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April 06, 2006 ( Thursday, April 06, 2006 ) do you know what I hate? Ignorance. Especially when someone is being ignorant as a way to be funny. Yesterday on some tv show, they were talking about vegetarianism and this poor girl was being blasted the whole way through. They poked fun at her, laughed at her, and even played a game "would rather ____ or eat meat". They asked her stupid questions and made her choose on what she would rather do. Every single time she chose the stupid answer instead of eat meat. "Would you rather sleep with Kevin Federline or eat a burger." That's a pretty insulting thing to be asked on television. To make it worse, after they ended their interview with this girl, the next segment was "how to make sausages." I've learned in the year and a half that I've been a vegetarian to not take people's comments to heart. I don't mind answering questions, I don't mind talking to people about why I chose to be a vegetarian. I do mind being mocked and made fun of. When people don't understand something or don't agree with something, their first reaction is to treat the subject with little respect. I have a problem with that, like anybody would. There's always a few standard responses that I get when I tell people I'm a vegetarian. Occasionally I'll get something positive like "Good for you" or "That's cool". Most often I get some sort of response that ends up making my desicion sound ridiculous. I get "Humans are supposed to eat meat" or "Animals are ours to eat" or "It's not healthy not to eat meat". I understand that through history, humans have eaten meat. But through time, society allowed humans to make choices for themselves and what they felt was best. Yes, humans did eat meat. But there are some cultures that don't. Yes animals are there and people do eat them, but if you really look at it, the animals that most people eat aren't exactly the picture of perfection. I don't think that the animals that people eat today are of the same quality or standards as they were 100 years ago. I'm not going to get all preachy, I promise. As for the statement that it isn't healthy, I disagree. Studies have shown that vegetarians are 50% less likely to develop heart disease and meat eaters are 9 times more likely to be obese. I feel quite healthy. After becomming a vegetarian I dropped about 10 pounds, all fat. I sleep better at night, I have more energy, I don't feel sick after eating and I feel clean inside. One of the things that I can look at it in my own life is the whole fast food thing. Being a vegetarian limits your options at restaraunts. Some people might complain, but I see that as a benefit. I don't go to fast food restaraunts because there's no reason to. I see that as a healthy choice. I try not to get preachy because I don't like when people are like that to me. I made a choice not to eat animals, and most people see that as a weakness or a fault in my personality. I see it as a sign of respect and a step into a healthier lifestyle. It's interesting to me, how choices to make ourselves healthier or the earth a better place, always seem to create the most fodder for ridicule. I've been made fun of for everything from recycling to riding my bike. I may be an environmentalist, I may be a tree hugger, but I'm happy with that. |
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