Why are people offended by vegetarians/vegans? o,O?!
Why are people offended by vegetarians/vegans? o,O?
Every time i tell people im a vegan they look at me like im some kind of grotesque freak. lol ive read alot on these yahoo answers and some people even go to the extreme of calling vegetarians/vegans things like
"anti-american"
"anti-militarty"
"dirty hippies" (lol)
I'd like to know what is so offensive about not eating meat, or not eating anything that comes from animals? (or contributes in any way to the death and/or exploitation of animals?)
i understand we all have our own opinions. but i get alot of crap from people for not eating meat. i dont make fun of meat eater, so why must meat eaters make fun of me? lol
Answers:
Hi Stefiki,
I think if you review your comments to this question you'll have your answer. You said, "...or contributes in any way to the death and/or exploitation of animals."
Whether you realize it or not, you're implying that those of us who do eat meat ARE "guilty" of exploitation. Most people find that attitude a bit smug, self righteous and off-putting. (Especially when you consider that vegans also wear clothing made of leather, wool and other products taken from "exploited" animals).
Most vegans I've known tend to very patronizing and condescending in their attitudes. It's the attitude of moral superiority that most of us can't stand. (Read the comments of your first poster, Rosie, and you'll see what I mean. That kind of pontification is just what I'm talking about). If you want to be a vegan, then be a vegan -- but please, lay off of the moralizing.
Cheers, mate.
lol i do know what you mean. I'm strict vegetarian and everyone always looks at me like a freak. To be honest I don't understand it at all, you'd think we'd be the ones criticizing them, they're the ones that are eating poor defenseless animals that have had tortured lives just so people could stuff their faces. Personally just the thought of eating anything with a face and pulse makes me gag.
ps. below answers are my point, I don't actually say any of that to people who eat meat, I'm the only one in my family who is vegetarian and I don't preech to them about it at all. I don't actually have a problem with people eating meat, that's natural, look at the animal kingdom, it's the way the animals are treated before. My point was why do meat eaters have a go at us when they are the ones doing the thing that upsets us?
you should not mind people. they tend to dislike whatever is different .
I just don't like picky eaters, sorry.
Speaking as a proud meat-eater, vegans don't bother me... once the meat is all gone, you guys are next on the food chain... I'M KIDDING. (I told that to my vegetarian sister-in-law and she got po'd)
I think it has more to do with PETA than vegetarians. PETA can do some really good things, but they can also go to the extremes and most people I know don't like that. I guess you get lumped in with that crowd...
They've gone to the extreme. It's not polite of them to pick on you, provided you don't try to convert them or make faces or comments when people around you order animal related products.
Some people just don't like you because they associate you with those extremist vegans that write stuff like "meat is murder" on walls. It's their bad... Don't pay attention.
But, if you're planning on having children later on, know that a child's diet must contain meat because it helps his brain and nervous system develop normally - humans are omnivorous animals, and being a vegetarian is a choice. Remember to let everybody choose, no matter how strongly you feel that you are right.
In my experience, it's the vegans who look at the world askew-the moral superioity and the "holier than thou" attitude isnt going to make you guys any friends, i can gurantee that.
So maybe its us meat eaters frightened that you're goin to say sumthing nasty about our eating habits that make us look at you guys like freaks.
Point to ponder, aint it?
I'll tell you why people are offended by vegetarians/vegans. It is because they get so self righteous about their chosen way and are obsessive with trying to change other people to their way of thinking. They think they are better than anyone else for their decision to eat no animal products (mostly emotional, in my experience) and are altogether obsessive. Holier than thou! springs to mind.
They are so judgemental. (It says in the Bible "Judge not lest you are judged and found wanting! Take the plank out of your own before trying to remove of speck of dust from your brother's eye." I freely admit that I might have misquoted this passage, but the meaning is there!)
I respect their decision to eat, or not eat what they want but why bang on about their "rights"? What about the rights of those of us who do eat meat having to listen to vegetarians and vegans bleating on about it! I for one do not feel guilty for eating meat but I do so for health and balance. I am also an avid vegetable eater. What is the problem? Next you will be telling me that diabetes is caused by eating meat! I have yet to meet a truly healthy vegetarian! If they make out they are, I usually find they are not!
Good luck to you in your chosen life, but please, let me live mine!
Incidentally, I have never before spoken this forthrightly, and probably never will again, but you did ask, so I told you.
God Bless.
Why be bothered by these people in the first place?
I am not a vegetarian but I don't speak bad of vegetarians. I have friends and relatives who are vegetarians too. Sometimes I even join them. Vegetarians meals are so good. At least I spare killings of some innocent animals and myself from getting cancer faster..
If people want to find fault with you, they don't care you vegetarian or not. Anyway for my case, I would stay away from them and stick to my group of friends and my own meals!
Or try the soft approach, tell them why you go vegetarian. Even through in the future they cannot go vegetarian with you...you Know?
It's because of their lack of knowledge and understanding. People are scared of things they don't understand.
I have been a strict vegetarian for years, and most of those years have been spent serving in the military. I do not go shouting my beliefs from the rooftops, but if someone asks, I will be up front with my opinions. I've actually thought about this a lot over the years, because I've found that many people have preconceived negative ideas about vegetarians, and especially vegans. I would never intentionally be insulting to anyone ever, but I truly believe that people who carry a hostile attitude toward someone based upon what they choose to NOT eat, is just projecting their guilt upon them, albeit subconsciously.
Society expects us to eat meat, so in order to make it easier, we call it by other names: beef=cow, poultry=fowl, pork=pig. This way we can distance ourselves from the emotion of knowing exactly what we're eating. Most people have some vague idea about what happens at slaughterhouses but choose to ignore it, or else don't care.
Personally, I believe that one's life is a vote (I think John Robbins said something to this effect). Every choice we make, every action we decide on is a vote for what we believe in. For example, if I said, I don't care about the treatment of animals in factory farms, I would eat meat. That would be like saying I think it's okay. I approve. I don't, so I live my life accordingly.
It is virtually impossible to life 100% cruelty free in today's society, and that is unfortunate. But I don't understand why anyone should question the morality or motives of someone just trying to do their part day to day. Would it be easier to say "forget it, I'll just have a steak?" Absolutely. To continually make decisions day after day that will benefit one's self, the planet, and millions of other of God's creatures is a respectable one, a "sacrifice" not many people are willing to make.
I'm vegan and have to endure the whining rants of many of your previous posters. They don't understand that most of us vegans don't even bring up our veganism by choice. It's when we are eating with omnivores we have to be "picky" when ordering food, or explain why we consistently turn down food containing dead animals or animal excretion. At our Xmas party, I had to endure someone yelling out to me, "C.mon! Sit down and have a big plate of beef!!!"
We believe that animals or not here for our food and by believing that and telling people thats how we feel, its generally going to cause people to feel that we believe we think we are superior. I guess our belief offends them. What angers them most is the suggestion that it's probally their own guilt. Most of the time it is.
Dont worry about what others think, do whatever you feel is right.
Insecurity & fear causes a great deal of judgmental behaviors.
Many feel attacked if they are around others that do not act the same as they do (such as being a meat eater) Herd mentality..it has it's good side too but this is not one of them.
Maybe the next time someone is giving you "the business" over your eating habits... ask 2 questions.
1) How is it their business?
2) What about it makes them so uncomfortable that they would be so rude?
I'm a vegan, and I've noticed this a lot too. I think some people are offended by PETA (that organization should have NO association with the reast of the veg community, IMHO...pet killers), others feel guilty about eating meat and try to explain it away by hating vegans, some don't think that vegetarianism does enough for them to bother, and others just think that we're all hypocrites. I have yet to meet a vegan who wears wool, leather, etc unless it was purchased before their going veg, and I have also never met a vegan who always targets meat eaters for their choices. I have been guilty of this in the past, but it was when I was incredibly young (I went veg at age 9), and the only other vegans I know who do this just went veg.
Though the nicknames are often teasing. I know a dude who called me a hippy etc all through eighth grade until at the end of the year he went veg himself. Sometimes it's fun to call people stereotypical nicknames!
I don't really understand what the big deal is, either, because with me, I think making fun of someone that doesn't eat meat is like the same thing as if I made fun of someone that didn't like peanut butter or something stupid like that. When it's any other kind of food it sounds dumb, but when it's meat everyone just jumps on it to criticize. Little do they know we'll get the last laugh when we all live into our 90's and they're all croaking in their 60's from heart attacks.
Hi!
It's only when I came to this section of Yahoo Answers that I realised that vegetarians/vegans were apparently frowned upon by some in the US. I'm from the UK and been veggie most of my life and haven't had any negative comments about my lifestyle!
Because when they find out we don't eat meat, they realise we disagree with it, and that must mean we disagree with something THEY do, and it makes them uncomfortable.
You don't have to say anything judgemental, the judgement is already implied.
Just look at Jack's post (above)- perfect example. He is annoyed that Rosie said meat eating supports animal cruelty, because it makes him feel like she is accusing HIM of this. Well, Jack, if you eat meat, then we think you do. There is no way around this. It's not only the meat we are turning down that we think is immorally produced, it's all meat! So anyone who is a vegetarian for ethical reasons thinks that your meat eating is supporting the cruel treatment of animals, whether they would make a fuss or not.
BUT, most of us wouldnt judge someone on that alone. We've all got meat eating families, boyfriends and girlfriends, friends, etc who are great people. We dont think of them as "meat eaters", they're just them.
It's like if you were wearing a pair of Nike shoes, and you were asking your friend if she wanted a pair cuz they were on sale at the mall, and your friend says "actually I don't wear Nike stuff" and you asked why and she said "Because they use sweatshops", you may feel a little awkward. I think that's how some meat eaters feel when we tell them we're veggie, and while most just say "fair play", the immature ones will react badly to feeling judged.
It's not because of their choice that I sometimes degrade veg*ns, it is because of their attitude.
I notice that the majority of people who responded to your question mentioned "morally superior pompous vegans" or something of that sort as a justification for the rude behavior. Where are these arrogant vegans hiding? I would sure like to meet them! I have never lectured an omnivore, nor have I met anyone who would lecture an omnivore to their face. The majority of vegetarians or vegans are quiet, nice people who just want to be treated like normal people. Yes, our diet is different, but there is something different about everyone! Being different IS part of being normal, as long as you aren't harming other people. Omnivores need to start being more tolerant and compassionate, at least to us HUMAN vegetarians if not to the animals.
There's noting offfensive about not eating meat, but, some vegans/vegetarians try to FORCE their life style on to others. So after seeing it on TV more then a few times; people naturally assume that all Vegans/vegetarians are that way.
Then when they meet a Vegan/Vegetarian they "know" what's about to happen so they are primed for it. And then ANY thing a Vegan/Vegetarian says, does, is filtered through what everyone knows, "they're trying to change me, well I'll show them".
Personally a lot of the Vegans/Vegetarians, I've met, have said things that could be taken by someone who was looking as trying to force their life style on them, and neither party even realizes it.
Here's an example
"Did you know tofu is a excellent source of protein?"
The Vegan/Vegetarian is trying to make a nice polite conversation about food.
The Omnivore see that statement as forcing a lifestyle on them, that they don't want, on them.
It so easy for both sides just to walk into this and not realized it.
They're afraid you're gong to become or are one of THEM, and try to change her and how dare you even think about that.
So a Vegans/Vegetarians suffer from a lot of bad press, from fellow Vegans/Vegetarians who do try to force their way of life on other people.
Sad but true.
I am not a vegetarian, and I do not think that you are a freak or weird. I think it's great that you have made your decisions based on your personal feelings. I don't know why people respond so poorly to it. I am sure it's due to their insecurity and their lack of any understanding as to why someone would choose to not eat animal products. I grew up with it, and I like it, but I am not a "meat pusher" or anything hilarious like that. Be proud of your choices and know that not all meat eaters think you are a freak. I respect your choice, I salute your ability to stick with your beliefs, even when they are not the same as mine. You know if more people could think this way about others, we wouldn't need war...
For me, veggies are only offensive if they are rude enough to comment about MY eating habits. People should mind their own business. Period.
To the person who quoted the Bible ("Judge not lest you are judged and found wanting!"), you are a moron. The Bible also states that livestock are here to feed us, and that gays are bad, etc--that book is chock FULL of judgement. It's also annoying that you think we should care what the Bible says...you can't make an argument for one thing under the incorrect assumption that we all believe in the thing you're using to build your argument! Other than that, I agree with you.
what about the poor fruits and veggies? no one ever takes their needs into consideration. they may not moo or baa, but they are alive too. once upon a time, they were living happily in a garden or a time. then, they were mercilessly plucked from their warm environment for your nutritional needs.
because they are not!
I do not think any less of you for being vegan or vegetarian. It is whatever you want to be. The reason that some people may be negative to you is because they are trying to support our economy, which is farm based, pigs and cows, and they feel that people that dont eat meat will affect our economy. I feel that you are who you are. Dont let it get you down, or let you think that everyone is like that. Eat what you want, dont eat what you dont want to eat. :)