I enjoyed Ann Bauer's article--and I find it interesting that it has inspired so much vitriole here. Whether you like it or not, you can't say it wasn't stimulating. Personally, I enjoy looks into "worlds" not familiar to me, and the best windows include a personal perspective to make it real and palpable. So I'm willing to absorb the writer's personality traits that shine through, even if they are sometimes negative for the purpose of getting closer to the experience she went through. Yes it's confessional, yes she isn't a perfect person--but I don't open up Salon to read sappy earnest articles, I read it to hear real voices. I also enjoyed Ms. Bauer's previous article, in which, if I remember correctly, she was quite frank about her personal shortcomings and that honesty made the article stick with me. On a final note, it's so true that your work can spoil your enjoyment of something--people in the movie business or music business or retail business go through that every day.

I agree with those critical of the conclusion of this article. You can't find out what is really cruelty-free, so you're going to buy something you know isn't? While it sounds somewhat noble, I don't quite get the writer's leap to giving the money to a homeless person, instead. Are we talking about charity, or beauty products that aren't tested on animals? This article stinks of lazy writing, lazy reporting, and a lazy Salon. I read (and pay for) this site to read in-depth articles that are thoughtful and thought-provoking (whichever side of the issues they come down on), and not to read something that was obviously written an hour before a deadline.

I can relate to having an unexpectedly crazy interaction with someone, and having it stick with you even though there's not really anything for you to do. Your mind is trying to process what happened, exactly, but the truth is you won't really ever know. Awful doctors or people in the medical field are especially hard to take sometimes, as we make ourselves vulnerable to them. I'll never forget an arrogant ER doctor in Virginia who angrily told me I "just have allergies, get over it", when it turns out I had bronchitis and a cracked rib from coughing. My face turns red with anger and confusion every time I think about it, then I remind myself that there are people who are "off" everywhere...

This letter struck a chord with me. Reminds me of my best friend who used to be a hemp sandal-wearing vegan and then moved to a red state with a man and now hunts with him. (And not just to sustain themselves, by the way, for fun and for sport). Although I've been a flexitarian (I eat meat every once in a while, more as a condiment not a main course) for quite some time, I really dislike people prying or trying to debate it with me as I don't really make an issue out of it. So with my friend, I've asked what she loves about the sport of hunting, and tried to understand, but she knows it's something I won't be able to comprehend--how people can enjoy killing animals in their spare time. So we've just had to agree to disagree, and not really discuss it. It's bizarre and honestly a little troubling to me, but this life-long friendship is ultimately more important than the differences between us. Letter writer may want to ask her friend what's more important--their differences or the things that bind them as friends, and go from there...