Letters to the Editor
DurianJoe
Published Letters: 1315 Editor's Choice: 69
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Vegans, abortion, and lame insults.
[Read the article: The rise of the "vegansexual"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Slackie, I am a pro-choice vegan. So is my wife. So are all the vegans we're friends with. Some of our friends have kids, some (like us) do not. Vegans tend to be liberals, and liberals tend to be pro-choice. However, just as there are anti-abortion feminists, I know for a fact that there are anti-abortion vegans, since I've seen their signs and literature (though I can't say I know any personally, but again, my friends tend to all be liberals and progressives, etc.).
Ginghis, calling someone "self-righteous" is the insult of choice for people who can't think of anything more clever to say, or who simply want to avoid debating the issue. Let me ask you: are you against torture? Do you have a position on abortion? How about any other moral or ethical issue, e.g., dogfighting (since it's in the news)? Do you believe you are right in your opinion on those issues? If so, does having a firm belief make you self-righteous? Assuming you are anti-torture, I can imagine the Dick Cheney crowd dismissing you as self-righteous. They are intellectually lazy, too.
Your comments on vegans may not mark you as being self-righteously antivegan, but they are immature.
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I agree, Stephen.
[Read the article: The rise of the "vegansexual"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Vegan bashing is not that hard to explain. If you are anti-pedophilia, people will nod their heads and tell you how much they agree. However, since we know that there are a handful of proud pedophiles, no doubt if you told them you were adamantly opposed to pedophilia and strongly in favor of laws to stop it, they would tell you that you are being self-righteous.
The problem for vegans is that most people eat meat and dairy. Just by being vegan, without even saying a word, we stand as an implicit criticism of a very personal aspect of their lives: their diets. People know that vegans are vegan because we consider the meat and dairy industries to be cruel. Ergo, if one eats meat or dairy, then they must conclude that we think they, themselves, are cruel, or at least indifferent to animal suffering. Hence the defensiveness and, for the immature, the need to lash out at us.
So it goes. Every new social movement which challenges the status quo faces the same challenges, and always has.
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For Catherine Price
[Read the article: The rise of the "vegansexual"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Catherine, this thread is playing itself out, at least for me, but I'd like to leave you with this the next time you're tempted to take an obscure story about the fringiest of phenomena and apply it to a broader movement:
From Dudesheet, circa 1968
RISE OF THE “BRA BURNERS”
[Recap of Miss America Protest]
When I come across things like this, I have two reactions. First, I laugh -- I mean, isn't it hard enough to demand equal rights without worrying about whether your breasts are being oppressed? And second, when is the feminist movement going to hire an image consultant? There are plenty of reasons to question the status of women in American society, and many women are definitely denied the rights and benefits available to men. But to make a big deal about wearing a bra – not because of comfort or style, but because some scheming men might want your chest to look a certain way -- is just to give fodder to people who already think of feminism as a joke.
Then again, if you want to combat feminist stereotypes, you also probably shouldn't let people publish portraits of you in the newspaper that label you as manhaters and make it look like you're a just a bitter and angry woman. Oops. Too late. [Insert picture of angry, ugly braless woman at a rally for women's rights].
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Rampart
[Read the article: The rise of the "vegansexual"]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I made my point. As for you, you come across as a humorless pain in the ass. You make all omnivores look bad, you know that?
Adios,
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Boxing is a good start, but it's not enough.
[Read the article: Fighting for peace]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]I enjoy boxing, and it's a great way to get in shape and learn how to punch. If it makes these women healthier and stronger and more confident, I'm all for it, but if the goal is to teach them to defend themselves, it's not enough. Boxing is a sport; these women need to learn a streetfighting system, like Krav Maga (my personal fave), or Muay Thai, or any number of systems that teach women (and men) how to gouge out eyes and crush testicles and break knees and rip apart faces, not to mention getting free of the most common grabs. Boxing won't teach you any of that stuff, and that's the stuff that will save your life.
As for those who worry about safety, relax: this stuff is taught safely all the time. Yes, you can and will get hurt -- I've suffered two broken bones in my time -- but it's done under controlled conditions. Better to break a rib in a class filled with friends and a teacher, than to have it broken in the street by a thug who won't stop to help you, but will instead move in for the kill.
But c'mon, this is Afghanistan we're talking about, right? I'm afraid that no matter how badass these women become, they will still face the murderous wrath of women-hating religious lunatics toting guns. Still, I suppose boxing is better than nothing.