For some reason, even though I only have two acquaintances who are vegan, I hear one argument cropping up a lot - online and in the real world. Stereotypically, people who are vegan are thought of as thinking they're superior to every vegetarian and meat eater out there. This isn't entirely true, and I'm living proof of it. But I'm not just that, I'm also living confusion as to why anyone DOES think that way.
Why would eating meat make you a lesser person? Why would the fact that I abstain from consuming flesh make me a goddess? It wouldn't, and it doesn't. I am not more evolved than anyone just because I don't consume meat or dairy. Before I became vegan, I thought that this kind of person never got off their high horse. But trust me, after the first year or so of being a vegetarian or vegan, it starts to hit you that you're not really a superhero after all.
There's nothing wrong with having pride in yourself for being a vegan. I have lots of it. But there's no reason to place people below you on the chain of cool or right/wrong. You can eat my friends, you can vote against my right to marry, and you can chop my trees down, but I'm not going to think I'm a stronger human being than you are. I have weaknesses and faults as well as you do, and I have made mistakes and will continue to make mistakes. It is inevitable.
Even if you don't eat meat, even if you recycle, even if you're a model student - you're still a human being. To say that any one member of our species is better than another is blasphemy. I'm not going to stand for something like that just because I'm a vegan. I think that's ridiculous, and I hope more of my fellow vegans will be able to see that.
19 February 2011
18 January 2011
I'm not taking your last name if you can't take my independence seriously.
In Poetry class, my fellow students always manage to pry into my teacher's life in the lulls between assignments - because yes, my school has those, be jealous. He handles it with good humor and they never really ask anything too rude, but sometimes I can't help but feel as if he should be doing some of the questioning.
Today, the topic was his wife - as it oftentimes is since she's the mother of the allegedly cutest three-year-old on the planet. My teacher mentioned that his wife kept her last name when she married him, and for some reason this set my class alight with indignation. "That's messed up." "...Why?" "I'm sorry, that just goes against tradition." "But a woman is her husband's once she's married."
My teacher looked equally as enraged as I did at the last comment, which was unnecessarily provocative and weirdly specific and just uncalled for. In the past I may have sat there and simply shaken my head at this boy's prejudice, but today I said something. "That's irrelevant and offensive and not even true, so keep your big mouth shut." My class was shocked since I almost never open my mouth unless I'm called upon.
Eventually this guy left the classroom because he became infuriated that someone with a vagina tried to prove him wrong. I walked out thirty minutes later, unscathed, but overall disappointed in humanity. The same girl that said a woman changing her last name when she got married was tradition also claimed that "the 1800s would have been my thing! I would have loved to do anything my husband asked me to." Oh, right, like to back off while he pulls a Henry VIII and slaps you around. You like turkey sandwiches? Good thing I coincidentally just started making ten of them just a few minutes ago!
I had no idea people in my school, not to mention the elective of Poetry class, thought such ridiculous things like this. I don't even understand them. But I know one thing: I don't care who you are, I'm not taking your last name and your skewed prejudices if you can't accept my independence. It's not gonna happen.
Today, the topic was his wife - as it oftentimes is since she's the mother of the allegedly cutest three-year-old on the planet. My teacher mentioned that his wife kept her last name when she married him, and for some reason this set my class alight with indignation. "That's messed up." "...Why?" "I'm sorry, that just goes against tradition." "But a woman is her husband's once she's married."
My teacher looked equally as enraged as I did at the last comment, which was unnecessarily provocative and weirdly specific and just uncalled for. In the past I may have sat there and simply shaken my head at this boy's prejudice, but today I said something. "That's irrelevant and offensive and not even true, so keep your big mouth shut." My class was shocked since I almost never open my mouth unless I'm called upon.
Eventually this guy left the classroom because he became infuriated that someone with a vagina tried to prove him wrong. I walked out thirty minutes later, unscathed, but overall disappointed in humanity. The same girl that said a woman changing her last name when she got married was tradition also claimed that "the 1800s would have been my thing! I would have loved to do anything my husband asked me to." Oh, right, like to back off while he pulls a Henry VIII and slaps you around. You like turkey sandwiches? Good thing I coincidentally just started making ten of them just a few minutes ago!
I had no idea people in my school, not to mention the elective of Poetry class, thought such ridiculous things like this. I don't even understand them. But I know one thing: I don't care who you are, I'm not taking your last name and your skewed prejudices if you can't accept my independence. It's not gonna happen.
15 January 2011
my definition of friendship
is, somehow, quite different from most people's who i interact with. to some people i know, a "friend" is anyone who will listen to them. i think this is rather ridiculous, yet somehow admirable. it means you're willing to let anyone know what's going on with you and what might be bothering you, but on the other hand, what happens when you're not upset and don't want to speak to this person? personally, i wouldn't want a near stranger labelled as my friend just so i could complain to them - i do that to people who aren't even my friends on a daily basis and feel no emotional connection with them.
then there are the people who think that because it's long distance and you've met once, you are friends. maybe it was a harry potter convention, a journey abroad, or a concert downtown, but no matter where, people are everywhere. it's really great when you meet someone randomly and you have this great connection, but if you can't tell that the other person is as pleased as you to be momentarily hanging out, then... you're not really friends. granted, the person who isn't enjoying it should probably let you know, but sometimes they just wait until you go away. and if you don't, holy gods, you should be able to realize you're not friends.
there are people who sort of like your talents, your blog, your hair, your style, or think you're funny. they might go to your school, be on tumblr, even talk to you on skype occasionally, but they're just not friends to me. i don't know what it is with me and my extreme hardcore view on what friendship be. but one thing i know that it's not is silent. this sort of thing happens a lot in the harry potter fandom. even if i've hung out with said person more than once IRL, if we only speak to each other after the fact every few months or so, i'm not going to consider them friends. we could have been in a musical together, we could have met in 2008 and resolved some of the worst drama ever together, but ...they're not my friend.
a friend, to me, is definitely not someone who doesn't make the effort to visit you at all over a break. it's not someone who every once in a while facebook IMs you and it's definitely not the creeper from school blowing up your phone. it's not someone who doesn't reply to your texts and it's definitely not someone who doesn't text you at all. i need constant communication if we're going to be friends, and if that means you have to live near me, i guess that's my own problem. i do have long distance friends, but they just tend to not understand what it truly means to live 7 hours away and not see a person day to day. it means that you're probably not going to be on their mind constantly, and should therefore make more of an effort to speak to them. how hard is it, really?
people often act like i'm gonna crack down on people who say we're friends when we're not - i won't. it doesn't affect me, so if you honestly believe we're friends, go ahead. eventually, your 365+ days of not speaking to me while erase me from your brain and we'll be equal. sometimes, it feels like i have no friends at all because no one fits this criteria. no one is that willing to keep in touch with me in more than a youtube comment. i used to be an intense best friend person, like, i needed as close as you could get to a romantic relationship without dating. that hasn't happened since early 2009, and i've dealt accordingly. now, it seems more and more like i don't get or require human interaction hardly at all.
i really hope my picky requirements for friendship don't follow me to college, because i'm hoping to not be a loner there, and one of the important things about the schools i've applied to is that they'll all be people that i want to take initiative and introduce myself to. it's easier said than done. but around here, with my only "friends" living 34908 hours away and not truly being there at all, i get sort of hopeless. rant, over.
then there are the people who think that because it's long distance and you've met once, you are friends. maybe it was a harry potter convention, a journey abroad, or a concert downtown, but no matter where, people are everywhere. it's really great when you meet someone randomly and you have this great connection, but if you can't tell that the other person is as pleased as you to be momentarily hanging out, then... you're not really friends. granted, the person who isn't enjoying it should probably let you know, but sometimes they just wait until you go away. and if you don't, holy gods, you should be able to realize you're not friends.
there are people who sort of like your talents, your blog, your hair, your style, or think you're funny. they might go to your school, be on tumblr, even talk to you on skype occasionally, but they're just not friends to me. i don't know what it is with me and my extreme hardcore view on what friendship be. but one thing i know that it's not is silent. this sort of thing happens a lot in the harry potter fandom. even if i've hung out with said person more than once IRL, if we only speak to each other after the fact every few months or so, i'm not going to consider them friends. we could have been in a musical together, we could have met in 2008 and resolved some of the worst drama ever together, but ...they're not my friend.
a friend, to me, is definitely not someone who doesn't make the effort to visit you at all over a break. it's not someone who every once in a while facebook IMs you and it's definitely not the creeper from school blowing up your phone. it's not someone who doesn't reply to your texts and it's definitely not someone who doesn't text you at all. i need constant communication if we're going to be friends, and if that means you have to live near me, i guess that's my own problem. i do have long distance friends, but they just tend to not understand what it truly means to live 7 hours away and not see a person day to day. it means that you're probably not going to be on their mind constantly, and should therefore make more of an effort to speak to them. how hard is it, really?
people often act like i'm gonna crack down on people who say we're friends when we're not - i won't. it doesn't affect me, so if you honestly believe we're friends, go ahead. eventually, your 365+ days of not speaking to me while erase me from your brain and we'll be equal. sometimes, it feels like i have no friends at all because no one fits this criteria. no one is that willing to keep in touch with me in more than a youtube comment. i used to be an intense best friend person, like, i needed as close as you could get to a romantic relationship without dating. that hasn't happened since early 2009, and i've dealt accordingly. now, it seems more and more like i don't get or require human interaction hardly at all.
i really hope my picky requirements for friendship don't follow me to college, because i'm hoping to not be a loner there, and one of the important things about the schools i've applied to is that they'll all be people that i want to take initiative and introduce myself to. it's easier said than done. but around here, with my only "friends" living 34908 hours away and not truly being there at all, i get sort of hopeless. rant, over.
23 December 2010
to the non vegans
if you don't want to get preached to, don't read this. i'm not really trying to sound preachy, but just to explain a vegan's standpoint. i don't really know how to do so without preaching. i'm just explaining my views, though.
when you say "i would like for animals not to be tortured, too, but we can't control that" i laugh. that is so far from being the only reason why people are vegan or vegetarian. it's also an ethical reason. for some people, it has to do with health issues and whether they like the taste or not. but a lot of the time, it's ethical.
people don't want to place things that were once living into their mouths, and under no circumstances would they consider a fried piece of flesh "food." it's just disgusting and repulsive to them. and when it comes to veganism, the same thing applies. we just don't think it's morally correct to consume things that rightfully belong to an animal. the cow produces milk for its calves, the chicken lays eggs for the same reason we pop babies out of our vaginas.
the fact that free range eggs and milk exist is comforting to some vegans, but on others like me it has no effect. it's still a part of an animal, and whether there was an inkling of torture during the process or not, we just don't believe it should be put in our mouths. it's 2010, and there are other ways to get protein, iron, calcium, and b12 than to have to force livestock to eat dogs and wheat and grain in order to get fed back to us. there are plenty of children and families in poverty that grain could do good for, and yet we're forcing animals to eat it because we're laboring under the delusion that it is necessary.
it's not.
when you say "i would like for animals not to be tortured, too, but we can't control that" i laugh. that is so far from being the only reason why people are vegan or vegetarian. it's also an ethical reason. for some people, it has to do with health issues and whether they like the taste or not. but a lot of the time, it's ethical.
people don't want to place things that were once living into their mouths, and under no circumstances would they consider a fried piece of flesh "food." it's just disgusting and repulsive to them. and when it comes to veganism, the same thing applies. we just don't think it's morally correct to consume things that rightfully belong to an animal. the cow produces milk for its calves, the chicken lays eggs for the same reason we pop babies out of our vaginas.
the fact that free range eggs and milk exist is comforting to some vegans, but on others like me it has no effect. it's still a part of an animal, and whether there was an inkling of torture during the process or not, we just don't believe it should be put in our mouths. it's 2010, and there are other ways to get protein, iron, calcium, and b12 than to have to force livestock to eat dogs and wheat and grain in order to get fed back to us. there are plenty of children and families in poverty that grain could do good for, and yet we're forcing animals to eat it because we're laboring under the delusion that it is necessary.
it's not.
11 December 2010
Holidays? Whateva.
I would say that the majority of my friends and acquaintances are holiday people. In other words, they are somewhat obsessed with decoration, family time, and unnecessarily cheesy holiday cards. Not once in my life have I been able to understand this. I've never fully accepted Christianity or baskets full of calories, so I find no joy in Easter. I have always been single on Valentine's Day, so it doesn't affect me at all. I don't eat very much candy and children scare me, so Halloween is just another night in. I dislike champagne and loud noise, and staying up till midnight is almost a nightly occurrence, so New Year's isn't that big of a blast. I'm a vegan, so "Turkey Day" isn't all that appealing to me. Also, the winter weather is horrid, and how anyone could celebrate by maxing out their credit cards and calling it love is beyond me.
For example, I'm always up to helping out my mother whether she calls for it or not, but laboring over plastic lights to decorate the house just exhausts my mental stability. I can't fathom how the ideas of cutting down pine trees and shoving them in the corner of your living room or hunting down a flock of turkeys for the dinner table is culturally acceptable. Posting thankful blogs, tweets, and facebook statuses seems so incredibly shallow to me. Why not do this any time it feels appropriate? It's sure fine and dandy that there's a holiday dedicated to stuffing your face with a wild animal, but why is this accompanied with false well-wishings and compliments? If someone's been there for you your whole life, you better damn well thank them all the time. It's so much more logical to thank someone for saving your life, cooking you dinner, or loving you unconditionally than just because it's the end of November and oh gosh, what if you never get to thank them again?
Don't even get me started on Christmas. If I wanted to have a [real or fake] tree in the area of my house that I utilize the least, I would, and there's nothing wrong with not having the motivation to put one there. Just because I feel that there are worthier things to spend money on than gifts for people who probably won't appreciate them in the long run anyway doesn't mean I'm shallow or lack the ability to have fun. If that was true, I wouldn't invite my friends over around the holidays. I wouldn't want to see anyone, and I'm definitely not a total Grinch.
My lack of enthusiasm for the holidays only worries me a bit when I think about my potential children's happiness. What if I just sit around every holiday like I do now and don't give a crap about decorations or pretty things around the house or holiday light shows or family time? Assuming I have a legitimate family in the future, unlike now, of course. One of the most magical things about being a child is looking forward to Santa Clause, school breaks for the holidays, and Valentines in the classroom - at least for me it was. I enjoyed festivities at one point even if I think they're ridiculous now. Should I feign excitement about the holidays when I'm older, is that parents do when they lose heart?
My mother, for one, always acts as wholeheartedly excited about the holidays as ever. Every December she's quick to let me know how her parents would never buy her anything if she downright claimed that Santa Clause didn't exist. This is all fine and well, but why does an abundance of electricity need to accompany this belief - along with annual arguments about whose turn it is to scrub the walls and the banister so that the fake Christmas wreaths don't collect even more dust than they already have? It really doesn't make sense. Neither does the overlarge, stuffed santa in the living room or the holiday bows tacked to the walls or the thirty dollar penguin that waves at whoever walks in the room - which is a 50/50 chance considering only two people occupy my house.
Really, though. Who do we decorate for? We don't invite the neighbors over and they've stopped barging in. My friends couldn't care less if I deck the halls or dress up like an elf, not at all. And splurging on holiday gifts is as ridiculous as paying $160 to get into a college. It's not necessary and won't ever be. I always leave the table early on Thanksgiving, and I've always forgotten that Christmas stockings even existed. There's no more excitement, and while I can attribute some of my lack of fun to my grandma's death, most of it is just my general mopiness.
There's my cold-hearted rant. Bye now.
For example, I'm always up to helping out my mother whether she calls for it or not, but laboring over plastic lights to decorate the house just exhausts my mental stability. I can't fathom how the ideas of cutting down pine trees and shoving them in the corner of your living room or hunting down a flock of turkeys for the dinner table is culturally acceptable. Posting thankful blogs, tweets, and facebook statuses seems so incredibly shallow to me. Why not do this any time it feels appropriate? It's sure fine and dandy that there's a holiday dedicated to stuffing your face with a wild animal, but why is this accompanied with false well-wishings and compliments? If someone's been there for you your whole life, you better damn well thank them all the time. It's so much more logical to thank someone for saving your life, cooking you dinner, or loving you unconditionally than just because it's the end of November and oh gosh, what if you never get to thank them again?
Don't even get me started on Christmas. If I wanted to have a [real or fake] tree in the area of my house that I utilize the least, I would, and there's nothing wrong with not having the motivation to put one there. Just because I feel that there are worthier things to spend money on than gifts for people who probably won't appreciate them in the long run anyway doesn't mean I'm shallow or lack the ability to have fun. If that was true, I wouldn't invite my friends over around the holidays. I wouldn't want to see anyone, and I'm definitely not a total Grinch.
My lack of enthusiasm for the holidays only worries me a bit when I think about my potential children's happiness. What if I just sit around every holiday like I do now and don't give a crap about decorations or pretty things around the house or holiday light shows or family time? Assuming I have a legitimate family in the future, unlike now, of course. One of the most magical things about being a child is looking forward to Santa Clause, school breaks for the holidays, and Valentines in the classroom - at least for me it was. I enjoyed festivities at one point even if I think they're ridiculous now. Should I feign excitement about the holidays when I'm older, is that parents do when they lose heart?
My mother, for one, always acts as wholeheartedly excited about the holidays as ever. Every December she's quick to let me know how her parents would never buy her anything if she downright claimed that Santa Clause didn't exist. This is all fine and well, but why does an abundance of electricity need to accompany this belief - along with annual arguments about whose turn it is to scrub the walls and the banister so that the fake Christmas wreaths don't collect even more dust than they already have? It really doesn't make sense. Neither does the overlarge, stuffed santa in the living room or the holiday bows tacked to the walls or the thirty dollar penguin that waves at whoever walks in the room - which is a 50/50 chance considering only two people occupy my house.
Really, though. Who do we decorate for? We don't invite the neighbors over and they've stopped barging in. My friends couldn't care less if I deck the halls or dress up like an elf, not at all. And splurging on holiday gifts is as ridiculous as paying $160 to get into a college. It's not necessary and won't ever be. I always leave the table early on Thanksgiving, and I've always forgotten that Christmas stockings even existed. There's no more excitement, and while I can attribute some of my lack of fun to my grandma's death, most of it is just my general mopiness.
There's my cold-hearted rant. Bye now.
06 December 2010
why
don't my friends talk to me when i'm sad?
why is it that they only will listen when i'm happy?
why is it that i could be bawling my eyes out for hours, but if someone calls i immediately must regain mental metal?
why is this the norm, when i should be spilling my feelings?
why am i one of those people who know that release of emotions of good, yet no one will let her do it?
why, you dumb bitches, whYYY?
why is it that they only will listen when i'm happy?
why is it that i could be bawling my eyes out for hours, but if someone calls i immediately must regain mental metal?
why is this the norm, when i should be spilling my feelings?
why am i one of those people who know that release of emotions of good, yet no one will let her do it?
why, you dumb bitches, whYYY?
28 November 2010
jealousy
i have a little problem with the green monster. i relentlessly try to ignore him, but he's always there when i least expect it. i don't know what i've done to deserve his company so often, but every corner i turn, every dilemma i solve, there he is waiting for me at the finish line. it's almost as if i can't have friends without having jealousy too. i'm the ron weasley of all of my friendships with everyone - before long i begin to imagine a pedestal underneath their feet, their arm outstretched with a gold medal clutched in their hand.
not only is this a daily reminder to myself that i'm not as witty or skillful or humorous as i think i am, but it's something that takes a toll on all aspects of my life. social, mental, and physical. i'll stay in bed for days hoping that the longing will go away, but when i stand up dizzy there's just another reminder of why i didn't want to end up there in the first place.
all i can ask for is that this envy does not drive me to insane measures. i don't want anything more than a normal life.
not only is this a daily reminder to myself that i'm not as witty or skillful or humorous as i think i am, but it's something that takes a toll on all aspects of my life. social, mental, and physical. i'll stay in bed for days hoping that the longing will go away, but when i stand up dizzy there's just another reminder of why i didn't want to end up there in the first place.
all i can ask for is that this envy does not drive me to insane measures. i don't want anything more than a normal life.
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