How I see myself, as a vegan

480: To me, other vegans are not objectionable (some exceptions!!). I have positive feelings about my fellow vegans mainly because each of us has liberated ourselves from being ashamed about animal-use. However, on a slightly more self-critical level I should feel ashamed, for being judgemental and unforgiving and feeling just a tad superior to certain ‘others’. I sometimes find myself ashamed of feeling negatively towards animal-eaters, and then have to remind myself why that is - it’s so reciprocal, the way I see myself depends on how I see non-vegans. In many important ways (from my point of view, of course) vegans are okay, but that’s not how most omnivores see us, either as individuals or as a group - we’re pushy-types who never miss an opportunity to make a ‘vegan convert’ out of a carnivore, and when we don’t succeed we then accuse the meat-eater of being a person who just doesn’t care. And we go one stage further, by believing that they’ll never come across, as if we neither have faith in them or feel any affection for them. I know that oftn goes through my own mind. I’m ashamed to say so, but it’s true. I hope other vegans aren’t as judgemental. So the question to be asked: Am I a caring person myself? Is it possible that I put so much effort into caring for and defending the rights of animals that I have no defence or care left over for people? And what makes me feel this way? Is it that ‘they’ don’t respect animals or is it really that ‘they’ don’t respect me? How big am I? Perhaps not big enough to face those who judge, hate, dislike or ignore me?