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Essy Strudel
Nov 19th, 2007, 10:44 AM
Hello everyone! I’m new here, so first I’ll just introduce myself. My name’s Jessica, I’m 19 years old, and I live in Adelaide, Australia.
I often don’t discuss being vegan as I’m sick of tirelessly defending a personal choice. All I need to say is “I’m vegan…” and people start to automatically attack me about it. Even after saying I don’t want to discuss it, people still bring it up in a negative way. I don’t preach to meat-eaters and don’t want them preaching to me. Meat-eaters have such an automatic and aggressive argument as to why you should eat meat etc; that it brings me to the conclusion they know it’s wrong. People have made various excuses for themselves as to why it’s morally ok, and convince themselves it’s the only way to be healthy, so they can live with themselves. To them a vegan is threatening, because they are living proof of how to actually make a good difference to the world; a difference they are not willing to sacrifice their lifestyles for. Instead of just admitting they are not as compassionate, they try to prove ‘veganism’ to be wrong in any and everyway possible. I would be happy for them to just say “Good for you” or “Ok, I wouldn’t personally do it though” etc. Of course there are plenty of omnivores that are very considerate, and understanding, and even willing to defend a vegan diet, which is great. I just wish more people were open-minded about it.
I’m writing this to ask if other vegans have experienced similar hostilities and/or feel the same way about why meat-eaters react so.

BlackCats
Nov 19th, 2007, 12:59 PM
Hi Essy Strudel :)

I have had quite a few ignorant remarks made to me since turning vegan but I just usually answer them without getting angry/ upset (well not all the time:o) and now the questions seemed to have stopped. :confused:

Someone did say to me the other day that human teeth are designed to eat meat and I just said that it wasn't healthy for humans to eat so much meat and dairy and that the risk of cancer is far higher for meat eaters than vegetarians so he shut up after that.:D

I do think ppl feel guilty and that is why they get so aggressive about their meat eating.

umbilical
Nov 19th, 2007, 01:00 PM
i hardly ever experience that someone tries to set me straight about that veganism is something bad, but to be honest, i hardly ever introduce myself as vegan, and if i mention it, then only briefly and go on to some other subject as fast as possible, cause i need to protect my nerves


Someone did say to me the other day that human teeth are designed to eat meat

strange, i always thought our teeth were made for eating vegetables:p


ps: hi Essy Strudel

Essy Strudel
Nov 19th, 2007, 02:55 PM
Well thankyou for your inputs.
As far as the teeth go, I work for a dentist, and he tried to tell me the same thing. I told him I still use all my teeth on my vegan diet, so he shut up about it. He also admitted that most vegans have good theeth because they eat more whole-foods apposed to junk food.
I don't advertise my veganism either, but if someone asks why I'm not eating something, I tell them the truth.

BlackCats
Nov 19th, 2007, 03:08 PM
Essy - I always tell people I am vegan at the first opportunity. I say it proudly as if I am expecting a round of applause.:p

I have noticed that the people that have made the most silly comments to me about veganism have all been people with health problems which I think are exacerbated by their poor diet.

I usually say that a vegan diet isn't connected with heart attacks, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer etc but I don't think the information really sinks in.:rolleyes:

Enchantress
Nov 19th, 2007, 05:43 PM
I wonder if some omnis have encountered v*gans who are very aggressive and/or judgemental towards meat-eaters, so now they assume or fear all v*gans will behave in that manner and that's why these omnis become defensive when someone tell them they're vegan.

umbilical
Nov 20th, 2007, 05:56 AM
I wonder if some omnis have encountered v*gans who are very aggressive and/or judgemental towards meat-eaters, so now they assume or fear all v*gans will behave in that manner and that's why these omnis become defensive when someone tell them they're vegan.

i am very aggressive and/or judgemental towards almost all people in general, so of course there are some meat eaters among them, too;)

cedarblue
Nov 20th, 2007, 07:45 AM
i agree enchantress, it's not just meat eaters who preach, i fear.
of course the motive is different but it's still not nice; preaching gets you nowhere imo, example can work wonders though :)

Essy Strudel
Nov 20th, 2007, 11:15 AM
i am very aggressive and/or judgemental towards almost all people in general, so of course there are some meat eaters among them, too;)
SAME!;) haha. Though usually not about what people eat, unless it's appropriate.

Manzana
Nov 30th, 2007, 02:43 PM
Probably a bit off topic but I really need to let some hot steam out of my lungs!!!!!

I have just had an argument with my line manager and a colleague (both of whom I shared an office with) because they constantly try to say STUPID and pointless remarks about eating flesh...

Today, the situation was that a colleague cooked a meal for the whole office and she said that I need not worry because it would be vegan.... So their obvious comment (loud and staring at me while I pretended to ignore them) was "It will not be a proper meal if it has no meat"

So as I said, I ignore them... to which, of course, they say "hey, Manzana, it can't be a proper meal with no meat, can it?"

To which I politely (if quite sarcastically) reply "funny comment coming from a so called environmentalist" and then it all goes wild and they tell me about how meat is important in a diet (to which I obviously point out: why do vegetarians live on average 7 yrs longer then?"), farms do better with animals (i point out that "that still does not justify the need for killing them or eating them even"), we need to kill for survival (i say "do you feel threatened in your day to day life by any big predators? anyway, noone I know has been killed by a cow, a rabbit, a sheep...")...

Anyway, the end of this ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS discussion with them trying to tell me how wrong and stupid I am not to eat my fellow creatures on the planet, I really feel like some aliens invading planet earth and farming them and their families a) because they can, b)because humans don't speak allien and c)because humans do not share the same values and points of views that alliens have....

I think this is the only way that these STUPID SELF CENTERED AND EGOTISTICAL LOT will ever see some sense...

Even then, they will probably miss the point...

Healthy
Nov 30th, 2007, 03:20 PM
That's awful Manzana.

When they said "we need to kill for survival" you should have said, "You look pretty tasty!" and handed them a book on Jeffrey Dahmer (a serial killer who was also a canibal in the 1990s, in USA)

umbilical
Nov 30th, 2007, 04:45 PM
To which I politely (if quite sarcastically) reply "funny comment coming from a so called environmentalist" and then it all goes wild and they tell me about how meat is important in a diet (to which I obviously point out: why do vegetarians live on average 7 yrs longer then?"), farms do better with animals (i point out that "that still does not justify the need for killing them or eating them even"), we need to kill for survival (i say "do you feel threatened in your day to day life by any big predators? anyway, noone I know has been killed by a cow, a rabbit, a sheep...")...

Anyway, the end of this ABSOLUTELY POINTLESS discussion with them trying to tell me how wrong and stupid I am not to eat my fellow creatures on the planet, I really feel like some aliens invading planet earth and farming them and their families a) because they can, b)because humans don't speak allien and c)because humans do not share the same values and points of views that alliens have....

http://laiila.forumcircle.com/forumdata/data59/laiila/images/smiles/lol.gif
i'm so sorry..but i couldn't stop laughing as i was reading through this
whenever i'm in such a situation....which hasn't happened for years anymore....i just....i can't take arguments against being vegan serious...http://laiila.forumcircle.com/forumdata/data59/laiila/images/smiles/smilie_laiila_yes.gif

Essy Strudel
Nov 30th, 2007, 05:00 PM
Manzana, that is awfull:(. I also like the idea of aliens farming certain humans;)! There is no point in arguing with people that are being purposefully obtuse though. Being vegan makes so much sense! Next time someone asks me why I'm vegan, I'll simply reply with "The question is, why aren't you?!"
After taking a peek at your profile pic I can see, you're also living proof that vegans are gorgeous, and healthy!:)

matt35mm
Dec 1st, 2007, 09:43 AM
So far I haven't encountered much meanness or preachiness, but I have found an interesting common reaction. Basically, when a group people learn that I'm a vegan, the conversation will very often become about what kinds of meat or fish they like, and I sort of just move away from the group as they continue to talk about this. I don't know how my being vegan makes them feel like sharing how much they love sushi, but there you go.

The other common reaction is some variation of, "Oh. I tried a Boca burger once. It was okay."

I guess I can't fault them for not knowing what to say about it, because I usually don't have much to say about it either. I can't suddenly pull out a great argument that'll convince them of anything. I'm not prepared to talk and they're not prepared to listen, so when the subject comes up it's mostly just awkward.

KrissStress
Dec 1st, 2007, 07:20 PM
my favourite is when yr at a person's house and they actually get INSULTED that you won't eat their food - even after you've stated yr dietary needs.

This happened a few days back with me. They were even more insulted that I had my own food for such an occasion as backup. Instead of viewing this as ME trying to spare THEM the trouble of going out of their way to find something vegan, they took it as an act of self righteousness.

When it comes down to it, if I'm hungry and all you've got for me is turkey spaghetti sauce as leftovers, yr gonna have to accept that I'm going to have already thought to brought an alternative.

Essy Strudel
Dec 1st, 2007, 10:12 PM
matt35mm, I've found that too. I just think well obviously I disagree with it, so why would I want to hear about it!

KrissStress, I wouldn't worry, they are being stupid for getting offended. Why should you go hungry or eat something you don't want to?! Thankfully most people are actually relieved when I bring my own food.

KrissStress
Dec 2nd, 2007, 07:22 AM
you would think relief would be the gut feeling a person in that situation would feel. Esp. a person who has no idea how to feed a vegan - 'you mean you brought your OWN food, that's GREAT!'

atleast that's how I'D react...I'd imagine it's a load off. Oh well...hahah

Essy Strudel
Dec 2nd, 2007, 09:40 AM
Yeah well people are all different I guess. Come to think of it, I once took some food with me to my grandma's. I took it, because I'd cooked a big stir-fry and there was some left, so I didn't want to waste it. I think my grandma nearly cried, mind you she does make an effort to cook vegan for me. Which is funny, because before I even went vegan I was vegetarian, and she kept asking me "who told you to this?" - Maybe she thought I'd joined a cult.

Manzana
Dec 3rd, 2007, 10:06 AM
Hey, Essy, My nana thinks I joined a cult too! I find it quite hilarious actually! :D

JC
Jan 9th, 2008, 12:51 AM
a cult, lol! :D

JC
Jan 9th, 2008, 01:07 AM
i often get asked by my friends 'if you were on a plane that crashed on a deserted island, and the only food was either meat or dead passengers, what would you choose?' and my favourite come-back is 'just because i'm vegan, doesn't mean i'm not a cannibal' hehe, never fails to shut them up. and yes, wouldn't it be lovely for someone just to say 'good for you' for a change!! i never introduce myself as vegan, but my family often like to, making it a discussion point for everyone, who then proceed to talk about how stupid it is right in front of me (while i reluctantly restrain from telling them why every single one of their points is wrong - to 'keep the peace') i don't see it as a big deal, and i don't want to justify my decision to anyone, because i know i'm right! if they're too stupid to figure that out, or too selfish to care, then that's their problem. speaking of 'keeping the peace', this also made me really mad. for my 18th birthday, i was having a big party with all the family. i decided i wanted a vegetarian buffet (ok, i was willing to accept that a vegan buffet just wouldn't work with my meat-eating family) but as soon as my auntie found out that it was going to be a veggie buffet, she kept ringing to ask if she could bring her own meat dishes!!! i refused to let her, but apparantly this was going to cause a family fall out! so my mum said that i had to provide some meat for them, to avoid rows! i can't believe how selfish they were, to effectively ruin my 18th birthday because they couldn't survive without their precious meat for one night, even though it meant so much to me and i'd even tried to compromise with a vegetarian buffet. good god, that made me angry. i still haven't forgiven them 6 months later!! sorry, i wanted to get that off my chest!

ellaminnowpea
Jan 9th, 2008, 02:31 AM
I've heard a lot of crap from meat eaters. Basically they're just too ignorant/ proud/ etc to research or listen to me. And they're justifying the crap they shovel into their mouth.

I personally never argue or justify my eating, I just say that I'm content and it's healthy. I stand and nod until they are done going on about eating animals. It's not worth it to argue. Plus I just get upset that no one really gives a f#$%. I think they just want to ask me for some reason and then babble on for ages.

Healthy
Jan 9th, 2008, 04:37 PM
JC, that's horrible that they ruined your 18th birthday with their selfish attitudes. Instead of complaining, they should have been open-minded and experiemented with the dishes. It really irks me when people don't open their eyes to something new, especially if it can elevate them to a higher level (compassion, peace, better health) ... I just became vegan a few months ago and I'd be thrilled if I had a teen-age relative invite me to a vegan birthday party -- I'd be first in line to try everything :)

JC
Jan 9th, 2008, 07:13 PM
well if i ever have another party, i'm not going to let them dictate it! (not that i'd invite them again! lol) and you'll be first on the guest list, Healthy :D do you know, i think that at some point in the future, everyone will be vegan, and we'll be remembered as the pioneers, rather than the freaks that didn't eat meat! kinda like the suffragettes, only vegan, hehe.