Wendy's remarks brought to mind an old story I heard in church once: An old man was walking along the beach after a storm. The beach was FULL of thousands of star fish. Eventually he came upon two small children running up and down the beach, picking up starfish and flinging them back into the ocean. The man said to the two children, "What are you doing? You can't possibly save them all, what difference do all your efforts make?" One of the children replied..."Well....it makes all the difference in the world to the ones we save."
veggiepugs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
veggiepugs <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Wendy-
In response to your question...I have received opposition to my being vegan quite a few times. More often than not, people ask my why I'm vegan and grill me as to all the if's & and's like "well what about plants, don't plants feel pain?"...check out www.askcarla.com for all the questions that people ask. She covers them all. People try and stump me, try and make me feel as though my choice is a ridiculous one. But, it's just that...it's my choice and I NEVER push it on anyone.
My philosophy being a vegan is this: I choose this path because it is what suits ME and fits MY beliefs. If I expect tolerance from others, I have to have tolerance for their decisions as well. Sure I wish more of the world felt the same way about all animals to the extent that it might change their actions towards them, but for me to protest and force people and shove things in their face, be violent or obnoxious completely contradicts the very core of veganism...Compassion. If one feels compassion for living beings, that must include humans. We all live on the same planet. OK I'm getting a bit preachy here but, the point is, I have learned not to get angry. I just realize that very often, people like these are threatened by my choice, because somewhere deep down they feel remorse about their decisions. Those who are comfortable and secure in their choices react otherwise. They say to me "I admire that, but I could never do that". You should see some of these groups that are formed that are anti-vegan, anti-animal activists, they should just call themselves "anti-compassion" because really, that's how they behave. They're so angry and so hell-bent on getting the last word they forget to stop and take a look at what kind of person they are. Or, they don't care. Some people just have a malicious bone in their body that makes them want to be that way. Some people are so angry at the world and need everyone to know it. That is not what I personally want to be.
I was once kicked out of a pug group because I asked ONE question about vegan diets for dogs in the wrong place. It was a simple, non-threatening question and boy was I attacked...."how could you even consider that! how could you impose your beliefs on your own dog! its not right" basically telling me I was out of my mind if I thought that dogs could be on a vegan diet. I even asked them to give me the pros and cons and give me the benefit of their experience either way. Well, don't we impose on domestic animals to begin with? Whether we choose to feed them vegetables or meat...aren't we imposing our decision on them either way? Either way...it's not up to them. They don't get to choose what food they eat, or when, or how much. We do. I have a wholeeee long essay on this, veganism, animals and natural behavior, I've written a lot of "articles" about the subject and yes, I used to be an angry vegetarian when I first started but I have learned a lot along the way and come to accept things for what they are and do my part in my corner of the world and make a difference in my corner. Many ask....how can you think you're making a difference? And I say...if it makes a difference to one....it makes a difference. Someone here, I can't recall who has a signature quote that says something about saving one animal makes no difference in the world, but it makes a world of difference to that animal. So true. That in and of itself is a huge difference. How many people can say they changed or even saved a life in their lifetime? That's a huge thing. And it isn't just one person, it's millions of people around the world who feel as we do about animals and caring for them that make a collective difference. And it doesnt have to mean you have to be vegan to do that. Any step towards compassion and selflessness towards another human being is a step in the direction of making a difference. Little or big...a difference is a difference...to somebody.
Hugs...
Rebecca
Message: 5
Date: Wed, 23 Nov 2005 09:53:36 -0800 (PST)
From: wendy <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: Conflict on being vegan
To: [email protected]
Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1
I have a question: why in the world would anyone take
offense to the personal choice of being a vegan?
Especially to the point of kicking a vegan out of a
group? I don't understand this concept. I could
fathom a group of vegans not wanting a non-vegan in
their cyber group, but the other way around? Can
someone fill me in on why this would be? Just
curious. Thanks. I have no problem with what anyone
is doing as long as it isn't hurting anyone or
anything, and being vegan does not qualify.
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