I've seen a few (not many) people online fawn over how Khaled bin AlWaleed converted to veganism, and even got his dad to do the same. There's also talk that he plans to open a chain of plant-based restaurants throughout the Arab world.
I'm curious to hear what people think about such figures. This guy is directly descended from the founder of Saudi Arabia -- on both his parents' sides. He's part of a family that's brought an entire country -- Yemen -- on the brink of death, with 2+ million people at risk of dying from hunger. Not to mention he's part of one of the most brutal, draconian regimes anywhere in the world.
The same goes for places like, say, Tel Aviv, hailed as the "vegan capital of the world". Is that what we really want to talk about, and not the hideous apartheid regime erected by Israel in the West Bank and Gaza? Gaza, for example, is an open-air prison, where people are left to die, with no access to even drinking water.
And yet we find popular YouTubers celebrating both AlWaleed (who flew in Dr Michael Greger to Saudi Arabia just for a consult) and Tel Aviv as bastions of veganism.
I've heard the argument that neither the restaurants in Tel Aviv nor Prince AlWaleed are personally liable for their government's crimes. I don't really buy this. I mean I somewhat understand it re-Tel Aviv, but someone like AlWaleed is literally part of the government. He has plenty of power and privilege to relinquish ties with his family and use his newfound platform to bring attention to the hideous regime in Saudi Arabia. But as far as I can tell, he hasn't said a single thing about Yemen (not to mention Khashoggi, Saudi-Israel ties etc).
In my opinion, in these contexts, veganism effectively serves as a way to whitewash serious crimes that are far worse than the animal lives these individuals/groups are potentially saving. But I'm curious to hear what people think.
Veganism is a moral philosophy that looks to reduce the suffering and exploitation of all organisms, not just a diet.
Anything can be used as distraction, veganism is not suddenly evil because some assholes adopted and advertise the label.
It is also a mischaracterisation that vegans put the lives of animals over people. It is the case that animals are routinely treated as objects and made to suffer just to satisfy peoples taste buds, or for entertainment, or to wear their corpses. Humans are animals and vegans do not tolerate their suffering or exploitation either.
It is obvious the distraction has worked on you. Veganism does not whitewash anything. People are not stupid. Not everyone is going to risk getting killed by speaking out against atrocities in their own back yard. If they cared they would have done so already.
I don't think it's fair to say OP has 'obviously' been distracted by it but I otherwise agree.