The other day, I was talking to a new vegetarian friend of mine (she's not newly vegetarian, just a new friend!). She was talking to another woman at work about vegetarianism in general. I was passing by and she stopped me, asking how long I'd been a Vegi. She and her husband have been vegetarians for a couple of years. I told her that (as of now!) I've been vegetarian for two years and purely vegan for about seven months now (I did have vegan days and weeks during my vegetarian days--heck, I even had them when I was an omnivore!).
She then asked me something like this: "Have you ever noticed that non-vegetarians are sometimes kind of nasty when you mention that you're vegetarian?"
"Yes! Absolutely. Why is that?"
My friend then went on to say that she thought it is probably because non-vegetarians feel like we're judging them automatically, because of the choice we've made (which, by the way, is not a decision we took lightly). That's not entirely true. If anyone asks, I will tell them my thoughts, feelings, and rabid opinions about my eating choice, but you know what? I was a regular American for a good chunk of my life, eating everything the American diet had to offer. How can I judge someone who is living a life like I did? Do I think meat eaters are bad people? Absolutely not.
So...it was nice to hear another Vegi's thoughts on the whole attack issue. Do I sometimes feel attacked by people when I tell them I'm vegan? Sure, yeah. Does it break my heart? Not even. But it is nice to have a better understanding of perhaps the motivations behind the anger. And, I guess, if my presence makes them a little uneasy, that's fine too. Maybe that will lead them to question their decisions. And a little thought never hurt anyone.
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