Committed to making a stand

My friend tells me ‘jokingly’ how she enjoys eating lamb.
As the joke goes along it gains momentum, volley by volley. Hers is the first comment, mine comes next and it goes on until someone “wins”. “The lamb” is pitched as a joke but really it’s a challenge, a jibe, a quick in-and-out. To any long-time vegan, this sort of sniper attack is tediously familiar, but strangely, predictably, we vegans always rise to the bait. Meat eaters probably enjoy the outrage on our faces and even enjoy watching us trying to take control of our reply.
This sort of joke is a winner because meat eaters can be sure that a vegan’s sniffiness (about animals-being-eaten) will be aroused just by mentioning “the lamb”. It could be any animal of course, but we use the same word –lamb - for the animal as well as the cut of meat, so this word (this animal) is sure to trigger reactions. By admitting to eating a young sheep, a meat eater ill certainly provoke outrage in a vegan.
My friend’s daughter, having known me for the past thirty five years, knows I always defend the rights of animals. The way I do that, depends upon to whom I’m talking. Sometimes I’ll withdraw. That’s why I’m writing this down, not just for my own sake, but for the interest of both sides of the debate. If we all have anything in common, it’s our interest in the present and in predicting the future. Most everyone these days is aware of headline issues. There’s a tipping point with every one of them, and particularly the eating of animals. Once we tip one way or the other, we seem to be committed to a certain stand. It’s noticeable that even though carnivores are less adventurous, their stand on eating meat makes them feel cocky because of their “safety-in-numbers”. They love to win an argument with people like vegans.
They usually initiate a joke to wind us up. It’s a show-off position and they intend to win. But more importantly it’s grist to the mill. By having a real “head-on”, we give ourselves something to talk about with friends later. These carnivores, what bastards they are … but vegans do exactly the same, making fun of meat eaters amongst ourselves. We don’t like to let our side down.