Welcome to Small Bites, Sound Bites, a midweek segment of food for thought podcast where I share short, succinct, thoughtful responses to typical questions, myths, and misconceptions related to plant-based eating, veganism, and animal protection.

You can get written transcripts of this podcast by going to joyfulvegan.com slash donate.

When we hear about abuses being carried out against animals or anyone at all, it can really challenge our notion of compassion.

We all know how easy it is to have compassion for those who agree with us, for those who vote like us, eat like us, or act like us.

But authentic compassion means having compassion for everyone, the guilty, and the non guilty, the kind, and the unkind, the good, and the evil, the people we like, and the people we don't, the people in our tribe, and the people outside our tribe.

And yes, authentic compassion means having compassion, even for those who lack compassion.

Many people hear this and think that aspiring to have compassion for everyone regardless of who they are, or what they've done, means condoning bad behavior, but that's not what compassion is about.

Compassion doesn't condone bad behavior, compassion helps transcend it.

If someone violates or hurts someone else, it's an indication that they're lacking compassion or empathy.

The solution isn't to withhold the very thing that's missing, compassion and empathy, but rather to fill that lack.

Less compassion in the world just means less compassion in the world.

More compassion in the world means more compassion in the world. It's really that simple.

But determined to signal that we oppose bad behavior, we declare that we're not going to have compassion for someone because they don't deserve it.

And we wonder why there isn't more compassion in the world.

The irony, of course, is that the people we think are the least deserving of compassion are probably the ones who need it most.

And that's the crux. Compassion has nothing to do with someone else's behavior.

It has everything to do with our own. Striving to live compassionately means we don't ask, are they kind?

Are they good and thus deserving of compassion?

It means asking, am I good? Am I kind and thus capable of giving it?

For the animals, this is Colleen Patrick Adro. Thanks for listening.

You can find more at joyfulvegan.com.