Defending our position

This friend who is eating lamb is also wanting to justify it and put down anyone who disagrees with her right to eat what she wants.
“Skirmishing over the Lamb” - good title for a book? This whole subject, jokes included, evokes anger, frustration, a need to put-down-the-righteous (as happened to me over tea!) and a great reluctance to shift one’s view. Try convincing a vegan to take up meat again and, when they stop laughing, they’d simply say “NO WAY”. It’s easier to convince a carnivore to move on, but it’s nearly as laughable, especially with the older ones. They’re usually set in their ways. At some point in their lives this whole matter has been settled (about eating animals and they have promised themselves, family, friends and colleagues that it won’t be talked about, thought about or acted upon. That position is held firm by frequently making tasteless jokes about it, to show their contempt. The position gets stronger as one gets older – there’s more to lose if we change sides. But the greater problem is in losing friends over these ‘issues’. What happens when a friend puts up some opposition? For instance, during a conversation an animal issue arises and people take sides – they take their positions. Do we stay out of it or do we wade in? If we’re put on the spot, do we say what we want to say; and if we do, are we sure we can control our language? What happens if our words don’t flow smoothly? It makes us look foolish, as though we haven’t thought things through. This powerful change we’ve made in our own life now has to be defended. Can we put our defence into powerful enough words?
These situations can happen suddenly. We respond by defending both ourselves and the issue at hand. If that feels uncomfortable, we might be tempted to bite back. And then there’s no end to it. I decided this was one of those times for withdrawing.