"OMG I've been such a bad vegan. I can't help but eat these cookies/brownies/chocolate bars/pizza/etc etc etc..." I've noticed this trend on the message boards and it really shocks me. I feel like I'm going to come across as a douchey vegan, but I need to say this:
These threads remind me of a story my vegan friend told me about a friend of hers who's really bad at basic care taking. I don't want to get into the whole story, but this girl (SORRY VEGANS) killed her pet bunny via neglect and then proceeded to call my vegan friend for sympathy. If you killed your bunny, wouldn't a vegan be the last person you'd call for sympathy?
Asking for vegan hugs whilst you admit to eating non vegan food but still call yourself a vegan is so similar to me. Do you expect sympathy? Look, I've been there. I had a little stint where I was not being el stricto with my diet, and you know what? I felt AWFUL. I felt selfish and absolutely neglectful. I knew the truth of what I was eating, and I let convenience and laziness get the best of me. Never once did it cross my mind to ask for okays from a group of vegans. I told myself "Enough is enough!" I moved on and got my priorities straight. I suggest you do the same.
Sorry to be "that vegan" but honestly. I'm not going to tell anyone that "it's ok. It happens to all of us. Being vegan is hard." It's not. It's hard when you're lazy and/or have stopped caring. It happened to me, but it doesn't happen to everyone and that fact was one of the things that kicked my ass back into shape.
So, here's what: Buck up. Figure out why you've stopped caring, reorganize your priorities and move on. Just..please spare us the sympathy cries. I can't realistically speak for all vegans, but I'm going to try:
We're all about the love, but no ones perfect and there are things we hate: meat and dairy related nonsense, years of people "not getting it", Rush Limbaugh, non-vegetarian tofu dishes, people who "used to be vegan but stopped because it wasn't healthy" and people who say they're vegan but cry because they aren't really.
It's fine. Just tell yourself that tomorrow is a new day and from now on you're vegan for life. And then live it. If that's what you want, it's in your grasp. The end, no tears, just do it.
Thank you and stay classy.
You're not 'that vegan'. Its what all the millions of members that don't post in those threads are thinking. And some that do.
ReplyDeleteAmen, Hannah, amen!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, you've said exactly what's been percolating away inside me for the past few days; what the hell IS up with this sudden rash of "tell me it's okay eat stuff with 'just a little' butter or a layer of cheese on top because my coworker/mom/girlfriend made it and'or 'it looked amazing' and my convictions are so flabby and ineffectual that they collapse in the face of a friggin' cookie." I've refrained from weighing in on any of them because I didn't want to be "that vegan," either, but everything you've said here is right on. Thanks for saying it.
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth -- I've gone vegan this month for Mofo from being a vegetarian before (not sure what post-October will hold for me), and this pisses me off too. If you're ever going to label yourself and belong to a subculture around it, then do it right. I don't want to hear about anyone else who's "a vegetarian who eats fish" either. Yeesh.
ReplyDeleteI had a little tiff with some friends this week when we were making pizza, and they left everything objectionable off my corner, but not before another version of the "Isn't just a little bit okay?" conversation Desdemona mentioned.
It's opening my eyes, that's for sure.
Thanks for the positive reinforcement! I don't know why any of us should apologize for being "that vegan." The whole thing is so ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteThanks for this. I've been there--I knew I'd feel like an ungrateful wretch for refusing the non-vegan cake or whatever someone made for me, so I caved. Better to feel guilty for cheating on myself than for offending others, I thought. But I've worked it out and now I feel stronger. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd non-vegetarian tofu dishes for the win!
ReplyDelete