This came up on /r/BreatTube the other day, and people rightfully pointed out that this felt less like a discussion of Veganism and more a strawman of the atypical extremist, generalized to the...
This came up on /r/BreatTube the other day, and people rightfully pointed out that this felt less like a discussion of Veganism and more a strawman of the atypical extremist, generalized to the total population of Vegans.
It's a bit like saying "Why I'm no longer a Feminist™" and then reiterating far-right talking points about extremist feminists or TERFS. It feels dishonest and click-bait-y.
I don't know. I have encountered a degree of this as a vegetarian - maybe not so much the "Instagram" bougie quinoa-cupcake veganism, but definitely the insistence on moral and physical purity...
I don't know. I have encountered a degree of this as a vegetarian - maybe not so much the "Instagram" bougie quinoa-cupcake veganism, but definitely the insistence on moral and physical purity (which I think are entirely separate issues and perhaps overly conflated in the video). I have lurked in vegan spaces and the hostility towards vegetarians some of them have is... significant. There's a lot of talk about how it "doesn't make sense" to be a vegetarian, or even just straight up "fuck vegetarians" garnering likes/upvotes/internet agreement points.
Of course I'm not going to say "oh, if only some vegans weren't so mean, then maybe I would be vegan too" - that's a dishonest argument for anti-feminists and it's a dishonest argument for vegetarians. I am actually transitioning towards a vegan diet. But it's just enough that I feel like even once I get there I would not be able to shake the feeling of being unwelcome due to my approximately year-long history of "just" vegetarianism. I am also leery of the idea of ever identifying as a vegan to anyone who's not taking my food order.
These are of course all "only" my feelings, it's just that these negative experiences can stick out even if they're "atypical minority" opinions. It gets to me now and then! So I would say overall this video was helpful for me.
I think the reason that vegans sometimes feel frustration or even anger toward non-vegans (including vegetarians) is that the path to veganism usually involves learning/deciding that consuming...
I think the reason that vegans sometimes feel frustration or even anger toward non-vegans (including vegetarians) is that the path to veganism usually involves learning/deciding that consuming animal products is immoral. But very close to 0% of vegans have been that way their whole lives, and almost every single one of those transitions included vegetarianism. Mine certainly did. But I think that people in general are not very good at remembering that they were different in the past from how they are now, and giving other people the benefit of the doubt that they give themselves.
To be clear, I think that the hostility that you're describing is misplaced and unacceptable, I just understand why it's there. I also think it's awesome that you've cut out meat products from your regular consumption, and I think it's just as awesome that you're continuing on a path to cut out other kinds of animal products.
Mexie makes compelling and intellectually honest cases for veganism both as a political and a personal choice, if anyone is on the fence on the movement or just wants a discussion on it that's not...
Mexie makes compelling and intellectually honest cases for veganism both as a political and a personal choice, if anyone is on the fence on the movement or just wants a discussion on it that's not dominated by the kind of social clout-chasing Instagram vegans get up to her work comes highly recommended (as does her other work but that's a different topic).
This came up on /r/BreatTube the other day, and people rightfully pointed out that this felt less like a discussion of Veganism and more a strawman of the atypical extremist, generalized to the total population of Vegans.
It's a bit like saying "Why I'm no longer a Feminist™" and then reiterating far-right talking points about extremist feminists or TERFS. It feels dishonest and click-bait-y.
I don't know. I have encountered a degree of this as a vegetarian - maybe not so much the "Instagram" bougie quinoa-cupcake veganism, but definitely the insistence on moral and physical purity (which I think are entirely separate issues and perhaps overly conflated in the video). I have lurked in vegan spaces and the hostility towards vegetarians some of them have is... significant. There's a lot of talk about how it "doesn't make sense" to be a vegetarian, or even just straight up "fuck vegetarians" garnering likes/upvotes/internet agreement points.
Of course I'm not going to say "oh, if only some vegans weren't so mean, then maybe I would be vegan too" - that's a dishonest argument for anti-feminists and it's a dishonest argument for vegetarians. I am actually transitioning towards a vegan diet. But it's just enough that I feel like even once I get there I would not be able to shake the feeling of being unwelcome due to my approximately year-long history of "just" vegetarianism. I am also leery of the idea of ever identifying as a vegan to anyone who's not taking my food order.
These are of course all "only" my feelings, it's just that these negative experiences can stick out even if they're "atypical minority" opinions. It gets to me now and then! So I would say overall this video was helpful for me.
I think the reason that vegans sometimes feel frustration or even anger toward non-vegans (including vegetarians) is that the path to veganism usually involves learning/deciding that consuming animal products is immoral. But very close to 0% of vegans have been that way their whole lives, and almost every single one of those transitions included vegetarianism. Mine certainly did. But I think that people in general are not very good at remembering that they were different in the past from how they are now, and giving other people the benefit of the doubt that they give themselves.
To be clear, I think that the hostility that you're describing is misplaced and unacceptable, I just understand why it's there. I also think it's awesome that you've cut out meat products from your regular consumption, and I think it's just as awesome that you're continuing on a path to cut out other kinds of animal products.
Mexie makes compelling and intellectually honest cases for veganism both as a political and a personal choice, if anyone is on the fence on the movement or just wants a discussion on it that's not dominated by the kind of social clout-chasing Instagram vegans get up to her work comes highly recommended (as does her other work but that's a different topic).