I don't hate vegetarians, but...?

Question

There is this girl around the High School I go to, and she is REALLY MEAN. I was eating my left over General TSO (It's chinese supper for those who don't know) at lunch hour and she walks up to me and says: "Ugh! Meat eater! You're eating a dead animal! " I mean, I don't go around saying "Veggie eater!" to vegetarians, so why won't she leave me alone? Don't get me wrong, I've met a vegetarian who is really nice, but it's just this girl who is getting on my nerves!! Every time I see her she looks at me all crazy. What should I do?!

Answer 1

I'm vegan and I think that you should tell that girl that she is pathetic and ghastly excuse for someone that wants to fight for animals.

Her behavior is disgusting and she needs to be told that she is a confused hypocrite if she thinks that she can go up to people and insult them for what they are eating.

Do me a favor and tell her to KEEP HER MOUTH SHUT unless someone wants to have a polite and willing conversation with her about it.

EVERY time that she opens her NASTY little mouth, she makes veg people look like @ssholes and sets our movement back a few decades for everyone that witnesses her unforgivable behavior.

Answer 2

She is a lout & obviously socially inapt. There is no excuse for her poor manners, Though things are worst at the age you are at I wish I could say that all of us grow up and act better, but it's not true. There is no reason for a stranger to comment on anything personal to another, but it seems that even adults don't live by that rule. As columns like Miss Manners & Dear Abby show, some people believe it's their job to butt in to everyone’s lives.
If you feel you can, just flatly tell her she is rude. More than likely she will not get the point but you can always hope. Another tack is Try taking the wind out of her sails, Agree with her you are eating a dead animal & loving it. If she is crazy & yes there are plenty of them walking around not much will help. It is very intimidating to deal with someone like she is. I don't want to give you any advice that would make this worse.

Slainté(to your health)

Answer 3

She's very young (you're 14 so I'm assuming she's around the same age), and this is behaviour you tend to find in a very young recent convert.

If she stays vegetarian she probably won't behave in this way when she grows up. As you can see from these forums - meat eaters come on V&V to harangue veg*ns about their diets - some spend huge amounts of time on here - but you generally won't find veg*ns on other food forums or even the hunting forum abusing people for their choices.

Meanwhile, ignore her; her behaviour is rude and ignorant.

Answer 4

Well i think this is less about her being a vegetarian then it is her having some sort of personalities problem!

I'm a vegetarian and i never tell people off for eating meat it is an individuals choice just as not eating meat is.

I think you'll find that most vegetarians are not like this girl!

Answer 5

I'd ignore her if possible. Sounds like she's either aggressively seeking attention or has some other emotional instability. Since the majority of ppl @ your school are probably omnivores, I'm assuming she does this to other ppl besides you. Bullies don't usually single out just one target.
Her behavior is *not* typical of vegetarians & it's this type of behavior that perpetuates the stereotypes about us.
Don't let her get on your nerves.

Answer 6

Avoid her. There's no reason why you have to interact with people who simply rub you the wrong way. And please don't make the mistake of thinking that all vegetarians this way (which would be as erroneous a stereotype as someone assuming you were a certain way just because you are Asian.) Most of us like the way we eat, but respect your right to eat the way you like as well. This chick is clearly a rude b***h who gives vegetarians a bad name.

Answer 7

Just ignore her. Vegetarians shouldn't be pushing their lifestyle on you, just as you shouldn't be pushing your lifestyle on her. Trust me, being a vegetarian surrounded by meat-eaters, sometimes it's hard not to speak one's mind, but everyone needs to be happy about what they are eating. If she says anything again, I'd just tell her that you are happy with your food choices and that you respect her lifestyle, and hope that she can respect or at least tolerate yours.

Answer 8

It sounds like she's:

a.) trying to get attention
b.) very passionate about vegan living
c.) socially inept

Next time she says something, just look her in the eye and say, "I understand that not eating meat is the lifestyle you've chosen. It's not mine. You're not convincing anyone that your choices are better by ranting at folks who are trying to eat lunch. Please leave me a alone." There are lots of things that people get riled up about, and as they gain more life experience, their passions may not change, but their understanding of how to better relate them to others improves. Maybe someday, she'll be a real advocate for change (for vegan living or something else, who knows) but for now, I think she's got tunnel vision that's causing her not to think about the fact that there's another feeling person on the receiving end of her tirades. Just don't let her use you as a sounding board.

Answer 9

People like that give vegetarians a bad name. Because of people like her, meat eaters come on this forum just to harass us because they automatically assume all vegetarians are preachy.

Just tell her acting all preachy is more likely to turn people off.

Answer 10

Please keep in mind that vegetarians are often picked on and targeted so we sometimes put up a rude front. It's like we have this knowledge about something that no one allows us to express. I'm not excusing her behavior, there is no need to be rude but maybe she had a bad day.