A Funny Thing Happened While Selling Cory Booker to Vegans

Last Friday I wrote a post in support of Cory Booker's presidency. The main audience was animal advocates, though I also aimed it at the general public and wrote about a number of his policies and politics that I think recommend him.

My original version of the post included a section that I decided to delete. In the deleted section, I predicted that a lot of people concerned with animals would immediately dismiss the first true animal advocate running for president based on other stances, something they would never do for human issues. It's striking to me how accurate my predictions are, so I thought it was worth sharing what I removed from the post, which I think underlines a problem not only among vegans but also on the left in general: that there is a socially-enforced ranking of issues that nearly everyone follows at the end of the day and that has little explicit justification.

The note is below the line.

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I anticipate some on the vegan internet accusing Cory Booker supporters of adopting an offensive animals first view and privileging animals over humans who benefit from the policies of, say, Bernie Sanders. In ordinary life circumstances, fighting multiple oppressions poses no conflict–it likely helps. I think that's still the case with Cory Booker–he's the strongest candidate on animals and the strongest, or tied for the strongest, on humans. For those who disagree with me on Booker's human policies, though, there IS a conflict. If Sanders is better for humans and Booker is better for animals, then we have to make a choice, and there is no way to get out of it without focusing more on one problem than another.

I’ve seen conversations on the vegan internet go like this:

Vegan 1: We have to support Cory Booker because he's vegan and supports animal rights!

Vegan 2: No, Cory Booker is a neoliberal shill. He voted to keep prescription drug prices high. All oppression is connected.

Vegan: Oh my gosh, I didn't know that! That's awful. I can't support him now.

Imagine instead this conversation:

Vegan 1: Vote for Bernie Sanders for economic justice!

Vegan 2: Bernie Sanders eats animals and supports the dairy industry.

Vegan 1: Oh well, nobody’s perfect.

I think these two conversations illustrate the different ways that even animal advocates often treat animal and human issues. We will not forsake human rights for animals, but we will often do the reverse. If we truly oppose all suffering, then we must face some tensions and contradictions and make the best choice, all things considered. And if you care about all sentient beings, that choice is Cory Booker.