I generally try not to talk about veganism with certain people in my life. It either gets heated, or they try to convince me that I'm going to shrivel up and waste away due to malnutrition, or they try to persuade me to agree that an omnivorous diet is "what works, we've been doing it since the beginning of time, see my eye teeth, murrr murrr, murrrrrrrr."
Today, co-worker D thought that I would really "get a kick out of this story" she told me. Apparently, her daughter went to a girls' weekend in Vegas or something. And all the girls were eating at a Mexican restaurant, having margaritas, laughing, getting tipsy. Her daughter had "a really amazing chicken dish", and everyone was trying it and raving and going into the throes of ecstacy over the dish. One girl there was vegetarian, and she said, "What the hell, I'll try it, too!" And then, I guess she said it really was delicious.
What the hell, now, people? First of all, that's not a funny story, and I'm not really good at pretending to be amused by things that simply do not amuse me. I can only imagine the look on my face was a mixture of fake smile, smelling rotten garbage, and possibly constipation. Second, that 'vegetarian' is nothing of the sort. She is, however, a damned 'cuddlytarian'.
Cuddlytarians only refrain from eating food made from the cute animals. No steak, veal, lambchops. But chicken is okay? Oh, that's right. Because they're not cute like cows and lambs. Because they're hatched from an egg rather than passed directly through a vagina with no protective shell.
Aside from having the most hypocritical, backwards logic, cuddlytarians make me angry because they are the reason why people think it's okay to make vegetable barley soup with chicken/beef broth and still call it 'vegetarian-friendly' or why honey is an ingredient in an instant noodle bowl which is clearly marked 'VEGAN' on the side.
Whatever people want to eat, that's fine. I may not agree with it, or I might find it disgusting, but I'm sure people think the same about my food. In fact, I know they do. However, it really pisses me off when people label themselves something they're not out of stupidity, or to up their hipster street cred.
If you're pescatarian, say so. Don't say you're veggie, because clearly, fish have eyeballs and parents, therefore, they are not part of a solely plant-based diet. If you're an ovo-lacto vegetarian, don't call yourself vegan because you're not. And if you call yourself a vegan whilst throwing cheese and butter down your gullet, you will confuse people, and a real vegan might ingest dairy due to your stupidity.
Phew! I feel much better
*end rant*
7 comments:
~applauds~ Brava! Encore! Encore!
Hypocrisy is such a hard thing to take quietly, isn't it? And I bet the person telling that "funny" story thinks they're a tolerant, understanding person.
So many people think they are, but really, they're laughing up their sleeves at everyone who's different than them.
I hear what you are saying. I would get annoyed if people kept offering me alcohol or tried to convince me it was good for my heart.
You should look at them and give them a big,
"Gawfahh"
or
"Puhleez"
or
"For the love of..."!
BTW- Love the blog name. Wish I would have thought of it!
wow. you are very knowledgeable on the -ian category. i enjoyed reading your rant.
about the wasting away and dying thing, my boss way back when was vegan and i swear he ate NOTHING. and LOOKED like he was wasting away and dying. he did convert me to rice and soy milk, which is a good thing.
so. i'm not quite sure what my point was about sharing that story. maybe just because i'm trying to be cool and be like, "yeah, i once knew a vegan" pretty cool, huh?
My cousin used to laugh her ass off at the high-and-mighty but totally ignorant self-proclaimed "vegans" at her college that would chow down on Jell-O all while praising veganism to the sky.
Here's a quote I found today that made me think, "I need to send this to Heather". Also, note that it comes out of a book about parasites, since that's what I'm researching. In that context, I hope it makes sense and you like it: "Not everything that is non-human is necessarily bad for us. The mood of recent times has been to regard every non-human species in or on our bodies as untrustworthy and threatening. This is undoubtedly true of some species: there is no such thing as a friendly smallpox virus, and you cannot domesticate a malarial parasite and have it come when you call it. Nevertheless, we have tended to take the attitude that all other species exist on this planet solely to be eaten, looked at, or cuddled, and if they are not suitable for any of the above, then we should be rid of them. Without getting too polemic about this, one could call this tendency to regard other species as inherently dangerous as a sort of 'eco-political speciesism' and perhaps now is a good time to evaluate the foundations for that attitude."
The cuddlytarian thing reminded me of the quote, so anyway...there it is.
Oh Heather-Feather....being a hypocrite is the worst thing there is...in my opinion.
You know I admire you for your stand on this....and kudos to you for it.
hello there :)
you've got kind of a devilish look going there on the photo :) loved this post and your attitude in general, from a few posts I've read here :)
Post a Comment