discrimination!

I only tell people I'm vegetarian if it comes up...and how often does it actually come up? Pretty much only when I'm eating or shopping with others...which doesn't happen all that often. I don't sit around and talk about it...because what I do with my body is my own business...I mean, do meat eaters sit around and talk about their lifestyle as a meat eater? No...

 

It really wasn't that bad...just remember the younger crowd likes bass.



All joking aside, people criticize controversy. If you don't want to deal with their disapproval, don't show them yours. If they think that you think they're a monster for eating meat, well......
Even if you show your views kindly, they may feel challenged. So, don't tell them unless they ask. Then, it's their fault...hehe
Despite their objections, you have peace of mind in knowing that you decide your own life's course.

I wish I would have been a vegetarian when I was in my teens or twenties. I envy you "enlightened" young people.

Be happy,
w_o

 

I know where the original poster is coming from. It's been a few months since I stopped eating meat. It's not something I have felt compelled to announce to anyone, but it has been discussed at home with my immediate family. I know my kids well enough to know that one of them will announce< "mom's a vegetarian" tomorrow at the cook out we are going to at the in-law's house, and at some point, when we are with my extended family. I know exactly who will roll their eyes and make some kind of rude comments, and who will try to draw me into a debate.

It's strange to me, because I've never confronted vegetarian's I know, maybe because I didnt feel threatened by it.

 

wow. you guys did kinda jump on her back. talk about meat eaters making it so you have to be "thick skinned".. you got the veggies here to do it for you first!!

haha i know newbie trying to say shit. i've been reading these boards forever and just got my damn thing to post!!!

it's alright as veggie to veggie to share alittle grief every now and then to remind us all we're not alone in our day to day battles. of course most people arn't going to care what you do with your life or they will read it according to their own already established beliefs, not taking in yours. it will happen, all the more when you choose an alternative path but thats what makes forums like this great. you can share those little aggravations and feel like you have a supporting community of like minded people who might just "care". or did i read into this far too much?

 

i guess it's worse when people try to convert you back. i hate that. i try not to be to aggressive on ym part either. i can't remember trying to convert anyone to veg.
& i agree w/ you crystal

 

thank you, i couldnt have said it better myself!

as for the 'doctirine of devils,' i never heard of that before. i am a christian, but i dont think god isnt going to keep me out of heaven just because i didnt want to eat his beutiful creatures

 

ok, one thing pple are not understanding is that i was not preaching! SHE asked ME if i was a vegitarian because i was ordering my sandwiches with no meat. i didnt walk up to her and say 'im a vegitarian, what do you think about that?'

another thing; im not going to lie. im not ashamed of being a vegitarian.
you also said 'if you cant be self assured in your unique way of living, its not going to work,' does that go for people who chose to be gay too? or christian? or jewish? or whatever other kind of alternative lifestyle? of course a lot of people are going to critisize, i know that. and it doesnt bother me. i was asking if anybody else felt the same way.
some of you misread me.

 

why is everybody roasting me on this thread? its not about me! i was asking a question! it was meant to be just a funny little comment, but everyone is WAY too serious! sheesh! lighten up a little, eh?
i feel like im repeating myself in this thread.

and yea, i misspell 'vegetarian' a LOT i noticed, im not the best speller in the world

 

This is what your Original Post said...

"I told one of my coworkers that I became veg" That's what we had to go by...drumminmama is right.

 

I thank everyone for understanding that I was having a weird day and posted before thinking about all the implications.

Could that same understanding be extended to the OP?

 

yea, i posted that when i was pms-ing, so it probably did come off like i was complaining, my apologies. i think mikeE is right.
but i really didnt just walk up and tell her, she really did ask me. i should have put that in my original post. and i really do have thick skin, drumminmama, i didnt fly off the handle at her or anything. i think i told her something like 'im doing it for health reasons' because being that she works on a farm, she wouldnt understand the reasons about cruelty to animals, and i didnt want to offend her or come off all preachy.
one of my other coworkers asked me the other day "what do you eat?" i said "anything meat free thing i want," i think that some people think that we only eat tofu
again, i dont parade around the restaurant with a 'dont have a cow' tee shirt on. its a little store, and word gets around, especially because im friends with all of them. someone will come out of the grill and ask 'who would order a burger with no meat on it?' im not going to shy away or anything, i just tell them 'it was me, im a vegitarian.'
again, i apologize. i see how my tone might sound like i was really really mad, but i really wasnt.
peace

 

yes my dad, friends, and people in resturants when I ask if there is anything vegan on the menu.

 

I didn't say you were preaching... I said IF you were, you have to expect that sort of reaction. I don't know how it went, you didn't specify, and I did not assume.

The only thing I am getting at is, the vegetarian lifestyle is different and new to most people, so yes, you are going to get weird looks, rude comments questions, etc. and it's something you are just going to have to deal with or find your own way to handle... The more you get upset about it, the more these non-veggies will nag you.

Don't get pissed, sister, we are speaking to you from experience, we aren't jumping on your back. And I can tell you from my own experience, the more I let those kinds of things bother me, the more shit I had to deal with.

I came on here a while back describing something similar, and many people told me the same thing... I wasn't offended, rather, I took their advice and it worked.

Drumminmama can offer some extremely helpful tips if you just listen to what she says, rather than take offense to it. I have to say, reading through her replies were by far the most helpful to me.

Sometimes, what may seem rude, is the most helpful to you. Every now and again, people need a "kick in the ass" to get their head together. If you become to accustomed to getting upset about it and complaining about it, you will NEVER learn how to actually DEAL with it.

If we were all to sit here and say "Aw, sugar, I know how ya feel. Those people are sooo mean" then you would most likely continue to take offense, and continue to post complaining about it, and never actually learn that it's something you have to deal with. Dig?

And one reason we might seem a little rude about this particular topic, is because do you know HOW MANY people post this same sort of thing over and over and over again? If you go through this forum, you will find them, and if you're looking for reassurance and comfort, do that instead. You will find tons of people stating pretty much the same idea. And most all of those threads get the same replies yours did, so don't feel like it's just you, or that you wrote it the wrong way.

And if you're gay, christian, or jewish, yeah, you're gong to have to learn how to deal with the people who don't agree with you, that's a given. It doesn't matter what/who you are, you're going to have to learn how to deal with people who don't like it/you ANYWAY, for ANYTHING. Those people exist everywhere, and you can't just skate through life thinking that everyone is going to accept you. Sure, it's sad, and it sucks that people judge one another based on things like so, but it exists, so the best you can do is KEEP THE PEACE by dealing with it in your own way. Dig?

And by the way, being vegetarian IS a bit different than the example you provided, [especially of being gay] considering being veggie IS a choice. I'm not going to lie, just because I have a strong moral opinion tied to my veganism, it IS a choice, and I don't ever deny that it's not. You don't make the choice to be gay, or a different race, so please, do not compare such things. That is so utterly radical/PETA-ish.

And the main reason we probably "jumped on your back" is because of the ridiculous title of this thread.

I can't apologize for being honest. We all are more than willing to help you and support you, but you have to listen to what you say instead of thinking we're personally attacking you, then.

And for the record, if you were asking simply if we ever dealt with anything like this... Of course. That's a given. And yeah, we probably all started out like you, and took some offense to it. But, it's something we have all learned to deal with.

I'm not trying to be rude or offend you... I'm just telling you the plain and simple truth. You need to stop caring what people think or say so much. Girl, you gotta grow some woman balls.

 

my fundamentalist MIL went off on dh and me Saturday because we got more tattoos. "Dont you know that the bible says that is evil and...." blah blah blah. Thank god she didnt know I stopped eating meat! I told her to get her veil on and stop cutting her hair or she would go to hell too!

 

That's why when I'm bored I go to bookstores and put bibles in the "fiction" section

 

well, my grandmother said it said somewhere in the bible "if the meat is clean, eat it" but the thing is is that its NOT clean! its pumped full of chemicals, and the way god's creatures are being killed is so disgraceful. when the bible was written, there was no such thing as steroids or preservatives, and they didnt kill animals in such twisted ways, so swearing off meat probably was strange then.
so even if some people do believe in the teachings of the bible (which i do) i think those people still shouldnt have a problem with vegetarianism.

(ps hope that didnt sound preachy, not trying to push religion here)
besides, i dont think im going to hell just because i dont want to eat His beautiful creatures

 

But, why do we bring up the bible when there are many religions that disagree, and actually avoid certain meats?

If I'm not mistaken, Hindus don't eat pork... and there are other religions that avoid certain foods for their religion. So why is Christianity the only religion ever brought to topic when we talk of vegetarianism??

According to other religions, the vegetarian way is better, or close to better than to eat all meat.

Yes, to eat animals or to not eat animals can be a moral choice, but I never understood how it ties in with religion. It's funny too, the way in the Christian religion, one of the 10 commandments is "Thou shall not kill" and yet, it's ok to slaughter a helpless animal?

Too many hypocrisies in religion for me. But yeah, lets not get into that. I dont go to those boards for a reason. I hate it when people mix religion and vegetarianism.... We have to remember that not everyone on here is the same religion. Thats what those boards are for.

Most all vegetarians keep their choice separate from whichever their religion is, including me, so it just gets annoying when people bring that up. Just as I think it's a lame excuse for meat eaters to get on your nerves, by throwing that on out there. They don't eat meat because it's correct in their religion, that's bull, they eat it because they want to.