Why is my vegetarian friend such a hypocrite?!
He told me he does not eat meat-except for fish. He informed me that fish cannot feel. I told him he must have been sleeping in 9th grade bio because fish have a nervous system, therefore can feel. I also said he is not a vegetarian if he eats fish, and are fish not as worth saving as cows? This made him angry.
He is very eager to help save the ocean or whatever next summer. I asked him why he was going to bother, when hes going to end up eating fish anyways. I also find him dumb because he is against fur, yet synthetic fur ends up in landfills and real fur is biodegradable. This is the same guy who thought plastic bags were amazing (because they aren't killing trees). Ive been using hemp for ages and Im a hunter. But he's not against leather "because cows are killed anyways and leather isn't wasteful.". Then he told me because his family eats a lot of meat, instead of "starving" on salad and fruit, he's going to eat meat over the break. Meanwhile, I am laughing hysterically at how hypocritical he is. I think his heart is set in the right place, but where is he getting these ridiculous facts? I told him when I was going to bag an extra deer for him next time I went hunting. Why are there people like him who are obviously doing this just to seem "cool, because I care about the environment and animals, man"? He is obviously missing out on the whole point of being a vegetarian....
Answers:
He's both. Alot of people pull the vegetarian crap to look cool or be part of a subculture. Another better question is why are a good amount of vegetarians overweight? Answer: still eating french fries, brownies, fatty foods, etc. Call it a stereotype, but people who eat like that are just following a trend.
He's a asshole?
I take exception to the people who generalize vegetarians as all being the same and/or not eating properly. Maybe that's because those of us who are serious about it don't talk about it continually. I have no issues with your dietary choices, please have some tolerance for mine.
Well, everyone is at a different stage of learning, so don't jump on him for being hypocritical, because as far as his own knowledge is concerned, he's not a hypocrite. His eyes are only half open, help him open them further. Look at it from a positive point of view.
There's always going to be hypocrites. My teacher said she was vegetarian, and then said she eats fish. She just completely distorted the definition for a bunch of people who probably think that's true now. Just know he's wrong and don't try to reason with him.
This kid is SUCH A FREAKING DOUCHE.
All vegetarians I've come across have been stupid. They always have some sort of "exception" or something. Like there's one person who says "I'm a vegetarian... except I eat chicken." WTF? They didn't even give a reason to back it up with!
that does not make any since for you to not eat meat but you eat fish thats like saying i dont do dangerious stuff but you jump off of a cliff.
fish is meat and fish could feel because if they didnt they wont flip flop if you pocked it.
yea, that's pretty funny because he's just all over he place. btw... i'm a tree farmer so we plant and grow trees for the specific purpose of cutting them down to sell as a crop. meanwhile we lease the land out to hunting.
Clearly, your friend is an idiot. Fish are animals, too, therefore he shouldn't be eating them.
Your friend is fail. Let him know he's a flexitarian-pescetarian. His heart is obviously not in being vegetarian.
Clearly, your friend is a huge hypocrite.
Vegan.
It sounds like he is confused, but you don't sound like a very good friend.
A vegetarian that will eat fish is called a pescetarian. And while there are several environmental problems still associated with this dietary choice (i.e. overfishing, farm fishing), it is quite healthy and may increase longevity. Though, due to increased mercury levels that are being found in the oceans nowadays, you should advise your friend to stick with fish like salmon and oysters and away from albacore and halibut. There have been various studies conducted that conclude that several species of fish do exhibit certain pain responses. There is, however, uncertainty about whether or not these fish are conscious of such pain. As Kurt Cobain once sang of the issue in the Nirvana song, Something in the Way, "It's okay to eat fish because they don't have any feelings."
You should ask your friend his reasons for choosing to be a pescetarian. If they are primarily health related, then it is a good decision on his part and his wavering tendencies are more acceptable. If he places a lot of emphasis on the environmental and animal rights benefits of a vegetarian diet, then he is, most likely, a hypocrite who is just trying to fit in. If so, pescetarians are largely mocked by their vegetarian and vegan peers once it is discovered that one is such. The discovery itself generally results in smirking, condescension and a request that the individual no longer refer to himself as a vegetarian but as a pescetarian, Jesus-vegetarian, Jesus, or Veg-poser.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pain_in_fish
I think he is willfully ignorant if he refuses to acknowledge that fish feel and that fishing is wasteful and not so great for the environment.
As for the eating meat at home, that shows that he either is horribly lazy or he cares more about his image than actually being a vegetarian. If he was going somewhere far away and didn't know the language or have any control over meals, then I might understand giving it up. But at home, with access to a kichen? No way.
As for fur, many animals are killed exclusively for their fur and often in unpleasant ways, so I don't take too much issue with it. Unless you bury your old furs, they probably end up in a landfill, too (and we all know how well stuff breaks down inthose). As for plasric, he is a moron.
Get him a copy of Do Fish Feel Pain? for Christmas. It is by Victoria Braithwaite.