Damn iPhone auto-correct! Clearly the title is supposed to say "veganism" hahahahaha I like to get a rise out of people online from time to time, and on a different site I was trolling away, trying to find people who would debate certain topics with me. I got no response to posting offensive anti-religious material (I really dot care if people are religious or not -- just trying to push buttons), posting pro-choice material, and really anything controversial I could think of! No one really took the bait... I gave up. Months later, on the same site, I posted a picture comparing processed meat to soft serve ice cream. It wasn't over the top or anything, but in the title I called both meat eaters and dairy eaters "gross". Immediately I had people leaving more ridiculously pissed off comments than you could imagine! So, I thought "I should make a whole album of vegan paraphernalia and see what happens". I searched for some of the most outrageous PETA campaign adds, and literally typed in "vegan paraphernalia" into google images and created the album. I couldn't believe how angry people became. Has anyone else noticed this? Yes, I know vegans/vegetarians can be preachy (and i am not preachy in person... I don't give a shit what other people want to poison their bodies with) but why do meat eaters go on the defense so quickly? I must have had 20 people comment the same line that I'm sure they were all proud of "for every animal you don't eat, I'm going to eat 3!" I also noticed people attacking me, claiming that there was no way I was healthy as a vegan! I found their ignorance shocking, considering I get more protein, calcium, iron, Vitamin A, B12, and Omega than most meat eaters, because I actually pay attention. I hate the question "where do you get your _______(calcium, protein, iron, etc)?". Most meat eaters wouldn't be able to answer those questions. I've been reading articles lately about parents who are raising vegan children having them taken away for nutritional neglect... And I am shocked. Who's going to take away a 300lb each couple's children because they feed them happy meals every day?! No one! Dont get me wrong, i know there are unhealthy vegans and vegetarians out there... I was one for years (as a kid/teen)... But come on!!! What are your experiences with people being angry with your lifestyle choices?
I don't like having other people's beliefs shoved in my face, so veganism itself is not offensive to me, but having it crammed down my throat by a bunch of "better-than-thou's" makes my blood boil. I was a vegetarian for 3 years, I tried it, it didn't work out for me, and it'd be lovely if everyone would just respect that and understand. I don't push my omnivore eating habits on anyone and go to whatever lengths I have to in order to accommodate my vegetarian friends and just ask for the same kind of respect. The way I feel about people posting pictures of slaughterhouses or tortured animals is the exact same way I feel about people posting pictures of aborted fetuses. It's uncalled for, unnecessary, and disgusting. The only people who can be won over with these kinds of tactics are weak-minded sheep. That being said, troll on, friend. It sure is fun.
I saw a story on the news the other day where they did remove a child from it parents for the child being obese and the parents were doing nothing about it.
Veganism works for some people. I agree with your malnutrition point, however, Tazer, I agree with your point of obesity, too. I have a friend doing that to their children now....its sad. I don't find veganism offensive, I find the people who choose to judge my dieting habits to be offensive. If someone judges me because I feel like eating a nice piece of chicken, then I choose to judge them for eating the styrofoamy tofu...
It is NOT possible to do in a healthy way for everyone, especially depending on individual metabolism and allergies, etc. But that could be true of any diet, of course. I find how pretentious it nearly ALWAYS is quite offensive. People are defensive because you're attacking what they're eating, and therefore what they're MADE OF, and therefore, them, head on and directly. And much of the more militant vegan "info" or whatever is patently false, which makes it even more frustrating. I have no problem if someone decides to do what it takes to be healthy without ever causing animals to die. At the same time, I'm blatantly offended by some people's behavior, which seems more wasteful, like we had a thread a while ago about "hat(ing) people who wear leather", and I could see how I would easily be offended if I met a lot of the posters or the people they talked about associating with. My favorite jacket is a bomber, I didn't kill the cow or cause it to be killed, I bought a factory second at an outlet store, and it's a damn good jacket..... I would think if someone decides to make no choices that hurt animals, they would eat a juicy steak before seeing it thrown out, for the sake of utilizing all that could be utilized from the animal, making it's death that much less senseless.
Even though I am a vegan, o be honest I've met a few who drive me insane, because they shove it down everyone's throats. I'm not like that, really, but I will ask people to try my food when they scrunch their faces up at it. That is what really gets me... Meat eaters who look at my food and make faces, refuse to try any, and seem terrified of tofu (which they've likely never tried). Its rare i can find someone to try my food, but once they do, they ask to try everything i make! There were a lot of people like that at work... They were very weirded out by my meals (they're mostly meat-and-potatoes kinds of people), so I started sneaking vegan cupcakes and such into potlucks at work. Now everyone wants to try everything I make. I find the general public has a lot of misconceptions about veganism.
I was vegan for 4 years. When I finally decided I wanted my eggs back (I craved them terribly) I felt awful and agnonised over the decision for months. I'd been sucked in by the internet-based vegan propagandists, who told me that picking up eggs which free range chickens laid every day anyway and eating them would make me immoral. Now I realise that that's clearly fucking stupid. It's easy for people to lose a grip on logic in the face of an angry anonymous crowd all spouting the same nonsense. I respect some aspects of the general vegan message, as they are based in truth. Many take the whole thing way too far though and trade off lies and exaggerations, even if most are well-meaning. That annoys me.
