Hooray for Common Sense!

When I first started this little adventure, I was met with quite a bit of oppostion.  Not so much from my carnivorous friends, but from vegans.  True vegans, you see, do not believe that one can be very nearly vegan, and I can respect that.  All or nothing, I get it.  But what I don't get is the people who felt compelled to tell me so in a VERY nasty manner.  Why curse at a stranger who is trying to better her life and decrease her dependence on animal products?  Apparently, some people have too much time on their hands, and maybe a little too much soy-powered rage.  That kind of approach is a big turn off to me.  When someone behaves in such a manner, my first instinct is to guzzle milk while they watch.  "You like that, big boy?  Wanna see me make an omelette?  Suffer!"  But really that is no better of an attitude, so I try to quell that urge.  My personal philosophy is that you should always be kind to animals, but not moreso than you are kind to humans. 

I also don't enjoy the overly heavy-handed approach, where the angry vegan beats the civilian about the head with graphic slaughterhouse footage.  People know where meat comes from, and grossing them out (if it makes any difference at all) will be a temporary fix at best.  Sell them on veganism with your own life.  Just simply show it works for you, and in my experience at least, they will ask YOU.  My very meat-y co-workers try everything I bring in.  I am the only vegetarian they know, so this is definitely a foreign concept to them.  Common sense kindness is my secret weapon to convince people that tofu is not a dirty word, and dinner doesn't need to be dead! 

Anyway, I was happy this evening to see an article from a like-minded individual that I enjoyed, so I thought I would share it with you:
*warning, the title is profane, but don't worry, the article isn't*

http://blogs.westword.com/cafesociety/2011/02/an_open_letter_to_militant_veg.php

Anyway, enjoy your weekend, eat some awesome vegan food, and FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!!  :)

@VeryNearlyVegan

It was brought to my attention that I didn't mention the supportive vegans in my life.  I gain inspiration daily from the positive Facebook and Twitter posts of Sara Sohn of Sweet and Sara's marshmallows, Leia Carrington Llewellyn of Evolution to Green, the delicious, hilarious, non-judgey cook books of Isa Chandra Moskowitz, and the awesome vegan baked goods of Claire Gosse among many others.  I especially gain support from my dad who is a living example every day of how being vegan can change your life!  Thank you SO much to all of you for inspiring me and to so many others who are too numerous to mention.  In the future, before I am critical of people who are too critical.... I should remember to thank the people who aren't. :)