would have to say that my first step in my animal advocacy goes back to your first question on becoming a vegetarian. As soon as I put two and two together and learned where our food came from I knew I couldn’t eat it anymore. I couldn’t understand or fathom eating another living being. I think that realization is what prompted me to start asking more and more questions, like why do we eat animals, how do they kill them, etc. I remember watching a show called Zoboomafoo on TV and on the computer and always being fascinated with all animals and seeing how smart and beautiful they were. I started watching shows on Animal Planet and National Geographic, and learned about poaching. That year in kindergarten I entered The Reflections Program at school. The topic was “Wow.” I had to create an essay or piece of artwork that in our opinion made us say wow. I put together a collage of tigers and leopards alive and then next to them I put pictures of them skinned by poachers. My explanation of my project was “This makes me say Wow! I can’t believe what people do to such beautiful animals, it’s cruel and wrong! What have they ever done to us to deserve such treatment and torture”? I won for my grade level and my project went on to compete at county. My teachers were always very supportive of my passion.
As I started using the computer more I found out about PETA and thought that what they were doing was amazing and I wanted to help. I put together a dog wash in my complex and sold dog treats and dog washes to my neighbors. I set up a table with some literature I got from PETA, made signs and spoke to everyone that came over about being vegetarian and about animal cruelty. I raised over $600 and donated it to PETA and to a local rescue group. I felt great! My next steps in advocacy came when I learned about protesting. I found out about events that were going on in my area, speaking up against animals in entertainment like Ringling Bros., Sea World, etc. I asked my parents if I could attend and my dad started bringing me. I really enjoyed the feeling of spreading the word of how animals were being treated. Everything kind of just progressed from there. I continued to enter essay contests at school, always writing about animal rights issues and always moving on to compete at county, I continued to attend protests and I entered the PETA walk for animals as a fundraiser and then a coordinator for my area. I would speak to anyone and everyone that would listen (and some that really didn’t want to) about animal cruelty and how it should be stopped.
When I was in fourth grade I asked my teacher Mrs. Rivera if I could start an animal rights group in school. She said the school didn’t host clubs at this time but that I was more than welcome to start something up during free time in class, recess, and at lunchtime. I got a few kids to sign up and I passed out PETA coloring books and literature, shared books I had on how to live a cruelty free lifestyle, and passed out petitions I printed online about various issues. The club lasted all year but with very few members. The kids around me were just not interested in learning about making changes in their lives to fight animal suffering. The majority of them had the mindset that animals were put on this earth for us to eat. It had been drilled into their heads by their parents and they were not truly open to hearing any different. I learned that as long as I was talking about a cute and fluffy kitten or puppy I had their attention, but move on to a chicken or cow, and I’d lose them. They didn’t get it that it was the same thing. Killing is killing regardless of the species.
I put together a presentation for my principal this year about starting an animal rights club at my middle school and it has been approved, so hopefully that will go into effect next year. I plan on addressing all animal rights issues, from vivisection to factory farming to animals in entertainment as well as lobbying and learning about different ways to help in the fight for animal rights. My club will be called Harley’s Home (named after my recently passed four legged friend Harley). It’s going to be a sister site to Lobby For Animals and will discuss all facets of animal cruelty. We’ll be working on lobbying, attending protests, petition writing, living a vegan lifestyle, etc. I plan on having speakers come to talk at my school about these subjects and I will share books and documentaries like Sharkwater. I’m hoping it will appeal to a lot more people than my previous fourth grade club. Middle school has a larger audience with different ages and I’m hoping some of them will be more open to learning about such issues.