Vegan coming-out - To Faith and Sky

[Guest guest]

Dear Faith, Dear Sky,What You two said was just so so beautiful.Thank You :)I wonder why it's still so much easier to me to be compassionate towards members of other species than my own :-SBlessed Be,Beatriz--- On Mon, 7/7/08, Faith <tigerpainter wrote:Faith <tigerpainter Re: Vegan coming-out Date: Monday, July 7, 2008, 8:40 PM

 

Hello,

 

Hm, what to say... that depends a LOT on the audience. Sky put it

beautifully, if you are coming from a place of patience and compassion

your message land better.

A few things I have found helpful to remember when interacting with

others:

* I try to let people ask me rather than coming at them full of

information that they are not wanting to hear. When the women in my

program ask how I stay so thin, I tell them that I lost weight and

kept it off easily going vegan. This opens the door to a discussion

that they are more willing to hear. I only talk about veganism for as

long at the other person seems receptive. If the talk gets too

heated, I drop it. We can always pick it up later.

* I like to avoid talking about how disgusting non-vegan foods are

over meals. Telling people that there are legal levels of pus allowed

in milk while they're finishing off a tall glass doesn't really go

over well. If people ask me about my reasons for being vegan while we

are eating, I will engage them a bit, then ask if we can continue the

discussion another time.

* I try to remember a few decent references (books, websites) off the

top of my head that I can recommend to others when the information

they are asking for becomes too specific for me to know the exact

answers to. I can tell them a bit about health, but there are amazing

books, articles, and websites out there with more accurate and up to

date information that what I'm able to hold in my head. I get their

email address and send them links.

* When the interaction is clearly intended to provoke me, I smile, and

ignore the bait. A guy in my class, Hunter... ironically, invites me

to a stake house almost every day while laughing. I always, politely,

decline and thank him for being so thoughtful as to ask me out. My

classmates respect me more for standing by my beliefs without

screaming at them than they would if I allowed myself to act like the

freak they expect me to be. A few of them have gone vegetarian over

the past year!

* Following interactions or days that bring me to my knees, I go home

and vent to other vegans that will understand where I'm coming from.

Because people do not meet vegans often, I know that each of us, for

better or worse, represent the vegan community at large to people in

our lives. If people see that I am healthy, happy, and strong in my

beliefs, they will be more willing to listen to what I have to say

than if I come off as a judgmental, angry, and whiny about how

deprived I feel.

 

I don't know if that answered your question at all. That book, Vegan

Freak, has great advise on all sorts of social situations. My husband

and I love being vegan, I think people see that when we speak to them

about veganism.

 

Does anyone know if it is ok to post recipes from books on these

forums? We had the most amazing vegan burritos tonight! I'll share

the recipe if I'm allowed to.

 

Have a wonderful night,

~Faith

 

@gro ups.com, Beatriz <searchingalight@ ...> wrote:

>

> Hi Faith

> Could You perhaps share a few tips with us on what to say?

> Talking to some people, specially those who aren't sure on whether

fish is animal or vegetable, just makes me swing between frustration,

desperation and irritation :S

> At times it gets really hard to keep my cools

> Thanks,

> Beatriz