People don’t like their beliefs challenged. This is not Really something I learned this year but I think it really sunk in this year. To be honest, I first learned this when I was 7 and got my mouth washed out with soap for questioning women’s roles in our church.
This year I saw time and again people feeling personally offended by my choice to be a vegetarian. As though it somehow impacted them. We vegos get it from both sides. A lot of meat eaters feel judged even when we say nothing and some vegans think we’re not hard core enough.
When the Melbourne Cup (major horse race and piss-up opportunity each November) rolled around, my Facebook feed was peppered with posts about the cruelty of horse racing. Couldn’t agree more. Then there is the drunken debauchery that gives rise to such memes as…
Add to that the untold damage done by gambling to families in this country. Put simply, the Melbourne Cup is a clusterfuck of pain for many people and animals.
I posted what I thought was a very well thought-out challenge to give up animal flesh for 3 days. I didn’t tag anyone but hoped those who were madly virtue signalling by posting about cruelty in the racing industry would see it and respond.
Don’t we all get sick of the clicktivism on social media? Sharing a post condemning cruelty in the racing industry while eating a bacon cheeseburger is cognitive dissonance at its rankest.
I had a couple of takers for my three day challenge. One friend hasn’t eaten meat since. That’s a win for the animals.
Sadly, I also copped a barrage of abuse ranging from ‘what has horse racing got to do with eating meat’ to ‘I hope you die of iron diffishency (sic)’. Nice.
I’m grateful I had a run-in with someone dear to me a few years back about food choices. It helps me not be a dick about being a vego.
Having said that, I do believe the future is vegan. Once people realise they won’t miss it when they understand it wasn’t theirs to take in the first place.
Here’s an article that hammers home why Vegans and vegetarians are considered fair ‘game’ if you’ll pardon the pun.
Rick Roll said it took him 6 years to go vegan. I’m working on it. My downfall right now is chocolate so that’s pretty easily sorted. (Or is it??) after all there’s always vegan chocolate!!
I am a total omnivore. I calmed down my carnivorous ways after pregnancy when I became adverse to food in general. Lol
I am all for free choice for people to eat or not eat whatever they want. I used to make some different vegetarian or vegan meals because we liked to just eat different stuff whenever. I make a pretty decent lo mein because of it actually lol. But I also know there are different types of vegetarians and they have different reasons so I am Just curious about particular choices. Not offended or trying to offend when I ask 🙂
Yes I think this ties into what I wrote about yesterday- that we all need to learn how to communicate again. Everyone is so tuned into potentially offensive language. I had a great chat with my brother about how bad online communication is when we use our own clouded/dirty/Vaseline-smeared filters when we read.