To be (a jerk) or not to be (a jerk)...
I am not sure if writing about jerks is a good way to start my weekend or not but my mind decided screw it! we're doing this. @eco-alex made an interesting question for this week in the ecotrain about hate and anger towards vegans, the full questions is: "Why do you think there is so much hate and anger toward Vegans, and why are those who eat meat so threatened by the notion of giving it up?". He had some pretty bad experience with meat eaters and what is surprising, my experience is completely different, I had terrible encounters with vegans and vegetarians. Maybe 10% (big maybe) of all of those that I have met so far have been "normal" and not either aggressive or angry. I guess there are jerks on both sides...
CC0 image, Pixabay, author: Anemone123
I will not go into what is healthier for humans, meat or vegetables or be drawn into that whole discussion because I see it as pointless. Our bodies are different. The healthiest friend I know eats only junk food and has never exercised a single day of his life but is completely fit and skinny. (I exercise every day and eat healthy but even water magically turns to fat in my body lol). I know healthy vegans and healthy meat-eaters just as I know sick vegans and sick meat-eaters. The idea that a certain diet plan (any plan) is the absolute best choice for everyone is absurd.
I eat everything and respect everything. I am grateful for the energy exchange between any type of food and my body. Since everything is made of electrons and nothing ever stops existing, only changes its form and function, I have no problem with digesting those electrons no matter how they are aligned. Animals or plants? It is all the same to me.
Do I feel sorry for the animals?
Nope. I had a better connection with plants my entire life and saw how they responded to music, my presence etc and if I had to choose, I would rather give up eating plants than I would animals. Plants give oxygen, animals use oxygen. In my book, plants are more useful and worthy of saving if I had to save one of them. I hug trees and talk to flowers. (been doing that since I was 3 years old) Oh and, by the way, did you know that plants can hear you eating them? Plants are able to identify sounds in their environment and respond differently to sounds of someone eating them and for example those of wind or music. They communicate with each other too, reproduce and have different reactions to different outside stimulants. Unlike humans and animals, they never hurt their offspring. A male lion will kill its offspring if he wanted to mate with female lion and they were stealing her attention, some fish species eat their young as soon as they are born, and do not get me started on what humans sometimes do to their children. Plants do not show that kind of behavior. They are peaceful. As crazy as it may sound to you, the way vegans look at butchers is the way I look at florists. People call me weird, I don't care.
Why do I eat plants
if I like them so much?
I like myself more. I eat them because they provide nourishment for my body and give me energy for my normal functioning just like animals do. I am completely against torture and am against killing plants or animals for sports, recreation or decorative purposes. Sports hunting should be banned by law all over the world, if you kill an animal you better be sure you will going to eat it or use it in a useful way. Same goes for plants. Eat them, make clothes or furniture from them but do not expect me to be happy with you picking a flower and giving it to the person you love. If you want to give someone a plant, make it a potted alive plant.
Do I think my way of thinking
is the only correct one
and everyone should be like me?
Hell no. First of all, there is a good reason why people in different places of the world have different eating habits. I would not expect Eskimos to give up their meat and eat only plants just as I would never expect people in desert areas to eat only meat. As for those from countries where the climate is allowing the growth of both animals and plants, as long as you are not killing for fun, eat whatever you want. Just don't bother me with it. I have no interest in your dogmatic views but I am open and love talking about whatever you want. People are a diverse species, we are different and should stay different. Diversity is what makes us special. I appreciate and respect all my friends no matter what they eat. My judgment of them is not based on their eating habits. Saying that everyone should be a vegan is no different from saying that everyone should be a Christian. We need to be different from each other.
There are angry and/or aggressive jerks everywhere. It has nothing to do with their eating habits, religion, politics, gender or anything else. You either are a jerk or you are not. The sad part is that if you are a jerk, you are probably only defending your version of truth by spreading it. You have good intentions. You are trying to save something and change the world. People who are very vocal, angry, destroy the property of others, insult or attack them are threatened by those who are different from them. The fact that someone is not like them is threatening because there is an unrealistic fear that it will impact them in some way. Whenever you see or hear someone like that, realize that there is most certainly some trouble there. That person needs love and education. If you can, provide one or both.
Do not be a jerk.
Please.
Pretty please with a cherry on top...
If you eat meat, you are not right and vegans and vegetarians are not wrong. If you are a vegan or vegetarian, you are not right and meat-eaters are not wrong. Calling me a killer because I eat meat will only result in me coldly responding that you are a killer for eating plants. The truth is, we are all killers. Not murderers, killers. There is a huge difference between those words. Your moral views may not be shared by everyone but that does not make you nor right nor wrong. Eat what you want, believe in a God you want, join a political party you want, dress the way you want, have sex with who you want but do not impose your beliefs on others. You can promote them, talk about them or join discussions in a civil manner but do not impose. Live and let live, right? Respect each other and love each other. Respect and love the world that we all live in together and share.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:
This post is not an invite for my readers to fight each other in comments on who is right and wrong. You are different and as such different beings, I love and appreciate all of you. Comments that are insulting will be flagged. Consider yourself warned.
Until next time,
KEEP YOUR SMILE ON!
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I agree! We don't have to fight in the comments to see who is right. We just have to agree that it is me. Ahahhahahaha
I try not to be a jerk. When I go to a friend's for a meal I eat what they serve. If they come to my place for a meal I try to honor their ways if I know them. IE serve vegetables only if that friend is a vegan. It's about respect for my fellow humans.
And here's where my jerkness can come to play. When anybody criticizes how I eat (or anything else for that matter) in my place at my time. In all honesty, it is none of your business how I eat unless I make it your business.
I can and do have discussions about eating. I only care about how I eat and feel and do try to respect everyone else. I don't know everything (only most :)) and so listen and try foods that others propose.
One thing you and I utterly agree on is sport hunting. I am a hunter even though I haven't picked up a gun to hunt with in better than 30 years. I loved it and ate every thing I killed. I still identify as a hunter even though I got 'tired' of killing things for my pleasure. Trophy hunting makes me crazy.
Thanks Petra. It's a truly wonderful post with a great message.
I agree with you. All people are welcome in my home and I always respect their eating habits. No one ever came out of my house hungry :D I have a couple of culinary books with vegan and vegetarian recipes and am glad to show off my skills hihi.
I agree with your take on this, what a person eats is that person's business. When I see people attacking others over what the person eats I see a very weak person who feels threatened doing the attacking.
Jerks come in all shapes and sizes and what they eat has nothing to do with them being jerks. My two cents worth on this subject.
and your two cents make you absolutely right, jerks are jerks regardless of their eating habits :)
This is really the right thing! Too often we are construing one bad experience, or bad actors/extreme views as representative of the entire opposite position! Then we spend our online lives bashing straw men and tilting at windmills... making ourselves feel good about it, yet only just contributing to the lack of critical and constructive debate. I'm glad that you have identified that... but I'm not really surprised that it was you, somehow, I think we have very similar views on some things...
Sometimes at work, just to make a rehearsal run smoothly and to fix a problem, I will just accept whatever crap comes my way and just get on with the job of making it work...
Yeah, we generalize way too much and when presented with one person with certain views tend to thing that similar people share them. Focus on the positive, enjoy critical thinking and spread love, I think it goes a long way. Thank you for your amazing comment 💚
Seriously. Respecting others' choices is important. I was vegetarian for 7 years, then my body decided it wanted meat. We each have different paths, and there are as many paths as there are people. Peace. :)
I will not go into whether or not one lifestyle is better or healthier...only this:
For me, my experience is, most Vegans I have met seem to be angry at those who eat meat.
If they would like to be treated more openly or accepting, then, perhaps vegans should try a different approach to those who eat a different diet?
So true. As i was writing my response I just thought well, whether you are a vego or a vegan or a pescetarian or a carnivore theres ALWAYS going to be some jerk judging you. A bitbof empathy and open mindedness wouldnt go astray!!
You can never please everyone, there will always be people who love and support you. We should focus more on them 💚
Let me first use my disclaimer: I am a vegetarian by choice in the beginning now things have changed over the past 34 years my thinking, body, etc.
Your real discussion is about being a jerk so here goes:
Jerks come in all sizes, religions, nationalities, sexes, etc., etc, etc.
My belief is people get angry and judgmental when they feel threatened in some way.
Have a wonderful weekend my friend.
When we find what food works best for us, things change for the better, I am happy that happened to you honey! 💚 I agree that jerks come in all sizes lol
Among the things I'm most concerned about lately is that I'll grow short of words to describe your posts, @zen-art. For me, you are the keeper of the high quality standards in content creating.
Hey, @saffisara...I hope you'll enjoy the time reading this premium work!
Hahaha, I do not believe that you can ever be lost for words honey and I mean that as a compliment 💚
Thanks, I got it as one :-)
I love your post - the whole thing. I too have encountered very angry vegans - and meat eaters. My philosophy is to eat as close to the natural state of the food as possible, have it as clean as possible and if I can, raise it myself.
Plants are amazing and have so many ways of communicating we have no clue about (yet) and animals are amazing as well. I feel strongly that we need to treat the animals we eat with respect and keep them in a healthy way. So, I will spend more money on buying meat that is raised that way and I have my own chickens, of course...
I prefer natural food too and love to eat that which is grown in small gardens or family farms. I like to eat food that was happy while it was living :)
agreed! And be happy while eating it lol
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