Thoughts....?

Question

Could the position that a lot of meat eaters take on vegetarians being pushy simply be a latent memory of their own parents telling them as children, "you eat those vegetables mister." Therefore they think anyone who is pro-veggie is a veggie bully... or are there really veggies out there that hold people down at random and make them eat brussel sprouts?
You make the call?

Answer 1

I think that the majority of veggies are a little more than slightly out of touch with reality. When someone says it is wrong to eat meat, even though meat has been the staple of the human being's diet since the beginning of time, I find that absurd. A person having the personal preference to eat only vegetables is fine, a person that criticizes and condemns others for eating meat is a blithering idiot. I would be willing to bet that I eat as much or more vegetables that even the most devout veggie person. I also eat meat of all kinds, drink the hell out of milk, and eat cereal like it is going out of style. Most normal people would call that a "balanced diet".

Answer 2

I have thrown tomatoes at people, now I am afraid that I may be one of those veggie bullies (they were probably mostly meat-eaters).

I also have a small ceramic brocolli head hanging in my kitchen, is this another sign of Brocolli Complex. Damn, I need to see a therapist, and kick my brocolli habit. And to think, I really thought my green complexion was because of poor lighting.

No I do believe that some vegetarians and vegans get pushy.
I know that I have been accused of pushing the meat-culture, for eating fake meats. Some newbies are so caught up with the idea of "doing the right thing," that they want everyone to understand the concept. Like a person who finds a new religion.

Edit: If there are veggie bullies, can it be possible that there are fruity bullies?

Answer 3

That might be part of it.

I think there a few obnoxious vegetarian proselytes out there--it looks like we have at least one here on YA--I'm not naming any names. Bad news tends to travel faster than good news--one really annoying vegetarian is going to be a lot more memorable than 500 laid back and polite ones.

Sometimes a vegetarian just has to say "I'm vegetarian" and it's perceived as being preachy. Some of the meat eaters may have some sort of subconscious guilt about it; and if they even hear of someone being vegetarian, they automatically get defensive.

Sometimes meat eaters have never even met a vegetarian but they heard somewhere that vegetarians are all preachy and they believe that. The prejudice stays with them whether they see any real evidence of it or not.

Answer 4

I think it seems to me that some meat eaters, and I'm not gonna name any yahoo account names here, think that being a vegetarian is simply a choice to eat vegetables. It seems to me they like to ignore all the ethical, philosophical, political, environmental and whatever other reasons there are to make the choice to go vegetarian. They feel more comfortable when they discard the possibility that vegetarians may be on to something, especially if it might be something better. I'm actually surprised that some of them actually think we make that choice simply because we don't like the taste of meat and then obviously it's incomprehensible that we wouldn't cook dead animals for our friends coming over that do enjoy eating them. Oh my god, how can there be no meat at a vegetarian place?? What if a meat eater goes there??? Yeah, never mind all the cruelty of the meat and fish industries and the animal exploitation, never mind the ethical stand of most vegetarians against it and their logical observation that by nature animals aren't supposed to be products, and that they are sentient creatures. Yeah, never mind a conscience, it's all about the palate and ultimately it must be a decision made by one's own taste buds.

Oh, I just made my stand on an issue I firmly believe in... I guess that makes me a veggie bully! Poor, poor meat eaters, such victims they are to bullies like me!

Answer 5

I think some people actually imagine being preached at by vegans and lose touch with reality. As far as the parental theory goes I feel a lot like Franzia.
I wish my parents had raised me to love vegetables. Better later than never though. Now I wish they would put meat down and eat some vegetation.

Answer 6

I find it highly doubtful that any vegans attack or are pushy to anyone.
Chosing a vegan diet for ethical reasons generally means you have a greater understanding about the world and would be smart enough to know that yelling at people wouldn't work.

I think meat eaters just feel immediate guilt when they are around vegans. Their eating habits are exposed and that makes them feel terrible. So they attack the easiest target (the vegan) and not their own poor habits. They like to keep this myth going to continue to not think about the harm they are causing by distracting themselves and placing the blame somewhere else. Sad isn't it?

Answer 7

I'd say NO, from what I have observed is that vegetarians/vegans keep making it a point that they are veggies/vegs. I mean why keep talking about it just eat what you want and live your life. At the same time people who eat meat don't make horrible videos of people picking veggies and fruits. Just as you feel you wouldn't want someone's point of view pushed on you it works both ways. When you go to a function eat what you can. I mean at most functions there are plenty of veggie things, people who eat meat don't only have banquets of meat. But I will tell you this, go to a veggie function and you will find NO MEAT. Think about that. I'm almost positive a vegetarian wouldn't make steaks if meat eaters were coming, you would just serve veggie dishes and I bet the meat eaters would eat what the could and not say, do you have a steak in there somewhere? Nor would the say, no I don't eat veggies I'm a meat eater.

Answer 8

Interesting thought. I think there are pushy and opinionated people out there, vegetarian or not. Some meat eaters feel threatened by people who are different.

Answer 9

LMFAO. I don't think so. People are just morons and like to use the words "socialist," "communist," "radical," "hippie," and "vegan" as insults while actually knowing nothing at all about any of the words.

My parents actually food-spoiled me as a child, and I realize now that I've developed horrible food habits - few to no vegetables, a little fruit, a ton of carbs. So, if anything, I'm perhaps more hostile that my parents *didn't* force me to eat vegetables. Now I have to force myself to eat them and try to learn to enjoy them all over again.

Answer 10

There are just some people who learn as children that the only attention they get is through negative behaviors and so they continue that on through adulthood (and often provoke arguments because that gets them attention ...even if it is negative attention, they figure it is better than not being noticed at all).