*please note i deeply value and respect the vegan movement. i am just critical of how humorously it precipitates in online spaces, particularly this one. :)

  • moosetwin@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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    4 months ago

    it is especially frustrating coming from a person who would die if they just stopped eating meat (eating disorder), I have mentioned this online and gotten responses from these people saying that they think it would be better for me to starve to death than to eat meat. it makes me depressed to know that some people want me dead

    I am glad that people are able to go vegan but some of you go into a moralistic argument and act like everyone who eats meat is glad about it and gets off on torturing animals

    • Sasha@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      4 months ago

      I’m a vegan, and fuck those people.

      I’ve got a medical condition that meant I had to take it fairly slowly just it be sure my body wasn’t going to literally fall apart when I went vegan, luckily I’m doing well (in a few ways I’m actually much better off now, though I’m still scared of falling apart). Medical conditions are valid as hell for not going vegan, I wasn’t aware of how an eating disorder could prevent it but I’ve read a fair bit online now, so thankyou for sharing.

      One of the scariest moments of my life was when my friends and I were publically assaulted by a pair of very large vegan men who didn’t like that we weren’t vegan. I was vego at the time but sure as hell wasn’t going to tell them, people who act like that are an absolute disgrace and make me ashamed to be vegan. Veganism to me comes from a deep sense of empathy, if you can’t feel empathy for other people then you’re not a vegan as far as I’m concerned.

        • Sasha@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          4 months ago

          Haha it was nothing like that, they just sort of came out of nowhere. My city is normally pretty safe, I’ve literally never had another encounter like that in my life.

      • w_l_l_w@lemmy.world
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        4 months ago

        If you’re hurting anyone, outside of combat sports or self defense, you’re not vegan. Those men might have been plant based but certainly not vegan

        • 5C5C5C@programming.dev
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          4 months ago

          This has to be the stupidest take on the term “plant based” I’ve ever heard. I swear, “plant based” is just the “No true Scotsman” of vegans… anything that a non-meat-consumer does that a vegan doesn’t like makes them plant based instead of vegan. It’s so asinine and intellectually dishonest.

          Vegan people can be assholes too. Assholes will inevitably exist in any demographic that gets sufficiently large. I have known people who identify as vegans who insist that it’s preferable for humans to die than for non-human animals to die.

          • w_l_l_w@lemmy.world
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            4 months ago

            It’s not that complicated… Plant based = diet Veganism = philosophy

            Can’t really blame you for not knowing as they do get used interchangeably in the media.

            But you can’t just self identify as a person that follows a certain philosophy without actually following it. Vegans avoid cruelty towards animals and humans are animals.

            • 5C5C5C@programming.dev
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              4 months ago

              And what if someone is convinced that acts of cruelty towards some humans is the most effective way to reduce cruelty towards a large number of animals? They might think that you’re not vegan because you’re allowing more cruelty towards animals to exist than they are. I have encountered self-identifying vegans who genuinely think this way.

              • w_l_l_w@lemmy.world
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                4 months ago

                I don’t think you can stop cruelty through cruelty. Veganism is about acknowledging every individual and abstaining from exploitation and cruelty towards them. It’s not some sort of utilitarian philosophy where it’s ok sacrifice a small number of individuals for the good of a larger group.

        • spujb@lemmy.cafeOP
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          4 months ago

          this take is being criticized for no true scottsman-ing but it kinda makes a lot of sense, like ‘oh no i hate seeing living creatures harmed let me go punch this guy’??? it seems like maybe those dudes were just looking for an excuse to whack people and if not veganism they would have found some other ideology to abuse

    • Swedneck@discuss.tchncs.de
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      4 months ago

      obviously this doesn’t work for everyone, but this is why i’m such a big proponent of meat alternatives

      having stuff like pea protein nuggets fortified with vitamin B12 and whatever else is an actually practical way to reduce meat consumption, if we make it possible to replace meat and barely notice that you’ve done so then everyone but the meat industry wins, which is even more of a win for the rest of us.

    • Freefall@lemmy.world
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      4 months ago

      I have too many other things to worry about, to make myself hate meat. That said, I understand there is terrible shit happening in that industry, most militant vegans I have crossed paths with are wearing an apple watch and Nikes…so, I can’t take them seriously. We all pick our battles. In the end, work harder on making fake meat great. Get on it vegans, fund the research and go to school for it! If I can get my animal proteins and whatever else from a burger thqt I can’t tell came from a lab, I will never buy farmed meat again, just like that, overnight. If you sit in front of a dairy isle with pictures of sad cows, I am going reach past you, get my milk, and forget you exist in 2 isles. A lot of people are not actively against your cause, we just don’t care either way. Be more effective.