Letters to the Editor
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Advice of a Yogi
I recently did a yoga teacher training, and when we discussed diet, my teacher told this story. His friend, who was a strict, longtime vegetarian, went to his teacher for advice. He was going to have Thanksgiving dinner with his family and it always caused great stress and conflict in his family that he didn't eat meat. His mother felt that her cooking was love that he was rejecting, his father got angry because his mother would get upset, and it generally made for a lot of conflict and pain. He had a huge dilemma about how to handle the situation.
You know what his teacher (also a vegetarian) said?
"Eat the turkey."
The lesson was that if his goal was to not cause harm to others, he had to weigh whether this one lapse in his dietary restrictions would outweigh the pain and conflict created for his loved ones.
This is just to say that you need to have a holistic view of your principles and ideologies, and not let a narrow aspect of your practice undermine the overall intent. If your diet is causing you to alienate yourself from everyone you want to connect with, is that in keeping with what you want your place in the world to be?
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The only thing worse than a fundamentalist...
...is a convert, because a convert feels the need to outdo the fundamentalist to somehow make up for past behavior.
Here's a clue: it's a personality defect you suffer from, not some unique truth of the universe you've stumbled upon and now need to shove down my throat, so to speak. Give your newfound belief a trial run...say, a few decades. Then maybe you could tell the rest of us why we're wrong. Or better yet, keep practicing it and if we like what we see, we'll ask. Otherwise, STFU because you're a fucking drag to be with as it is.
Regardless of whatever your belief is, it's highly unlikely you're practicing it 100% of the time in every aspect of your life. So until you are, you're just another hypocrite, projecting your insecurities onto the rest of us. And the rest of us are sick and fucking tired of you already.
I am tired of Catholic priests who get blowjobs from children telling me how to live my life now for a pretend afterlife to work out.
I am tired of Arabs who mutilate their female children's genitalia ranting and rioting over how bad an influence Western Civilization is.
I am tired of Republicans who have no respect for democracy or the U.S. Constitution. WTF, I'm just tired of Republicans, period.
And I am so tired of people who change their diet and now can't shut the fuck up about it, whether they're vegans or on the South Beach Plan. (At least Richard Simmons had oldies on his infomercials.)
Unless you're living naked in the woods you're killing something every day just to live...in which case I seriously doubt you're reading Salon online. So spare me your fucking do-good lecture about my lifestyle. Besides, the letter that has generated all these responses was a fake...at least I hope it was, because if the LW really exists, that is one pathetic, hopeless loser who is just wasting good oxygen.
There. That's the last word. Now let's see if I get a little red star, thereby proving all I say is true.
(sarcasm, for you retards)
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To Militant Vegan
Militan Vegan, if you're still reading letters, ignore the idiot below and people like him. There is nothing wrong with being kind to animals, and given how horribly animals suffer in the meat industry, you've taken a stand for what is right. Nobody needs to eat meat to live, so when one has the choice to kill animals for food, or spare their lives, the ethical thing to do is spare their lives.
Don't let the bastards get you down. You need to rise above your anguish and, let's face it, hatred for people who laugh at what happens to animals. Those people have always existed: they laughed at people who fought to end slavery, and for women's rights, and gay rights, and the environment, and every other movement throughout history which sought to end oppression and cruelty. These braying fools here are no different, so ignore their cynicism and taunts. At the same time, you have to be a part of this imperfect world, and you should not feel like it is up to you alone to change it. Do what you can, because you are just one part of a movement which will take many years and the work of many people, and your contribution, whether large or small, will help achieve the goals you seek.
Also remember, the goal is not to force your views on others, since that makes you as bad as any other oppressor. Listen to what your opponents say, talk instead of yell, demonstrate peacefully and with dignity, lobby for good laws, and show people by your example that there is a better way.
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Answer to: still looking for coherent explanation of why eating plants is morally superior to eating animals
The animals don't want to be eaten. The animals suffer. The animals in factory farms live miserable lives of confinement, deprivation and pain. Plants have no nervous systems. Common sense: do you know see the difference between chopping up a dogwood and chopping up a dog? Should we replace animal cruelty laws with plant cruelty laws? Should we apply painkiller to the grass before we mow it? Veal calves crammed into isolation, denied their mothers' milk and soft nuzzle. Hens in cages so small they can't flap heir wings. A plant-based diet uses less energy, less water, causes less pollution, less clear-cutting, less loss of biological diversity. If, despite all logic, you feel that killing plants equals killing animals, keep in mind that a vegan diet kills far fewer plants. Look into the animals' eyes. Hear their screams. Consider the brutality of animals being castrated, de-horned, de-toed, de-beaked, and otherwise mutilated - without painkillers. Sympathize with turkeys being raped, with chickens genetically altered to be so fat, they die of heart attacks before being sent to the slaughterhouse at 45 days. Try a well-planed, balanced vegan diet for 45 days; see if you don't feel great, healthy, a sense of innere peace. Now you can look animals in the eye. You won't need a "coherent explanation." It will be obvious.