You do it, so shall I

765:

In the face of greatly differing views between vegan and a non-vegan, we each seem implacable; vegans are ‘in judgement’ of non-vegans who, in turn, are in judgement of us, for whatever reasons. We each have fixed views, and today, where Perception Rules, views stay fixed.  

In all matters of food, there are still many omnivores who support the status quo out of fear of boycotting things. Boycotting food items could EASILY lead to a huge daily inconvenience. Many omnivores would say, “Where does it all stop?”

Omnivores are not far wrong – it is inconvenient, trying to be consistent all the time, about what and what-not to boycott. But of course it gets easier as time goes on. But (perception rules!), that’s not how it’s perceived by non-vegans who haven’t, by definition, experienced the surprisingly easy the switch-over is; for the omnivore it will all sound too difficult to even contemplate. (And let’s face it, Society still spreads the idea about vegetarians, let alone vegans, being psychologically challenged!!)

By the time we’re adults we’re getting used to decision-making; we know life’s a matter of fitting-in; if we don’t fit in to the way others do things we’re out, caste out, seen as whacky and NOT to be taken seriously; of us, “They take things too far”

It’s evident, to most people, that vegans want to alter things - but why? A trained omnivore will go for the jugular, and say vegans are people who want to deny others the simple pleasures of life. Or they might say, “You can’t talk to a vegan”, as being obstinate to common sense. To non-vegans, we’re the ones who “just don’t get it”. Number one, favourite is: “I mean, how can you object to cheese, when it’s something so familiar to daily life? What’s so wrong about a cheesy pizza or a quiche?”

            It’s only that people haven’t thought too much about (cheese versus cows, quiche versus hens). So, for starters, vegans need to point out (if we ever get the chance to open our mouths) that the way people perceive animal-based food is ill-informed or misinformed. Ultimately, it’s down to us, as vegans, to better inform people.

But, for that, we don’t need to frighten them. That’s the tricky bit.

I think we should get to know as much as we can about the connection between animal products and ill health. If any questions are going to be asked, this is where they’ll start. But I don’t think it’s a good idea to dwell too long here - it’s so easy for people (like me) to scare the bejesus out of people, in order to get them to ‘go vegan’. By telling people that they’re all going to die horrible deaths isn’t such a good idea. However, from my point of view, I need to know about animal husbandry, know the ‘the connections’ (cheese is cow), and know about basic nutrition. Any animal activist needs to know this, perhaps better than the oncoming omnivore. We need to know it, in store, even if I don’t actually get to mention it. And so often, it can be finer NOT to mention a whole heap of it.

This connection between eating animal protein and contracting heart disease, cancer, diabetes, poor circulation, loss of leg power and (with the worry of all this) dementia - all this is very likely to be ‘pay-back’ for being so laid back about what food we eat and have eaten. The fear of body-crash, arising from using these foods, is high on a vegan’s list of arguments; for us it is all too tempting, to use the fear angle. Unless, like me, you are NOT trying to convert people. And then I think it’s better to use material sparingly.

 Instead of a fear-impelled change (coming about in people) I’d rather see some energy going into ‘perception-eering’, looking for clues on how our omnivore friends perceive things; indeed, how we all trick ourselves into seeing what isn’t there; and how we appease our taste buds to ease our addiction-worries.

I want to understand one thing: how do some humans take up great ideas, and others push them away; I want to know why some people (with brains) think for themselves and why others (with equally good brains) don’t, because they less often think about the big issues; nor then act.

I imagine the more insecure one is the more one wants to fit in. It’s almost primal, complying with fashion and saying that because you do it, so shall I. Instead they could be speaking ‘vegan fire’.