It's just prejudice that's the problem.

I tend to agree. However I'm hesitant to say prejudice is any worse than judging itself as to me the problem is more about unfair judgments.

Whether you judge actively or decide that you want to judge something into the future a certain way (prejudice) I think it should be a fair judgment. To the degree that is possible with our limited human understandings.

For example.. If I were to say I'm prejudiced against rape and murder, I think that's a pretty fair thing to say. I don't think I need to look at those things every single time to make a "current judgment", I can decide that it's worth thinking that way into the future and make it a sort of "unconscious habit" or "prejudice". I do feel like it's important to re look at and question even your most deeply held beliefs, however.. Every time I ask myself if rape and murder are bad, I get the same answer. So I doubt those things will ever change and they are probably healthy prejudices to have. And in regards to murder I mean that strictly in the legal sense, not in a "killing in self defense" sort of manner, or even accidental which would be manslaughter.

The reason I think the label out to be abandoned is because it doesn't matter what the definition of a word is. The meaning of words change over time because how people use them, and what the overall consensus is towards the word, is how it is used.

You could say that about any word.

Just my thoughts though. I do know that many can get past the label, but I fear too many have a strong negative association with the word at this point, which makes it unproductive for any type of animal activism.

I don't think it makes it unproductive, unless you come up against people who just can't handle the label, then you can say it in different ways. However.. I don't think we need to abandon any words just cause there's a bad stereotype among the public. You can choose to be craftier and more careful in your approach, though.. Just cause people misunderstand something shouldn't be a reason to abandon it, it should be a reason to help them understand what it really truly means.
Otherwise, you're sort of letting their ignorance and misunderstanding of the subject rob you and them of a valuable symbol and form of expression.

I'm not so sure I agree with you about religion. It seems to be the biggest reason why people are confused about what is right and wrong, so I see it as an obstacle to the word of the Creator, which I believe is written in our hearts, but society forces us to suppress our sense of morality so that we can be good consumers, rather than good people.

I really like what you said about the word of creator being written in our hearts. :) However..I don't think anyone really knows what's going on here or why we are here if there is a reason we are here, so.. There's a lot of need in my opinion for religion, in fact I think it's unavoidable and perhaps this is one reason there's a "binding" or "holding back" associated with the definition. Cause we are limited in our ability to understand, so we can only find different "chains" so to speak. All our belief system is indeed a prison, though.. Without it, how could life even work? Much like our body is a prison, but without it, how could life work? In this case, I'd suggest to try to find the religion with the least amount of chains! Though I doubt it's possible to ever find a belief system that has none.

Cheers bud! I enjoy talking with you. You're very smart and articulate and able to convey your thoughts well.