Guest guest Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 I've encountered bitterness and hostility simply by saying I'm vegetarian, so this doesn't surprise me. Kill the messenger of bad tidings, and all that. She was jolted out of her blissful ignorance and focused on you as the cause, not her own idiocy. This is what people are, mostly -- sleeping their lives away. WAKE UP! On Friday, January 2, 2004, at 11:20 AM, wrote: > Message: 14 > Fri, 02 Jan 2004 16:23:17 -0000 > " ~ PT ~ " <patchouli_troll > Strange comment~ they just think differently. > > I was at a New Year's Eve gathering and there were about > 30 people. There were fireworks for the young lads, huge > buffet of finger-foods, and a small bonfire outside; it was wet > and drizzly weather. I was the only vegetarian there... > One of the guys brought some marshmallow cakes that > the intended to toast over the fire; they were these big pink > mounds of sugar and geletin with a small chocolate cake > inside, and I believe they refered to them as " snowballs " . > Anyway, he asked if I wanted one and I declined. He insisted > they were a dessert item and thus vegetarian fare, but I politely > said, " well, they actually aren't something I would eat as they > contain geletin, which is made from animal parts. " > A few people overheard this exchange and his wife asked me > what parts it was made from, so I proceeded to tell her a bit > that I have learned about the way geletin is made from reading > some online FAQ on the Jello site. She curled her lip up in disgust, > but not at the geletin or how it was made, but at ME! > She said, " Well, it must be pretty disgusting to constantly have > to think about all the ingredients in foods and where they come > from. " as if I were some morbid freak that just loved to ponder > my day away contemplating how animals are slaughtered. > I could only smile and laughed; what a twit! > I said, " Yes, it is more a shame how many give it no thought > whatsoever, and even then have little care. " > > ~ PT ~ > > Only the educated are free. > ~ Epictetus > Orthodoxy is the death of intelligence. --Bertrand Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted January 2, 2004 Report Share Posted January 2, 2004 In my experience, most people who ask are genuinely curious about why I choose not to eat certain foods and respect my decision. But occasionally I have also had people challenge or dismiss my vegetarianism after asking me why I do it. It feels bad when someone doesn't respect my descision to follow my own conscience.... I don't think people are ignorant about things like gelatin because they haven't been exposed to the information. Often, they avoid thinking about it because they know that if they did, they won't want to eat it any more, don't you think? In the back of their minds, a lot of carnivores aren't comfortable about where meat, gelatin, and other animal-derived foods come from. But maybe they've been eating these foods since they were kids and they have warm, homey associations with them. When these people's worldview is threatened, it's easier for them to attack, deny, or rationalize than to reconsider their long-held beliefs. But even though she was rude to you at the time, maybe your conversation with this lady will come back to her later on. If the information you gave her hadn't struck a chord, I don't think she would have reacted the way she did. , The Stewarts <stews9@c...> wrote: > I've encountered bitterness and hostility simply by saying I'm vegetarian, > so this doesn't surprise me. Kill the messenger of bad tidings, and all > that. She was jolted out of her blissful ignorance and focused on you as > the cause, not her own idiocy. > > This is what people are, mostly -- sleeping their lives away. > > WAKE UP! > > > On Friday, January 2, 2004, at 11:20 AM, > wrote: > > > Message: 14 > > Fri, 02 Jan 2004 16:23:17 -0000 > > " ~ PT ~ " <patchouli_troll> > > Strange comment~ they just think differently. > > > > I was at a New Year's Eve gathering and there were about > > 30 people. There were fireworks for the young lads, huge > > buffet of finger-foods, and a small bonfire outside; it was wet > > and drizzly weather. I was the only vegetarian there... > > One of the guys brought some marshmallow cakes that > > the intended to toast over the fire; they were these big pink > > mounds of sugar and geletin with a small chocolate cake > > inside, and I believe they refered to them as " snowballs " . > > Anyway, he asked if I wanted one and I declined. He insisted > > they were a dessert item and thus vegetarian fare, but I politely > > said, " well, they actually aren't something I would eat as they > > contain geletin, which is made from animal parts. " > > A few people overheard this exchange and his wife asked me > > what parts it was made from, so I proceeded to tell her a bit > > that I have learned about the way geletin is made from reading > > some online FAQ on the Jello site. She curled her lip up in disgust, > > but not at the geletin or how it was made, but at ME! > > She said, " Well, it must be pretty disgusting to constantly have > > to think about all the ingredients in foods and where they come > > from. " as if I were some morbid freak that just loved to ponder > > my day away contemplating how animals are slaughtered. > > I could only smile and laughed; what a twit! > > I said, " Yes, it is more a shame how many give it no thought > > whatsoever, and even then have little care. " > > > > ~ PT ~ > > > > Only the educated are free. > > ~ Epictetus > > > > Orthodoxy is the death of intelligence. > --Bertrand Russell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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