He Was an Anti-Racist Vegan Radical... in 1738
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- Опубликовано: 20 сен 2024
- In this episode of The Abolitionists, let's explore the extraordinary life and mind of Benjamin Lay, the early 18th century Quaker dwarf who has the distinction of being both the first revolutionary abolitionist and the first animal rights activist in American history.
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~REFERENCES~
[1] Marcus Rediker. The Fearless Benjamin Lay: The Quaker Dwarf Who Became the First Revolutionary Abolitionist (2017). Beacon Press, Page 11-25
[2] Benjamin Lay. All Slave-Keepers That Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates (1738). Printed [by Benjamin Franklin] for the Author, Page iii
[3] Lay, Page 131-132
[4] Lay, Page 55
[5] Rediker, Page 111
[6] Rediker, Page 30-51
[7] Lay, Page 32-45
[8] Lay, Page 20-22
[9] Rediker, Page 61-70
[10] Rediker, Page 84-93
[11] Lay, Page 43-44
[12] Rediker, Page 146
[13] Rediker, Page 1-2
[14] The Friend: A Religious and Literary Journal. Volume XXIX (1856). Printed by Robb, Pile & Melroy, Page 220
[15] Rediker, Page 112-116
[16] Roger Crab. The English Hermit or Wonder of This Age (1655). Printed in Pope’s Head Alley and at the Exchange, Page i-15
[17] Thomas Tryon. A Way to Health, Long Life, and Happiness (1691 Edition). Printed by H.C. for R. Baldwin near the Oxford Arms on Warwick Lane, Page 367-382
[18] Avery Yale Kamila. “Vegan Kitchen: Americans have been enjoying nut milk and nut butter for at least 4 centuries” (2020). Portland Press Herald www.pressheral...
[19] Geoffrey Plank. “‘The Flame of Life Was Kindled in All Animal and Sensitive Creatures’: One Quaker Colonist’s View of Animal Life.” Church History 76, no. 3 (2007): 569-90. www.jstor.org/s....
[20] Jonathan D. Sassi. “With a Little Help from the Friends: The Quaker and Tactical Contexts of Anthony Benezet’s Abolitionist Publishing.” The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography 135, no. 1 (2011): 33-71. doi.org/10.521...
[21] Rediker, Page 120, 138
Learn more about Pro-Animal Future's mission to end the worst forms of animal cruelty in our society ► proanimal.org/
All ad revenue this video makes in its first month will go to Luvin Arms Animal Sanctuary, a forever home for animals rescued from the meat industry ► luvinarms.org/
I admire your passion for history. Your channel deserves 100 MILLION followers
As this is an electoral cause in the USA, i'm thinking that i as an European cannot give money to it?
Hoping it will succeed though!
Goodness, i already was completely enamoured with you & now you do this... 😍
Greetings from someone who signed for & donated to the first political Party of the Animals in the world.
@@LeafHuntress Heh, you'd be surprised. I would check out the org doing it and see if you can. It is likely ran through a private entity, and if so, you can probably give money to that entity instead. Try to contact them.
Cruelty free meat just taste better and is better for you. The prices are already high, it sure isn't saving that much money for the consumer, clearly it's not right for anyone.
Idk..your dad's house?
Instantly one of my favourite historical figures. The image of a four foot tall bearded man in a fake military uniform invading a church with a sword, impaling a book and spraying Quaker slavers with fake blood to shame them into renouncing their sinful ways is gonna stay with me.
Fucking legend
There is also an excellent episode of the podcast "The Dollop" about him. While the Dollop does make mistakes, especially, as Dave Anthony, the lead on the show admits, they sometimes made the mistake of limiting their research to a single book in their earlier episodes, it is a fun way to learn about history. BTW, if AtunSheiFilms has a podcast, I am totally listening.
"the early 18th century Quaker dwarf " is my new favorite description of a colonial age activist.
To the tunes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Don't apologize for the ending. Whether you're a vegan or not, factory farms are inexcusable and have got to go.
+++
Indigenous people ate meat sustainably without factory farms or slaughterhouses for thousands of years before we got here. It's not meat eating itself that's the problem, it's white cishetero patriarchal capitalism, like always
Amen.
As a non-vegan myself, I'm inclined to agree, but I'm also curious about what the ethical way to slaughter animals is.
I work at a museum/farm that raises beef cattle, and we raise them very well. I'm proud, in fact, of the conditions they live under. However, when they reach the appropriate age, they are taken to a slaughterhouse which is, to my knowledge, more or less like any other. I can't imagine we would ever have the facilities to properly slaughter AND process them here, on the farm, so if the slaughterhouse shuts down, where does that leave us?
Progress, not perfection. I'm glad there are so many animals that live lovely lives with your help, even if the ending is a bit gruesome -- sadly better than many of us get. ❤
@@NikolapoleonSlaughter can never be ethical. If ethics are your concern you either stop engaging in unnecessary systemic violence, or you just make peace with the cognitive dissonance.
“All Slavekeepers Apostates” is such a badass title.
Hearing about his direct action, public protest, and interpersonal machinations really connect this man to the deep and genuine strangeness of the prophets in the Biblical tradition.
I think it's an abridged title "All Slave-Keepers ..., Apostates ...". The full title is rather long: All Slave-keepers That Keep the Innocent in Bondage, Apostates Pretending to lay Claim to the Pure & Holy Christian Religion; of What Congregation so Ever; but Especially in Their Ministers
I certainly wouldn't have been a racist in 1738.... because I'd be dead at age 2 due to diabetes.
skill issue imagine not having perfect aryan gigachad genes (joke)
I thought type 1 diabetes symptoms onset in the early teens if untreated. Do you have a different kind?
@@happycamperds9917 it starts as early as 4. I was diagnosed at 15 and they called it MODY (maturity-onset diabetes of the young)
Most people would die in childhood
That ignores the point of the thought question. Assuming you lived a full life in the 1700s would you have been a racist?
My man was the moral philosophy equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci
Well said
Seriously? The philosophy is thousands of years old.
@@augustotto4312I think the compliment has less to do with the age of the ideas and more to do with how consistent and robust one is with them
@PrimusGladius he says "equivalent of Leonardo da Vinci" clearly talking about his revolutionary ideas not his steadfastness.
@PrimusGladius socrates would be a better equivalent, he was executed for his ideas, he even refused rescue because he was consistent with his philosophy
God, I wish I was as unapologetically based as that dude was
He really set a standard that even a lot of modern people fail to surpass
Nah I'm built different. I totally would have been an abolitionist anti-racist back in the 1700's despite it taking me until my mid twenties irl to admit that racism and sexism are still real in the 2020's.
Year's ago when I was an edgy teen, I held opinions on groups of people who had never done me any wrong, one day many years ago I woke up and realized something, I was hating people who have never wronged me and I changed my ways.
@@otakunthevegan4206Counterpoint, the amount of people who think gypsies should be deported is directly proportional to the amount of them in an area.
@otakunthevegan4206
It's rather tragic when it's not even "they wronged me in some way/shape/form" rather than putting an ENTIRE GROUP on a "hate list"
It's good that u grew out of it before it controlled your life(and controlled the rest)
I take great pride in the fact that I would have been too poor to afford to own slaves and would therefore become insufferably abolitionist to distract from that fact
You see I wouldn't have been racist because I would have been dead from chronic illness.
“He should be more accommodating to slave owners. His protests would be more effective if they were less extreme and less disruptive.” NOW WHERE HAVE I HEARD AN ARGUMENT LIKE THIS BEFORE HMM? Goes to show that the subject changes but the capitulation never does
To a bigot any form of anti-bigotry is 'too extreme'.
Remember, it doesn't matter if it's not effective to convince people who already believe in a bigoted or prejudiced cause. In all likelihood, they will never change their mind. Loud opposition, on the other hand, may let people know that others disagree to that default.
@@pluemas Indeed.
Also, sometimes arguing with a bigot isn't about trying to convince them, it's about the undecided and moderates that are listening.
Note that he never did anything violent, never commited arson, etc. There is such a thing as going too far, he just never did it. He was justly furious and direct, but never did anything immoral.
@@bluebitproductions2836 And yet people still said he was too extreme, thus proving the point that no level of protest is seen as acceptable to the target of that protest.
My god that bit with the book filed with fake blood is just metal as fuck. 10/10
11/10. Benjamin Lay goes to eleven.
I might have to reenact it
Goes to show that while it may have been more difficult, "it was a different time back then" is never a good excuse.
A history youtuber risks everything by advocating for veganism on his platform.
Respect.
How’s that?
@@illerac84I would say it’s because many more “centrist” leaning general audiences expect of any historian to be almost perfectly unbiased. And that you’re somehow less of a historian if ever you talk of your own personal thoughts and messages from your media.
@@haraldisdead I feel like after the Ravenous overanalysis every militant meathead would have left. The antifa flags and whatnot in the background are also not uh, "centrist friendly". 😅
Because Veganism is a repugnant, anti-human ideology rooted in the same kind of idealism that gave rise to Nazism. I am only being slightly hyperbolic.
Any historian operating on idealist grounds needs to be scrutinized at the minimum.
It’s weird to hear the Witchfinder-General speak of kindness and tolerance like this.
Someone call Peter Dinklage, because that biopic sounds fucking cool
I had the same thought, even checked if they where about the same height, they are!
Oooooh!
I bet he'd love that if he knew about it!
Peter Dinklage is a vegan punk rocker as well. A match made in heaven if I ever saw one.
honestly i think Warwick Davis might be a better fit
@@SgtKaneGunlock Warwick is getting a bit long in the tooth for that
I really hate that "All Lives Matter" became a counter-slogan to "Black Lives Matter". Police brutality is wrong no matter who it happens to. That fact shouldn't distract people from how broken our justice system is, with the racial bent being a significant lowlight.
My favorite is “All lives matter - even the unborn” thereby negating BLM and abortion rights all at once.
@@rongreen8962 Thanks I hate it even more now.
I try to see it as a knee-jerk reaction by people who can't empathize with or understand the vastly different lived experiences of others. But I'm sure the reality is that there are a lot of genuinely hateful people.
@@rongreen8962based.
@@rongreen8962 dang, with a slogan like that I would just think nothing matters...you know what, that's my slogan.
You are, by more than a mile, one of my favorite content creators. I gush, but the topics you explore more than align with my own interests: New England colonial history, early modern transatlantic English history, 17th century socio-religious radicalism, the English Civil Wars, the American Civil War, and now Abolitionism. Benjamin Lay was truly a man ahead of his time and no stranger to self-sacrifice in service of his noble ideals.
I gave a lecture on The Quaker Comet many years ago to a group of university students. I only wish your creative exploration of Benjamin's life and times was available back then!
"Travel, the best cure for bigotry", an excellent point. In my life, I've primarily encountered ignorant, generational racism. I grew up around it and by leaving home found a way to break the cycle. Thanks Andy!
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
As a European it is easy to acquire a certain feeling of superiority towards American history because it seems so short, but I am surprised by how incredibly complex and intense it is.
It's a really in depth spin-off series of British History
400 years is still a long time.
The view of American history as short is not really true. The country is older than all but a few others. Italy, Germany, Spain, all younger. The vast majority of governments around the world are younger than ours, with The UK being one of the few that at least has a continuity with the one that existed back when it was an absolute monarchy, even as the monarch has lost virtually all of their power. The history of the native peoples of the land is also just as long. Only, people rarely tell it. Few of the native populations had writing and the oral histories were largely ignored, so while there is just as much history, it isn't as well known.
And since we talk so much more about the history since European contact, where we have good records, we can get deeper into that. We have records in Europe going back 2000 years... but not many. So we can talk about that history, but not in any kind of detail.
But in China and Egypt, they have detailed written records going back about 5000 years.
@@Sam_on_RUclips That's if you look at it literally. Finland may be just 100 years old as a nation, but the people and culture have been there since the ice age.
@@Sam_on_RUclips The U.S is older than the country of Germany, not the German nation itself, Germany clearly has a longer history than the British colonies + the U.S
That kidnapping argument was based as f*ck.
Why do I now want the Whitchfinder-General of Massachussetts Bay to react to Lay's writings?
Also, This guy man... THIS fucking guy.
They'd be enemies.
@@jeffreygao3956
Quaker dog!!
Benjamin Lay was a great man, Well before his time
My truck is so big that the tailgate has its own little pedestrian door built in, that's how you can tell that I am a man's man.
Listening to all this it makes me wonder why i havent heard of these two before. I lack the words describe what the words of this long dead man make me feel. He was a real one.
1 day ago? How tf? HOW?!
@@przemo7565early release for patrons. How do people still not know about this? 😂
@@przemo7565Sometimes channel members get early access. Not sure if Arun-Shei does the same for his channel members, but it's my best guess.
Edit: I just realized he has no channel membership. My bad.
@@przemo7565 lmao wtf
@@przemo7565Patreon members get to view his videos a few days early
I'm not religious, but if it turns out i am wrong, I hope that Lay is looking down from whatever afterlife he is in and is pleased to see that African slavery was, eventually, abolished. I also suspect he would be angry about me issues that he couldn't even have imagined in his time
Ben watching the south invent sharecropping immediately afterwards like “god damn it…”
@@dougthedonkey1805 time to write another book: All Sharecroppers That Keep the Innocent in Bondage: Apostates
Conservatives "We are products of our times"
Progressives "No, I am a product of my time. You are a product of the past."
Your video on ravenous convinced me to become vegetarian. It’s been almost a year since I’ve eaten any meat. I’d been struggling with the morality of meat consumption for my entire life, but that video forced me to confront the fact that my moral system is incompatible with the consumption of animals. Thank you.
I was vegetarian for 6 years before I got confronted on the cognitive dissonance of being vegetarian for the animals but not vegan. I thank God for putting me there that day. Vegan for 13 years now. It's funny how little things like a yt video or a fb post can create a break in the thought processes that we cling to to justify our behaviors.
good for you. I also really liked the ravenous video and when I saw I hoped it would get some people to change, nice to see that happened apparently :) Hope to see you vegan one day, It's not as hard as people think in most cases.
@@portland9880
Cringe and idealistic
“Many of us like to ask ourselves, "What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing gen•cide?" The answer is, you're doing it. Right now.”
― Aaron Bushnell
That hurt. Because I think it's true.
I guess I have to thank you for making me feel uncomfortable.
@@AV-we6wo If we want to bring the good things we want to see in the world, we have to look inwards - and that's uncomfortable because it exposes our own accountability. Aaron was a hero and we can only aspire to be as principled as he was and not let his sacrifice go in vain.
Thank you. ❤️
I think I'd be like that if I lived 400 years ago but I was at a restaurant with a robot host and I complained about clankers so realistically there's no shot
It's okay brother, toasters ain't people.
@@versebuchanan512 Yet.
@@versebuchanan512 Bite my shiny metal @$$.
@@AtunSheiFilmspraise the omnissiah and it’s blessed machines…
"CLANKAAAA"
As someone who worked in a slaughterhouse for four years I could tell you stories.
ill go first!
my grandpa told me one time in the early 80s he watched a guy pick up a dead baby cow and slam it back down, it jumped up, screamed really loud then flopped over dead again.
they also used to throw lengths of fresh inner spinal cord at each other for fun, one time he got his supervisor right in his open mouth and it wrapped all the way around his head lmao
he worked there for 6 months and had a cold the entire time. that was normal apparently.
"People back then didn't know any better !"
Uh huh ...
There was no way to know that whipping people would hurt them back then!
The person saying that might as well be saying "If my friends all jumped off a bridge, I would too!"
Woke dude from the 18th century is probably my favorite character archetype. Absolute Kings. "It was a different time!!" people in shambles.
It doesn't seem much different from being a woke dude in small town Ohio 2024
Thank you for directing much needed hate towards the giant lifted truck, with extra horns and an attachment that simply makes it louder, and a completely clean bed, wheels and everything that will never see a road outside of a suburb🙃
I hate these modern giant trucks too, find a way to overcompensate that doesn't endanger everyone else!
Working with meat is one of the most depressing jobs ive ever had
Yea. I recently went vegan.
id been eating less and less animal products and about a month ago i decided to stop altogether.
Though I didn't work with meat, I did work in the meat industry which housed an industial chicken coop. The noise in those places were some of the worst things imaigne. No joke, sometimes I can still hear it echoing in my head. Some of my co-workers would pick up the sickier ones and just kill them outright like it was nothing.
I stopped eating eggs and chicken after that and then eventually just stopped eating meat altogther.
I wouldn't consider myself vegan though I can never actively support that level of slaugher for pointless gain.
@@fuzzy7644 that reminds me of the nightmares i get from working in dog sled racing.
a sea of dogs on chains barking and howling and whimpering and pacing. everything is ice and blood and p*ss and sh*t and i am powerless to do anything to help.
Genuinely, your ravenous video instantly turned me vegan and completely changed my worldview overnight, and I’m so glad to hear that you’re visiting my home town of Denver to fight the factory farm industry. I feel honored to hear that you’re doing some of the most noble work in existence right in my very own backyard.
Cringe + idealist
@@gmodrules123456789 Yeah bro caring about things is so cringe
Am I too much of a nerd when I already guessed who the video was about from the title lol
I also guessed who it was about before watching, and I know I'm a nerd, so you must be a nerd as well.
Naw, y’all just educated. Good shit~
Yes, but that isn't a bad thing.
Not enough of a nerd! You gotta have weak nerd arms!
No. There wasn’t that many anti-racist vegans in 1738, so there wasn’t many options for what the video was about from that title.
Literally welled up when you said that the name you would be donating under would be Benjamin Lay.
I'm not halfway through and this is powerful stuff. I've told my wife and straight away she said, "Oh, Marcus Rediker wrote a book and a play about Benjamin Lay".
I suspect you've been reading 'The Fearless Benjamin Lay' for your research.
I wish there was a film about this bloke.
I’ve never before watched a long-form video essay and immediately rewound to watch through again in full
Good for you.
Left a bit of an impression on me too.
This man has inspired me to be even more insufferable about being a vegan anti-racist than I was before
Agreed.
If you don't know Bite Sized Vegan, she's a youtuber & has a HISTORY OF VEGANISM video essay series, for more inspiration. 🙂
@@LeafHuntress thank you for the recommendation!
YES
I look forward to 👍 your messages as I see them.
I’m a Native American and a meat eater. Do not speak on my behalf please
Kinda reminds me of Dr William Price. A Welsh nationalist from the 1800's who was this wierd radical hermit, he helped reintroduce the world to Druidry (sorta) got chased to France after protesting with the Chartists and helped normalise cremation. Cool guy.
Plant Milk was a thing in Europe too, esp Almond Milk. There are medieval recipes that include it. So it really isn't that wide of a leap that Benjamin drank something akin to that, with almond milk being something that was utilized in christian fasting.
And given the prevalence of Chestnuts in the region, and their use as a staple crop by the Lenape, I think it's quite possible he was making chestnut milk.
I find it so amazing that we can all have ready access to these absolutely top-notch programs on RUclips. I tell my kids that "these days, there is no excuse not to know about something." I'm glad that I, now in my 49th year of life, have learned about this wonderful fellow and am now slightly less wrong than I was yesterday. I love the saying of another RUclipsr I watch: "Less Wronger is More Better."
That's not necessarily true. There are still many situations where one would not have the ability to educate oneself further.
Much is still locked in the land of literature, and many of those books have gone out of print.
How many major historical revelations are languishing on the yellowed pages of a dry historical manuscript with a name far too long for its own good, confined to a dusty shelf in some soon to be closed book store, destined to be forgotten?
We will never know the number, but we can be confident that it is not zero, and that fact hurts me.
When you were talking about how Lay would regret the whippings for the rest of his life I couldn’t help but cry. Proof perfect that a good man will do awful things in an awful society. I want to weep for the millions that are harmed now due to that fact.
Fantastic history lesson and a righteous call to action- thanks Atun-Shei! Just made a contribution to PAN to help fight the Good fight!
I have personally worked in a factory farm before it’s truly a horrifying experience I feel like I’m at auschwitz
This video legit gave me chills. Benjamin Lay, what an absolute fucking legend.
Nice to see some familiar names in the comments. The parasocial relationship grows😅
holy cow, i had no idea about any of this, what a great video. i happen to live in denver so i just signed with pro animal future. let's get this done.
Lol, you're gonna move all the facilities to the exurbs. Lmao impressive activism right there.
Absolutely brilliant work from Atun-Shei - some of the very best of RUclips. A remarkable presentation.
Crazy how Richard Nixon was also a quaker
And Herbert Hoover. Fun fact, Hoovers VP was the first person of color to be VP.
Hey, did you know Nixon had a major hand in getting the ball rolling on private health care? I know this has literally nothing to do with what you said, but I near compulsively bring this up whenever I see Nixon mentioned because that fact is heavily overshadowed by Watergate.
Nixon said the reason he opened relations with China was to honor his Quaker teaching mother. He also seems to have left the meetings because he felt a military response to the Pearl Harbor attack by the Japanese, and the Nazis in Europe was necessary. I suspect many writers will try to understand the moral voyage of Nixon.
@@TheCrotchetyoldwomanDidn’t know this. Thanks for sharing this tidbit. :)
He was not. Nixon was raised a Quaker and certainly was influenced by that upbringing, but he left the society before his term as president.
I’m from Philly and I’m happy that more people are learning about Benjamin Lay!
When I was at Pitt in the late nineties, Dr. Rediker always acted as a faculty liaison for student led social activism.
I came across that name for the first time last night.
I need to read some of his work.
@@cheesedoff-with4410 Start off with The Fearless Benjamin Lay and then check out Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea about pirates and shit!
This dude had a real non-violent version of John Brown’s energy, the kind of “I’m going to take this extremely progressive stance and then go live my values decades ahead of my time” vibe.
The part about how isolating it is to go against the immoral but accepted norms of your generation really captures how it feels to support Palestinian rights while both politicial parties and their supporters are passively accepting an ongoing genocide.
Thanks Andy! It is always fascinating learn about vegetarian and vegan movements and their origins and histories. So much to learn!
"You can't judge people from the past by the rules of today"
Yeah you know maybe they're right, I mean stabbings were just so common, I guess no one must have been hurt by them and no one could have possibly known that they hurt people
What hurts people today has always hurt people, and I will always stand against anyone who hurts another. There is no paradox of tolerance, because the intolerant have broken the social contract. Today, yesterday, and every other yesterday.
Yeah, I don't understand our obsession with cultural and historical moral relativism.
Especially amongst the religious who are supposed to believe in "objective morality"
I think it comes down to the fact that people have always been inclined to do whatever suits their interests if society permits it or there's nobody to stop them. We have always had awareness of something like the golden rule, it's just not codified or enforced, never convenient, and there's always some ready excuse. You're absolutely right that people have always inherently known that what they are doing to others is painful to them and I think make a choice to do it.
"But . . . but if we judge people based on their actions, and not based on how well they were going along with everything around them with no regard for how their behavior affected others, then that would imply _I_ have some kind of moral responsibility to think critically and have a moral compass outside of what everyone around me is doing!"
Worst part is I'm no better. I'm learning, but there were definitely times in my life when I was wholly an unquestioning product of my environment and my environment wasn't always nice. So maybe that's why, maybe we all need to do some introspection before we can stop being terrible people, or at least spineless drifters, and we're running super hard from that implication.
@@FoodFanBoy7845
Because cultural and historical relativism are correct lmao.
You think the Romans thought slavery was immoral? They didn't. Greek philosophers tried to justify it.
Ancient Babylon was cool with lords murdering their peasants.
Morality is a social construct, dictated by the base and superstructure of society.
Knowing that actually makes it easier to pursue social change, fyi.
Also be aware that the social change can be easily reversed if you get complacent.
God, this one was incredible. I'm going to be honest, above all, I LOVE the hardcore vegan turn this channel (and you as a person) seem to have taken. It mirrors what has happened in my own life. Keep it up! Your work keeps getting better.
You are doing a great service to humanity and all other species with your work. Thank you!
"The righteous man is merciful to his beast" is ultimately drawn from the bible, Proverbs 12:10
Though I have no proof, I would have to think that Benjamin Lay was a huge influence on the political philosophy of fellow Pennsylvania Quaker Thomas Paine, who interestingly was also shunned by the Quaker community for his "radical" positions regarding abolition and slavery.
Didn’t know Thomas Paine was a Quaker! I know later in life he advocated for Deism
One of the founding fathers Benjamin rush, (himself an abolitionist) actually wrote an adoring biography of Benjamin lay in 1790
This is the first time I've heard Paine referred to as a Quaker, do you have any info regarding that? Would love it to be true and so need evidence.
@@BenBebbington He was raise Quaker, but eventually renounced his upbringing to espouse Deism. His family wanted him buried in a Quaker cemetery, but the community refused.
I've never been so in awe at a tattoo reveal in my life. Thank you for the video
I've been a long time fan of this channel, and this series might be my favorite yet! I'm learning about all of these fascinating people who I previously had no idea existed.
When he judges historical people by modern standards, they wag their fingers.
When he judges modern people by historical standards, that's just a Witchfinder General skit.
Hypocrites, all of you.
I always appreciate Atun-Shei. One of the few history RUclipsrs I’m confident wouldn’t give me that look once they discover my skin is dark and what my politics and morals are 😂
To believe in something is one thing. To be one of the only people to belueve in something is another. But to believe in something so storngly that you proudly share it aloud for all to hear takes a special kind of person. Thank you for another great video and topic
"Possibly due to his social isolation as a Dwarf, he grew ..." Hmm, seems unlikely
Yooo, I'm so proud of Essex for birthing such a impressive dude
"Remember the righteous man is merciful to his beast" no truer words said. I've been keeping a phrase in my head that I came up with "Honour is how you treat your prisoners" and I feel joy knowing at least once somewhere agreed with me
I love Benjamin Lay, and shout out to Marcus Rediker's book "The Fearless Benjamin Lay"
Yes, that's the book I'm after.
@@cheesedoff-with4410 I also recommended “Villains of all Nations”
@@Canhistoryismylife Thanks
Thank you, thank you, thank you for making this video and for all you do! I am so proud of Pro-Animal future for starting this groundbreaking initiative! I will be donating and looking for ways to bring this to the East coast. I am inspired to say the least ❤
YES! Lay day has finally come to pass!!!
After watching the video, I'm half-convinced that Benjamin Lay was a time traveller.
I think its important that he wasn't; that in any time period people may reach the conclusions he did based on nothing but thwir own experiences.
No one has made me reevaluate my views of British colonists in the americas harder than this guy. Great episode!
Don't reevaluate them all so quickly as Lay.
I was very happy seeing your community post on Pro Animal Future. Keep up the great work
Benjamin lay really needs a movie sing he seems quite a character.
For that matter we really a movie about the quakers.
Benjamin Lay was quite possibly the greatest Pennsylvanian of the colonial era.
He wasn't a Quaker, he was a FELLOW.
thank you so much for uploading this. i watch a lot of youtube for relaxation, but today i came across a video that mentioned casual meat eating, and it got me so upset that i had to step away from the computer and go for a walk, when i came back and saw this in my feed it was a relief.
im a bit to tired to find the right words at the moment, but thank you, you made my day. i had no idea you were an animal rights activist
It goes to show that people were obsessed over race and inequality even when video essayists on sharing platforms weren't constantly shoveling it. The illusion of the ignorant laborer is just an illusion. Even in these old times, word got out, opinions formed and people made their minds.
while we all want to be John Browns and Benjamin Lays, the best thing we can do now is uplift them as the heroes and visionaries they were
You can be a John Brown or a Benjamin Lay today, it's not like there is a shortage of cruelty to fight against. It's just that most people, including myself, are not cut out for it. Consistently making more enemies than friends, being shunned or imprisoned and dying a violent or lonely death is not exactly something many people would choose.
Unfathomably based.
there you are again 🤨
@@badabing3391 👽
This is the kind of history that makes history worth studying.
And they called him a madman
Ben Lay's body lies a-mouldering in the grave
Ben Lay's body lies a-mouldering in the grave
Ben Lay's body lies a-mouldering in the grave
BUT HIS SOUL GOES MARCHING ON!!!
Thank you so much for teaching me about such an amazing person! Benjamin Lay will definitely join John Brown, Robert Smalls and similar people as my historical heroes.
Conservative and religious viewer here! I have never found a single one of your videos controversial. As a student and interpreter of history myself as a job, I find your matter-of-fact reporting of history not only helpful but extremely effective. I grew up in the intermountain west and in Asia however, and so the traditions and culture of the southern united states is a foreign thing to me. So I can see why defensive conservatives would be angry about the true aspects of history you teach. As for me, I again find it refreshing. Just know that not all of your conservative and religious subscribers and watchers are racist history deniers. Keep up the great videos!!
I don’t break bread with landlords. I get it
The natives weren't the only ones who knew about nut milks. Even ignoring Asia and the Middle East, Europeans knew about them at least as far back as 'The Forme of Cury' a famous cookbook published in 1390, which used almond milk in a number of recipes. So it must have been well-known by then. I think it's very reasonable for Benjamin to have known about nut milks.
I too have a quarrelsome habit of loudly interrupting prayer meetings to accuse various ministers of avarice and covetousness.......tis why, for the public good, I set not foot in church. Hallelujah!
Unbelievably based and extremely command Atun-Shei dub.
This cycle of abuse in slaughterhouses kind of reminds me of how Nursing Homes operate-the CNAS (the slaughterers in this scenario) burn out very easy and vent heir very real troubles by displacing it upon the elderly (the slaughtered). As an Activity Aide, I saw a lot of this. Interestingly enough, there was this one co-worker who would drive the van for resident outings to the countryside and would see all the little homesteads and suddenly said meditatively to everybody, "You know? I grew up on a farm and we only slaughtered when we needed to survive. I don't mind animal agriculture, but it's become too industrialized. If I had my way, the companies would respect the necessity of going back to old school resource-gathering at their own pace. None of these senseless and abusive conditions where the circle of life is so disrupted." I had to agree fully with what he said. I'm not in and of itself an animal fan, but that doesn't mean I'm heartless. In fact, I've always watched those Animal Planet stuff with Animal Hospitals and Animal Cops. I can't STAND IT when animals are hurt, though weirdly I can stomach the hidden camera videos from slaughterhouses (that one about Australian farms-forgot the name of the documentary-the one that you got clips from for your Ravenous deep dive), probably because I've read about Temple Grandin's efficiency engineering and architecture innovations that redesigned cattle ranch assembly line maizes to provide comfort to those being herded through them (the first prototypes were built for boxing in animals about to receive vaccines).
"Indigenous exceptions" are so cringe and fundamentally paternalistic. I don't see how anyone can justify them.
It all circles back to Idealism. Would it surprise you to learn that this is the same ideological foundation that gave rise to Nazism?
This isn't to say that idealism is evil, only that it seems to suspiciously create some incredible hateful, paternalistic, and naive ideologies and practices.
THIS^
It amuses me when conservatives are like _"The modern left have gone so far left compared to how they used to be"_
Even liberals. All those who complain of the "extremism" of, say, the Climate Movement, but praise the Suffragettes (ignorant of some of the extreme actions that movement took).
On more than one occasion during this video Benjamin Lay's words brought tears to my eyes.
I live in Singapore. But my permanent address is in Denver. I received the email for my November ballot a couple days ago.... And I just voted Yes on both the relevant ordinances (308 and 309).
“Animals are not here for us to do as we please with. We are not their superiors. We are their equals. We are their family. Be kind to them.” - Ricky Gervais
Possibly the best Scottish accent I've ever heard from an American. I assume American because I have never personally encountered a Canadian who cares about the US civil war. If I am incorrect, I apologize.
He lives in America (specifically Louisiana).
Also is from New England
Thank you for this video. I have enjoyed everything you have made on this channel, but this was by far my favourite out of everything you have done. Good luck with the campaign in Denver as well!
I almost never comment on your videos, but iclve noticed that you critique those from history by today's standards as well, BUT, slavery, for instance, was just as immoral then as it is now. You know who agrees with me? Many of those exact slave owners!
As well as almost all of the people they enslaved.
@@AtunSheiFilms Well, I figured it went without saying that those enslaved found slavery immoral lmao
@@willh4340It’s something that often goes unrecognized in the minds of people who are trying to do historical PR for the brutal machine that is American slavery. As these people tend to unconsciously identify more with the slaveowners rather than the enslaved
@theethanatorem I agree 100%, which is why I always try to put it into perspective. Usually, they just say it isn't true, and then, I remind them that MANY white people died in the bloodiest war in American history to end slavery. That's when they bow out of the conversation, and say I'm "just wrong."
throughout history, there was a very large contingent who was very vocally against slavery; the slaves.