Can’t we all just get along?
Veganism has blown up in the last few years. It's been around since 1944 and the hippies in the 60's were eating vegetarian with their drugs, love, peace and stuff. The new age of modern technology, the internet, and our ability to share and spread information very quickly, has helped (and hurt) the vegan movement in a way I never dreamed possible. We live in exciting times. With blogging becoming more and more popular, everyone and their dog can express their thoughts on any subject. Vegan diets and animal rights tend to be at the top of that list.
With veganism becoming more mainstream, different types of personalities/authors/chefs/etc have popped up all over the internet, spreading their message of how to help animals and be healthy. Everyone has different personalities in the vegan community and we attract different people with our energy. This is a good thing because we are all different. But we are not separate. We are all on the same team. Whether you are an abolitionist vegan, vegan for health, or vegan for spiritual reasons, we are all fighting against the injustice happening to animals, to our government and food system, to our health, and our ability to live healthy lives free of suffering and disease.
Vegans talk about rights for animals, but what about our rights as human beings? I have a right to have a different opinion than you. You have a right to your opinion. Neither one of us is right or wrong. The in-fighting that I've witnessed inside the vegan community is just silly. It's become clear that too much ego, immaturity, and judgment is what's causing all the problems. I saw recently a scuff where a vegan author saw a negative review on Amazon, called it fake and attacked the reviewer (then attacked/blamed another cookbook author). I was shocked by this behavior and even more so that others thought this behavior was appropriate. This kind of stuff divides us, creates useless drama, and I'm sure turns people who would like to be vegan off. Of course, not everyone is going to like every vegan book out there. And people will buy all different kinds of books with different ideas.
"The shoe that fits one person pinches another; there is no recipe for living that suits all cases." – Carl Jung
I know for a fact that not everyone is going to like my book and I suspect negative reviews will show up. And that's fine because my energy and my book, which is super healthy and uses high quality ingredients, is not going to be for everyone. Some may find it too spiritual, some will find it too healthy, who knows. But the message in it's pages will connect for many people. And if you are ready to take your health to the next level then my book will help you do that.
We have a serious lack of awareness, and I fall guilty of this too. We need to take a hard look in the mirror, really dig down deep to see how we can change ourselves to help others. Not how they can change. If you change your heart and mind, and how you react to the world, the world around you changes.
If people could just love all and embrace all, which is what veganism is about imo, then we wouldn't have so much bullshit in-fighting. But, noooo people want to be "cool" and cliquey, and vegans like to think they are better than everyone else. It just boggles my mind that vegans can be so cruel to each other and to others outside the "club". It all boils down to living with true heart, integrity, and honesty. That is what helps animals, that is what helps others go vegan, and that is what eventually will save us all.
Thanks for reading my rant 😉 I hope it got you thinking. We all can better ourselves and love a little more. I love YOU!
"We need to take a hard look in the mirror, really dig down deep to see how we can change ourselves to help others. Not how they can change. If you change your heart and mind, and how you react to the world, the world around you changes."
This is too eloquent to be called a rant. And I agree with you completely.
Thanks Ashley! It's good to be reminded of this and I try to do my own soul-searching frequently!
This is well-said, Christy, and all-too-common a behavior. I guess we can be evolved in many areas of our lives but still be childish where our egos are concerned. Thanks for sharing your kindness and wisdom!
"We need to take a hard look in the mirror, really dig down deep to see how we can change ourselves to help others. Not how they can change. If you change your heart and mind, and how you react to the world, the world around you changes."
So appropriately stated. I am grateful you took the time to express this Blissful. Love and blessings to you.
Very well said. In fact, the blog title pretty much sums it up for me. 🙂
Great post, I couldn't agree with you more! Look to yourself before you start throwing stones at others. We all have work to do.
VERY well said. I've been a victim of a lot of these sentiments, myself. In the last month or two, I've been accused of being a poor excuse for a raw chef because I eat so much non-raw food (tell me this – does a pastry chef live on pastries? NO!) and, even worse and more offensive, someone commented on my About Me post (where there's 70 or 80 comments of people generally saying "Hey, I'm 99% vegan and/or vegan for health reasons, too!") with a long diatribe about how I, and every commenter there, was ignorant, insenstive to animal suffering, hardly any better than "an average joe," are terrible for thinking of their diets as a means to health rather than a means to end suffering, and bigoted and judgmental towards animal rights activists. Um, WHAT?!? Could she possibly have incorrectly read between ANY MORE lines than that? Jeezus. It made me really angry…to put it lightly. I can count on my hand the number of times per YEAR I ingest animal products, but I'm "barely better than an average joe"? I came to a vegan diet for health reasons, but I also now celebrate its other benefits to myself, to animals, to the environment, and to the world – and I'm WRONG for this? I couldn't believe someone would come to my blog, to a page where dozens of people have come together, in support of each other, to proudly say they're very-nearly-vegan too, and tell US that WE are judgmental. It makes no sense to me. I think THAT is the kind of attitude that scares people away from veganism all too often. If 99.5%-vegan is not good enough – in fact, SO not good enough that it deserves the wrath and judgment of "real vegans" – then that can cause enough anxiety to make most people throw up their hands and quit. "Jeez, if 99% isn't good enough, why am I even trying? Forget this," I can imagine people saying.
If FOOD is what brings some people to veganism, then I say GREAT. Because when people start feeling better about themselves and their own bodies, they become more conscious of the world around them and more conscious of ALL their life choices, not just health. How dare she say that all us health vegans are on the wrong track. If you don't give people a chance to START somewhere, then they'll never get near anywhere you want them to be.
Wow, sorry for venting. But all that was to say that I really appreciate this post, and could not agree with you more. 🙂
If you disagree so much, why are you even talking about it? Why are you bringing it up again? It happened weeks ago. Put it to rest. Stop drawing more attention to it. If you really loved our community, you'd had left it alone rather than trying to stir it up again and acting all high and mighty.
You obviously don't know the whole story anyway and perhaps, mind your own business and stop gossiping.
Thanks everyone for your comments. Love the throwing stones metaphor!
@Amber I know people can be cruel. This post is not about pointing the finger though, remember?! 😉 You gotta just let that stuff roll off you and keep doing what you're doing. There's always going to be haters.
@Tof Some of us missed the point of this post which is to remind us to look inside, be more loving, it's not about gossip or "stirring the pot". Maybe you need to read the post more closely. If you knew me better you wouldn't make snap judgements about me or "choose sides". There are no sides, just perceptions, judgements, and feelings.
Love to you all <3
Amen to this, Christy. Veganism draws passionate people, and I think they sometimes don't realize that the way in which they show their passion actually hurts their cause. As important as respect for animals is, I don't know that it should outshadow respect for other people, because that's what allows for community and conversation.
Christy, this is a great post. I completely agree and couldn't have said it better myself. Thanks for writing it.
I think I need to read a post like this once a month because I (like others) can get angry at people I don't even know sometimes when I get passionate about something. As I've gotten older, this has mellowed A LOT. I think studying Buddhism has really helped me and now I just smile and ignore when someone says "Oh I love animals too, that's why I eat them".
There are things that vegans fight over (honey) etc but sometimes we need to celebrate what we've accomplished as a society and embrace it, leaving room for outsiders to come on in,.
Amen sister! We're all on our own journey for our own reasons and everybody deserves respect for living their truth. Sanctimonious judgement is not activism.