A lot of the worst groups in history began with good
intentions. Pierre Leroux founded socialism in 1834 France to
establish tolerance, equality and unity which later resulted in countless wars
and deaths. Religion, also, has had too many examples to cite of this type of
cause and effect. The crusades are said to be responsible for over 200,000
deaths in a time where the population was estimated around 200 million. Why
would these philosophies based on love and acceptance result in such violence
and destruction? Because there are always EXTRIMISTS and EXTRIMISTS RUIN
EVERYTHING.
Veganism was said to be founded
in ancient Greece and India, but many
attribute Donald Watson for being the founder who coined the term Vegan in
1941. Based on the founding principles of “Veganism,” as defined by Watson,
Vegans were expected to NOT:
… wear clothing made of fur, leather, silk, wool or down,
… patronize zoos, circuses, aquariums, rodeos, bull fights,
… hunt or fish,
… use medicines or cosmetics on which vivisection has been performed.
Despite these ideals many vegans pick and choose which
aspects of veganism they agree or disagree with. One of my good friends
practices a non-vegan diet, but wears Nikes made from leather. Another friend
of mine works in a store as a makeup artist using products that were tested on
animals (and wears it herself) but follows a vegan diet and will not wear
clothes made from any animal materials. While many EXTRMIST VEGANS accuse
people like this of being “hypocrites” or say they are doing what is
“convenient,” I believe that many people are leaders and choose to use their
own experiences to interpret and determine which laws make sense to them.
However they are not “Vegans.”
Relgion has, without a doubt, been humanity’s largest
predator. Millions upon millions have died, and continue to die, every day.
Although the idea is to give yourself to god and respect your fellow human,
many extremists will splinter the unity of a tolerant sect and begin their own.
These extremists will die for their beliefs and kill those who don’t agree with
ANYTHING they base their lifestyle on. Just like religion, Vegans are plagued
with many EXTRIMISTS who pollute and serve to destroy much of the progress and
good-hearted intention behind the philosophy.
Extrimists get results.
What’s and EXTRIMIST? Well, to me, an extremist is somebody
following a set of principles in a completely non-individual capacity. They
open a book, read the rules and follow them. They do not ask questions. They do
what they book tells them The Jehovah’s
Witness who woke up yesterday morning at 7 AM on a Saturday is an extremist.
The people holding signs depicting dead fetus’ outside abortion clinics every
Tuesday 9 AM are extremists. The men who wear vests equipped with explosives
who walk into public businesses and detonate their bombs killing women and
children are extremists. These people are never helpful. Instead of serving to
unify by being tolerant within a large group of people, they choose to divide people
and remain strict within a small group. These people are not individuals. They
are insecure, afraid and they have no identity. They are defined by their
philosophy only.
Two years ago I had watched a documentary on pig farms and
decided to stop eating red meat. The pigs were trapped in cages and horribly
mistreated. Piglets were kept in piles of 200 or so and literally grabbed by
their feet and smashed until they stopped screaming. I even saw a man hoist a
pig up on a forklift while his friend rammed another fork lift into the pig
until he died. I researched how intelligent pigs were. Many sources claim pigs
are #2 or #3 in terms of intelligence and emotional capacity. I couldn’t do eat
steak and cheese sandwiches knowing that I was supporting that industry. Even
if the farms on the video weren’t accurately representative of many of the more
“Humane,” farms, it was still clear that we were supporting slavery and
torture.
Even more disturbing than this was the disconnect between
what we ate and the process behind it. Although many people could “Never kill
an animal,” they can eat them just fine. Why? Because we are interpreting what
we eat based on manufactured deas of what it is. We eat chicken and think of
the Burger King ad with the grill on and the all white meat, breaded chicken
with our choice of sauces and get hungry. We DO NOT think of the chicken who
was flapping his wings in a crate with 25 other chickens, covered in shit,
getting his beaked grinded off while he was alive then having his feathers plucked
and head chopped off. We DO NOT think of his blood being drained before he is
chopped up and packaged with chemicals that maintain a healthy fresh color. The
biggest lie we were ever told by our government is the food we eat.
I began mixing my diet just to see if I liked it. I love to
cook but I couldn’t imagine a life without chicken, especially cheese. The
first dish I ever made was a vegan reuben. I made it with real cheese and
tofurkey, so I guess it wasn’t technically vegan. I didn’t really enjoy it all
that much but it wasn’t bad. I kept trying different things: shakes, tofu,
vegan queso, kale… and I began to crave these foods. I felt mentally clear and
physically improved. I lost 13 lbs my first week eating vegan. Most
importantly, I was anxiety free. Having struggled with anxiety and panic
attacks for the last decade I hadn’t felt this calm since years before my first
attack. That was a deal breaker for me and the day I decided to try the “vegan
diet” full-time.
Vegan Reuben.
Being “vegan,” under 6 months I have run into several
arguments with fellow animal lovers. Firstly, I came to the realization that my
car’s leather interior is leather. I bought my car in June when I was laid off
from a pharmaceutical sales position. I decided to stay gone from corporate America in
order to work with animals. I don’t make a whole lot of money compared to what
I was used to making. However, I am expected to sell my car, which I still owe
a little on the note, and buya vegan friendly car. Also, most of my shoes
throughout the years are leather. I also, should throw my shoes away and
replace them with animal friendly materials. Also, I chose to eat clams and
other “Bi-Valves,” because any and all research available suggests that these
“Animals,” are not capable of feeling pain. These were all hot topics for many
of the “Vegans,” I encountered.
The idea of being Vegan is great. Don’t exploit animals,
maintain the ecosystem, feel healthy, eat pure and be respectful of life.
However, all it takes is one uppity, trust fund receiving, faded shirt wearing,
poser ass tattoo having, akward vocabulary using, prius driving, never leaving
the college mentality asshole to ruin it for everybody. To reference the movie
“Dogma,” which everybody should at least watch once, it is better to have an
idea then an absolute law. Even take the
idea of “Thou shalt not kill.” What if somebody is trying to cut my throat?
What if I don’t have a choice? What if I have a gun and I can stop someone from
killing a woman he’s holding hostage? As a reasonable human being you would
agree to practice belief outside this law in those specific situations
mentioned. However, to an extremist you should let someone cut your throat and
let the hostage die respectfully.
People don’t respect Vegans because of the extremists. The
people who define themselves as “Vegan,” and have email addresses like
“Vegandude1423.” These security seeking followers will cling as tightly as they
can do any generic definition without ever exploring it themselves as any
healthy, confident individual would. Instead of being tolerant of others and
awarding their progress of minimizing animal cruelty they wait on the sidelines
screaming “Meat is Murder,” just waiting to poke anyone who steps outside their
definition to say “Well, you’re not a vegan then.”
I have had several people who you would never expect to give
up meat try it already because they saw what it was doing to my life and became
curious. Half my Instagram is pictures of food I cook. I don’t use the word
“Vegan such and such,” when using a meat substitute etc. People who know you
will all find out in a very short time when you eat like this. Every outing you
will be examining a menu at social events and find yourself explaining to
everybody why you cannot have parmesan on your salad or butter on your baked
potato. I would not include “Vegan” in a biography of myself in any capacity.
Plus, according to many that is not what I am. I would just suggest that Extremists,
in any form and, being void of being their own people, will be the most detrimental to
whichever cause they serve. Bullshit elitist attitudes have never helped ANY cause. I do love this diet and try to stick to it the best
I can. But I wear leather shoes. And eat clams. While I’m driving around in my
leather car. I’m not a “Vegan.” And I hate uppity assholes.
