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WHY do people need to tell me every time they eat meat!?
Started
by VegVirgo824
on December 13, 2009
Ok, so I have been a vegetarian for almost 6 months (Vegan 12 days) and my family members and friends STILL FIND THE NEED to tell me every single time they eat meat and how good it was...
maybe I wasn't as serious sounding in the beginning because I didn't want to make a scene so I kind of blew it off, I don't know what it is... I am getting to a point of getting upset which is OPPOSITE of what I know I should be doing...I always take it graciously... I don't want to say "your gross" although I want to... how do I stand up to say my elder family members, or even co-workers??
Does anyone else have this problem?? How do you deal!?
i have the EXACT same problem. it is just so frustrating when your happy about something and the people close to you don't support or respect it just because it is not what they believe in. I try to tell them to stop talking but they just continue, it's like they're trying to make me feel stupid about it. It happened today and everytime they brought it up i just told them there is no point in discussing it, thats really all you can do.
I totally can relate! It seems like my co-workers feel the need to pass my office with their lunch...announcing the ingredients.." MMMM....tortilla soup! Lots of cheese and chicken..OH but yoooouuu can't have that!" It honestly makes me laugh and enjoy my lunch even more lol. One thing that does get on my nerves is when people sneak attack you with stuff like.." I've heard doctors say that you dont get enough iron".. or blah blah blah...this person said this or that. And it usually comes from places and people you would least expect.
i no aye its sooooo annoying! grr! people always poke fun at the people who are different from them...we just have to ignore it and tell them it gets on our nerves/we dont appreciate those kinda comments...most people get the message and shut up after a while, thank god!
you could always try and do what I do - every time someone starts telling me about the meat dish they are eating. I say 'oh the dead chicken carcas rotting on your plate'
mind you I only do this with good friends!
I had a friend ask me if I was going to stop showering now that I am vegan! What does that even mean??? She said that most vegans seem like the hippie, non showering type!
I struggle with this same issue. I've been a Vegetarian for 3 years and making the transition to Vegan (going on 3 days now!). I STILL get comments from family, friends and co-workers. It is very hurtful to me at times, because I feel hurt that the people that should be the closest to me, don't respect my COMPASSIONATE decision. I mean, of all the things I could change my lifestyle into, and spend my time and money on, I feel like doing something compassionate for animals, the earth, and myself would be the last thing someone would want to poke fun at me about. You just have to know that what you are doing is right. People just don't understand.
hey everyone,
I am new to being vegan, was vegetarian in my twenties and for a time when I came to VT. People are inherently defensive and don't want to know about where their meat comes from so they seem to feel the need to antagonize us about what we're doing and why. It's like they cannot handle the truth!! (Jack Nicholson- love ya.) So, then they have to attack. I often think this is because of guilt and an assumption of elitism by us. Like, they think we think we're better than they are when we have actually just been making a daily choice and commitment to our principles. I have to stop myself from telling them what they're really eating, like in chicken, (Safran Foer has a really vivid imagery of chicken carcasses and what they really soak in) and why we have swine and bird flus. I definitely feel your pain and am arming myself with compassionate and clear responses for family when I visit them in a few weeks. Like, "I really don't want to get in to what I know about factory farming, so let's just have a nice meal and realize I have made my decision for me. I don't intend to "convert" you at all."
I like paints4funs reply. I am 3 weeks into my new diet and one lady asked me, "Why would you do that just before the holidays?" I told her that I am doing it because it is the right thing to do for me. She persisted and I said, "Look, if you really want me to tell you why I quit eating animals, I would be happy to tell you. But it isn't pretty." She let it go.
For the most part I would just smile and ignore their comments.
my new favorite response is "what i eat doesnt affect you but what you eat affects me." then you go on about how it takes more grain to feed the cattle she eats then to feed the starving children in our country and how raising meat for food produces more greenhouse gases then all the cars trucks planes and trains in the world combined aka meat is the number 1 cause of global warming. etc
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