more on the conversion thingumybob

[Guest guest]

here we go again:

 

> obviously you read soemthing that pissed you off

 

you could say that

 

 

> and thus you interpreted my whole email wrongly.

 

well hopefully. i'd hate for someone to be the way i got the impression you were

 

 

> the email i was replying to was about explaining

> to people about the suffering of animals (people who CLAIM to care about

> animals) and them looking like they dont know what youre talking about.

 

the relevance of this to my email being...?

 

 

> if someone asks me why im vegan and then knocks me down im gonna get

> pissed off.

 

what do you mean by " knocks me down " ? i presume you don't mean it literally

 

 

> or when someone makes a comment about it

 

makes a comment about your veganism? so no one is allowed to question your

decision? not in the " are

you right or wrong " way, but in the way of asking for information too? do you

not think that makes

you just a tad too unapproachable?

 

 

> (like the guy who

> walked out of his meeting, i often get people taunting me by tleling

> me how delicious their rare steak is).

 

no doubt. i get it too. a lot of people do.

 

 

> this is unacceptable. why shold

> i have to " deal with it "

 

i didn't say deal with that, dearest, i said deal with the fact that not every

one is vegan. that

was point. if someone has a go at your beliefs, the best thing is just to smile

sweetly and get on

with what you were doing. by arguing back or causing a scene or whatever, you

are letting them win.

don't bite. let them get on with it. after a while they'll get bored. it's like

children. ignore

them and they shut up in the end.

 

 

> when its because of the meat industry that things

> like pfiesteria piscicida (the " cell from hell " , given this name because

> its killed several scientists that were researching it) exist.

 

um, actually, according to

http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/pfiesteria/fact.html pfiesteria

piscicida is " a natural part of the marine environment " so it does not exist

because of the meat

industry.

 

 

> brian, my best friend, will always be

> my best friend no matter what. you have no idea what our friendship is

> like so id appreciate it if you stopped trying to predict how it will

> end.

 

hey, you're the one who mentioned him, who cast him into the public domain and

allowed him to be

scrutinised by all, not me.

 

 

> whenever we

> first got into the vegetarianism thing he totally agreed with me. i dont

> try to convert him because i think its right, i try to convert him because

> HE thinks its right.

 

even if he does think it is the correct way to live, is it not up to him to make

those changes?

unless of course he's asked you to remind him what a useless human being he is

every time he fancies

a bit of meat.

 

 

> ive never told anyone how to live. and even if i

> did, whats wrong with that?

 

you really want me to tell you? if you can't figure it out for yourself i don't

think i should waste

the energy trying to explain.

 

 

> everyone else keeps trying to tell ME how

> to live.

 

two wrongs don't make a right. why stoop to their level?

 

 

> if you think im wrong for wanting to convert people

<snip a little rambling>

 

i think that it is fine to offer up information when asked. but to give it

without asking is when i

start having problems with people. people have to make their own decisions, you

can't decide for

them. if they do sway under your arguement, the chances are they won't have the

conviction to

continue and will fairly soon give up any changes that they made.

 

 

> then you shold also write a similar email to magazines who tell teenage

> children that its ok to have sex

 

i think it is ok for teenagers to have sex. nothing will stop them so trying to

make them not do it

won't make the blindest bit of difference. we need better sex education, better

access to

contraception, more information, a more postitive approach to sex and the body.

it needs to stop

being viewed as dirty, but instead as a pleasurable and life enhancing, along

side pointing out the

responsibilities, the dangers and pitfalls.

 

 

> and have columns saying that if women

> get too much iron it can be dangerous! thats absurd! its damn near impossible

> for a woman to get too much iron.

 

personally i have no idea what you're on about, but i'm very sure it has nothing

to do with what we

were discussing. nevertheless, www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/foodnut/09356.pdf says

that

 

" The amount of iron stored inthe body can influence a person's potential to

develop heart disease.

Excess iron is associated with the formation of free radicals, unstable

molecules in the body that

may injure vessels supplying blood to the heart. It has also been suggested that

the incidence of

heart disease rises dramatically in women once menstruation stops due to

increased amounts of iron

in the blood " .

 

then again, it advocates eating red meat.

 

http://www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf/substances_view/0,1525,889_VM,00.html says

 

" There is evidence that too much iron increases the risk of colon cancer, heart

disease, and other

chronic illnesses. One study of people over age 60 found that for each 50-mg

monthly increase over a

250 mg daily iron intake (from both food and supplements), the likelihood of

developing heart

disease rose 1-1/2 times in men and 3-1/2 times in women. In addition, excess

iron can be hazardous

for children and for those with a genetic tendency to absorb too much iron-a

condition called

hemochromatosis, which afflicts more than a million Americans. Most people with

this problem don't

know they have it; early symptoms include sore joints and fatigue. "

 

there's a lot more at http://www.veg.ca/newsletr/marapr97/iron.html which i

can't be bothered

copying and pasting. anyone who's interested can go find out for themselves.

 

 

> hey i never said i refused to talk

> to people just cos they eat meat

 

yes you did. i quote:

" sometime i go through phases where i refuse to talk to anyone who eats meat "

 

can that be interpreted any other way?

 

 

> i said that sometimes dont WANT to

> talk to them.

 

erm, no you didn't. see quote above.

 

 

> and if you have a problem with me for saying that, why

> dont you get mad at everyone who would rather eat at a veggie place than

> a meat place?

 

because they don't necessarily go around telling the meat eaters how wrong they

are? it comes down

to choices. what is right for one person is not for another. ostracising someone

for a decision is

medieval. the veggie cafes still allow meat eaters inside, you know. and a lot

of veggie cafes also

serve meat dishes.

 

 

> these times where people die from all sorts of horribel things

> that could have been prevented if the meat industry wasnt full of profiteering

> assholes.

 

i never said i like things the way they are. all that can be done to stop the

spread of these

diseases should be done. however it is up to every person to decide for

themselves whether or not to

take the risks involved and eat meat regardless. you wouldn't like someone to

criticise you for

being vegan, so why criticise someone else for not being?

 

 

> guess im just

> a snotty little bitch then, arent i miss sarah monster?

 

well, you said it, not me. and that's a " ms. " thank you very much

 

and how'd you get my url anyway?

sarah