Community Discussion TopicsIsn't it interesting . . . .
Posted by Zelda
at 03/02/2010
how some people are so quick to judge and condemn. I enjoy playing on Facebook - not so much the games and quizzes but I like being nosy and even commenting on people's stuff. I only post positive things. If I don't like what someone is saying, I just hide them so I don't have to see it. I try to keep it fun because that is what it is for me - a fun way to break up the day. Some girl I went to high school with did one of the games - a food fight thing. She threw hamburger helper and Ben and Jerry's at people of which I was one. A bunch of people had made comments so I joined in and posted "I am a vegetarian so I hope it was made with soy LOL." I even did the LOL for crying out loud, clearly indicating that I was having fun with this! Within minutes I was called "gross" and "not normal" by two people I don't even know. This particularly frustrates me because I do not preach at people. I do not bring up the cruelty to animals or the horrible hormones and antibodies they are ingesting through meat. I do not ridicule them for being sucked in by US propaganda that you have to have meat or dairy to be healthy. And I am certainly not going have such a debate on Facebook! I am glad I have discovered HappyCow.net so I can communicate freely without fear of being treated like a cast out for what is becoming an increasingly popular lifestyle.
Responses
I'm sorry to hear that happened to you. Stick to your guns and be proud of the compassionate choices you are making! As time goes on, some of these people may surprise you. When I first went vegan I had co-workers say horrible things, and I was truly shocked at the hostility I was receiving. But over time I've noticed that a lot of those same people have begun experimenting with vegetarianism and veganism. I certainly can't take credit for that, but I do think it helps for them to be around a vegan and see that I'm a normal person (and that I often have the best lunches in the office!)
Take care,
Liz
I am also sorry to hear that - my personal belief is that this has a lot to do with having a bad conscience. Of course, every normal-thinking person knows that animals are not treated nicely. However, most choose to ignore that knowledge because they value the taste of a burger or steak more than having a clean conscience. Problem about consciences, however is, that they tend to nag at you when nobody's listening (even if you choose to ignore them). It is the one thing that you normally can not hide from, because it is in your head.
But the same thing that happens when you catch people at making a mistake is that some of them will then lash out at others verbally or try to ridicule others - either to shift blame away from themselves or simply to pacify their own guilty conscisnce. I know that I always had a bad conscience when I heard about vegetarianism when I was still eating meat, some 20 years ago. I did not try to denigrate others, but I usually kept quiet about the issue, knowing that my own lifestyle was not ok (at least not to myself, deep inside).
This belief makes it a bit easier for me to endure ridicule of others.
Best regards,
Andy
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