Right.
Honestly, I'm not the kind of person who will get mad at my non-veg friends. I'm not going to rant at people about vegetarianism in an effort to convert anyone. It's my personal choice, if I'm asked, I'll share (I love when people are interested.) Overall, I'm pretty damn tolerant. But there are some questions people ask that drive me insane.
"Why did you ask them to leave the eggplant/zucchini/other off your pasta/pizza/panini/salad? Aren't you a vegetarian? Aren't you supposed to like all vegetables?What?? WHAT? How does this even make any sense?? Yes, I've found vegetarians tend to be more open to trying vegetables, or have tried more vegetables then our meat eating counterparts, but that doesn't mean we love all vegetables! That's like saying to a meat-eater "Hey, so, I noticed you're not a big fan of eating cow brain, why is that??" Vegetarians don't eat all the veg. Meat eaters don't eat all the meat. So I don't want eggplant on my sandwich, lay off.
What is this? What the hell is it? Get it away from me!
"You know, you kill plants and eat them. Plants can feel pain too. How does that make you feel?"Here's where I stand on this complete absurdity. Animals (and yes, I count fish on this level too. I don't understand this "I'm a vegetarian but I eat fish" buisness. They're animals too) have brains, and hearts, and eyes. They feel compassion for their young, they nurture. The awful things that occur in some slaughterhouses, the treatment of some animals...I'm not okay with that.
Also, if I don't eat veggies, I will be able to eat nothing in the world, so...
And, this leads to the big one...
"Why won't you just eat meat? I know once you try it you'll loooooove it." x100I have heard this over and over again, from friends, from my grandmother (who went through a period where she swore she was going to put some meat in my food and "I wouldn't be able to tell the difference"). In elementary school I had people try to put pepperoni on my food. Not cool.
I get if people say it once in a while. It's a common joke, and fine. But it's when it becomes more then that, it drives me insane.
I respect your choice to eat meat. I don't believe in it, and I wish more people were vegetarian, but it's not like I'm taking all your meat and chucking it in the garbage.
If you want to ask why I'm vegetarian, sure. I'm happy to talk about it. Even the bugging and pestering I can deal with. It's when people try to force it on me that I get pissed. Respect my decision. I respect yours.
But here's the thing: eggplant tastes like that part of Jell-o that's gone hard and wobbly. It is, next to okra and slugs, the worst thing you can put in your mouth. When I was married to your mother, I used to put up with eggplant because it was one of my many duties as a husband. Even covered with peanut butter, the stuff tasted like a disc of solidified pus. A disc of pus with peanut butter on it, with the added bonus of having an indigestible purple ring of rind to choke on.
ReplyDeleteThis is very insightful, by the way. Vegetarians seem to be in a zone where prejudice is fine. The only other people I can think of in that position are fat people and smokers. People seem to feel they can say whatever they want to these groups.
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