“This is supposed to be a great time of year. Oh, yeah? Try telling any turkey that!”
They say tragedies
make you stronger
and wiser. But
getting your head
chopped off for
nothing? What do
you learn from
that?
Hey, maybe, just
maybe, even if it
won’t help me
or my kind now,
maybe it will help
me help the world
in my next life.
Maybe I’ll be
reborn as a human
being and no longer
be a turkey –
but still remember
my unwarranted fate
as an innocent bird
and my grief
because of it.
Maybe, just maybe,
I’ll use my
first life and its
horrible ending as
a guide to why and
how to love all of
nature and all
creatures,
including turkeys,
and not hurt any
living thing simply
for pleasure.
But in this life
I’m still
trapped in? Oh, my
God, what can I do?
This is supposed to
be a great time of
year. Oh, yeah? Try
telling any turkey
that!
Oh, no! Here and
now, people are
coming after me and
my friends and
relatives. Help!
I’m too young
to die! What did I
ever do to you to
deserve such
punishment?
I’m not a
perfect being
I’ll admit.
But do I deserve to
die so young just
for being a bird?
Do you realize if
you were one of us
turkeys, you'd be
crying your eyes
out? I am not a
criminal: I didn't
rob a bank, commit
fraud, or set off a
bomb. The only act
of terror you can
charge me with is
my own terror of
being a turkey,
and of
being executed for
a crime I didn't
commit!
Where is your sense
of justice? Would
you think it was
fun if someone
killed you just to
get a meal when
there is so much
else to eat? Is
this how you show
your Thanksgiving
gratitude –
by slaughtering the
innocent?
C’mon, think
about it! There are
so many better ways
to show gratitude
than by killing me
and my kind!
Think now, you
humans! You
supposedly have
good brains, and
most of you claim
to have good
hearts, so tell me
honestly, do you
think the only way
you can enjoy
Thanksgiving is to
kill, Kill, KILL?
C’mon, folks,
there are kinder
ways of showing
thanks than
chopping and
stuffing and
chewing to bits
creatures like me.
Stop for a moment!
Here’s
something else to
consider. What
about all your
stated beliefs? In
the land of the
free,
shouldn’t an
innocent, harmless,
loving creature
like me and all my
turkey friends roam
free? In a country
that prides itself
on justice for all,
shouldn’t I
be one of the ones
to whom you show
fairness? I’d
never chop your head
off just to satisfy
my appetite and
give thanks. May I
count on you for
mutual mercy?
Please, all of you
out there, consider
these facts: We're
all struggling to
keep hope alive so
I beg you to
understand that I
too need hope, and
so do my friends
and relatives who
are turkeys. It's
pretty scary if all
we have to look
forward to –
before you kill us
– is a
momentary happiness
tinged with dread.
How would you feel
if this were your lot
in life? Surely,
you can see the
hardship you're
imposing with your
slaughter of our
kind every year.
So listen, please:
I beg you. I'm not
asking for money or
to be President.
I'm just asking you
as freedom-loving
people to find a
way for me to have
freedom from fear
of you, especially
at Thanksgiving.
Promise you won't
capture me and eat
me, and I promise
you I'll thank
heaven for you, not
just at
Thanksgiving, but
every day of the
year and every year
from now to
eternity. Please,
please, be fair to
me. Despite working
hard trying to
gobble up all my
hurt feelings and
fears, I have ended
up pouring out my
heart to you. I,
Tina Turkey implore
you: “Please
Let Me Live!”
----------------
Elsie
Reimenschneider is
the mother of
Sophia and Jenny
Reimenschneider,
who along with
friends promote
veganism through
their volunteer
organization,
Mobilization for
Animals, located in
and around
Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania.
Photo by Jessica Fomalont
UPC speaks up for all the Tina Turkeys at the White House, November 15, 2012