hostility towards vegetarians

[----]

has any body else experienced this. people make a huge deal about my vegetarianism. my wifes parent are bush lovin rednecks and everytime i'm around them it's all they talk about. stupid questions like can you eat this or can you it that? or anytime im around food with them there always quick to point out " it doesn't have any meat in it."

 

[Bishka]

Welcome to the forums. This looks like this is your first post.

I had a bit of trouble when I was a vegetarian with my grandparents saying that. They didn't understand the reasnos why I did not want to eat it. Both sides of them grew up in the depression and so for me to be a vegetarian and not eat meat was a bit strange to them (and my grandparents have cows).

I don't know if it's really appropriate to call your in-laws 'bush lovin' rednecks', that may be one reason that you have trouble with them.

Just a thought.

 

[----]

well we have more problems than just vegetarianism between us. i also have the grandparent problem my grandma has never even heard of a vegetarian, so she doesn't get why i wont eat her food.

 

[Bishka]

well we have more problems than just vegetarianism between us. i also have the grandparent problem my grandma has never even heard of a vegetarian, so she doesn't get why i wont eat her food.

Then maybe you could explain it to her. I explained it to mine, and told them

"I love your cooking, but at the current time I'm not eating any meat to due my choice to abstain from it. If this offends you, I'm sorry but I have made my choice."

 

[CDRaider]

I went with a group to China and there were several vegitarians with us and a vegan and i'll tell you what, they had so much trouble eating food because almost everything had at least some tiny bit of meat in it. And for the vegan, so much is made with juices derived from fat that she couldn't eat it.

But yeah, i understand what you mean, those guys and gals that went with me trying to explain to the chinese that they were vegitarian through a translator... yeah... that was difficult.

 

[Ðanisty]

has any body else experienced this. people make a huge deal about my vegetarianism. my wifes parent are bush lovin rednecks and everytime i'm around them it's all they talk about. stupid questions like can you eat this or can you it that? or anytime im around food with them there always quick to point out " it doesn't have any meat in it."

I'm not a vegetarian, so no, I haven't experienced this. However, I have experienced hostility from vegetarians about the fact that I eat meat.

 

[Ciscokid]

has any body else experienced this. people make a huge deal about my vegetarianism. my wifes parent are bush lovin rednecks and everytime i'm around them it's all they talk about. stupid questions like can you eat this or can you it that? or anytime im around food with them there always quick to point out " it doesn't have any meat in it."

I wouldn't call that hostility. I only found vegetarians to be annoying when they're real vocal about their eating habits. I don't seem to find many of them where I live.

 

[YamiB.]

Eh, it swings both ways.

Some people mock vegetarians for thier choice and taunt about not eating meat. But there are also vegetarians who will become just as belligerent towards those who continue eating meat. I would bet that the simple fact of both sides doing this also causes others to repeat the same action out frustration.

I will admit that I can not understand the reasoning behind going vegetarian or vegan based on moral reasons, rather than religious reasons or taste. Depending on my mood I will probably look at such a choice as a little odd or naive. But I hold no real malice towards them, as long as it works for them in their lives.

On a side note, I feel bad for my Japanese teacher. He used to be able to eat meat and enjoyed it, but he was forced to stop eating it due to complications from appendicitis.

 

[Mathematician]

I've actually been fortunate enough to meet people who think it's cool. Even my class mates, who I thought would voice their opinion about it being strange, like to ask me a lot of positive questions.

 

[methylatedghosts]

(posted by methylatedghosts partner)

I was vegetarian for a few years, only eating the odd slice of redmeat at Christmas (the meat was from a family farm). I did have to explain my reasons to a lot of people, but generally my friends and their parents would just cook more veges or rice for me when I was having meals with them.
I choose not to eat meat for health reasons....those went out the door when I became severly aenemic (on doctors orders to eat redmeat), I try to be as vegetarian as possible, but not only do my medical conditions inhibit this, but the fact that I am a Uni student living away from home, and the cheapest meals to have are chicken and meat (I can't eat seafood).

If you sit down and talk to those who don't understand and explain your reasons, I'm sure they will come to grips with it soon.
Though if your reasons happen to be "animals are too cute" or along those lines, it might take a little longer.

~ Mallery

 

[Quoth The Raven]

has any body else experienced this. people make a huge deal about my vegetarianism. my wifes parent are bush lovin rednecks and everytime i'm around them it's all they talk about. stupid questions like can you eat this or can you it that? or anytime im around food with them there always quick to point out " it doesn't have any meat in it."

Actually, I think you might be surprised how many people scratch their heads about what vegetarians eat...you might think it's common sense, but apparently it isn't. I said something to my mother about having a vegetarian friend over for Christmas dinner, and her immediate response was,'But isn't he a vegetarian? What will he eat?!'
Have you stopped to consider that perhaps they're quick to point out that certain dishes have no meat in them for your benefit?
My inlaws can grate on my nerves occasionally as well, but perhaps you might give them the benefit of the doubt and take it that they're making an effort rather than being hostile? In honesty - though we're not getting the tone of voice here, and that might make a difference - what you've written that they've said,doesn't seem hostile so much as an overzealous attempt to make sure they don't screw up.

 

[painted wolf]

I've recieved more hostility from Vegitarians than I've given.

wa:do

 

[Jaymes]

has any body else experienced this. people make a huge deal about my vegetarianism. my wifes parent are bush lovin rednecks and everytime i'm around them it's all they talk about. stupid questions like can you eat this or can you it that? or anytime im around food with them there always quick to point out " it doesn't have any meat in it."

Try to not take things so personally. In the south especially it's considered very unusual for someone to be vegetarian, so you may be the first time they've ever encountered someone that's vegetarian.

While those questions may seem stupid or obvious to you, if someone hasn't ever dealt with vegetarianism before those questions aren't. I must admit I get tired of people continually insisting that I can eat fish because it's not meat, or that I can't eat eggs because they are meat, though. :cover:

Either way, just relax. Odds are people aren't trying to make it into something personal. Which I know isn't too comforting when you're tired and just want to eat and move on with the day, but responding harshly to questions and observations about what you eat only encourages them to respond in kind.

 

[lilithu]

has any body else experienced this. people make a huge deal about my vegetarianism. my wifes parent are bush lovin rednecks and everytime i'm around them it's all they talk about. stupid questions like can you eat this or can you it that? or anytime im around food with them there always quick to point out " it doesn't have any meat in it."

Well, usually I am on the "other side," pointing out how vegetarians can be self-righteous/hostile towards non-vegetarians. But I agree with you that hostility towards vegetarians by non-vegetarians also happens.

I do agree with a lot of the other posters that what your inlaws are doing may just be due to ignorance - they may not have any experience with vegetarians and not know how to respond. But I think it sometimes goes beyond mere ignorance into hostility. Clearly your "difference" makes them uncomfortable. Pointing out which dishes you can eat may be their way of trying to be helpful or it may be a passive-agressive act intended to draw attention to the fact that you are "different." Or it could be both; people are complex and contradictory.

I'm not a vegetarian but there are a few things that I will not eat, pork for example. I don't make a big deal about it; I don't tell people that they must serve me something else; I generally just eat what I can and decline what I can't. But my mom... every time we go to a Chinese restauarant she has to point out the dishes with pork in them and how good they are and how we can't order them because I don't eat pork. And I keep telling her, go ahead and order the dish, enjoy it, I'm just not going to have any but it's not like I'm going to starve. Now, I am sure that part of her behavior is motivated by motherly concern and wanting to be attentive but another part is just passive-agressive annoyance at the fact that her daughter has chosen to do yet another something that she thinks is "weird." As I said, people are complex and contradictory.

 

[----]

we'll i'm the only vegetarian i know really but i do think vegetarians should also keep there mouth shut.

 

[----]

Actually, I think you might be surprised how many people scratch their heads about what vegetarians eat...you might think it's common sense, but apparently it isn't. I said something to my mother about having a vegetarian friend over for Christmas dinner, and her immediate response was,'But isn't he a vegetarian? What will he eat?!'
Have you stopped to consider that perhaps they're quick to point out that certain dishes have no meat in them for your benefit?
My inlaws can grate on my nerves occasionally as well, but perhaps you might give them the benefit of the doubt and take it that they're making an effort rather than being hostile? In honesty - though we're not getting the tone of voice here, and that might make a difference - what you've written that they've said,doesn't seem hostile so much as an overzealous attempt to make sure they don't screw up.

i get the " what do you eat?" question a lot.

what i wrote doesn't sound hostile, it's usually they way my inlaws say it because they don't hide the fact that they don't like me, they've actually tried to hide meat in the food they give me.

 

[Todd]

has any body else experienced this. people make a huge deal about my vegetarianism. my wifes parent are bush lovin rednecks and everytime i'm around them it's all they talk about. stupid questions like can you eat this or can you it that? or anytime im around food with them there always quick to point out " it doesn't have any meat in it."

Well, that's true to a point. One of my good friends in England is vegetarian, and I'm not. I give him a hard time, he gives me a hard time, but he know's I'm joking with him, and I really respect his feelings about it and he respects me the same. When I used to go out to lunch with him, I would always ask if the restaurant we were going to had stuff that he could eat. My reasoning for this was to make sure he was comfortable going there, not to upset him. We went out one time to a Mexican restaurant, and we didn't call first, but after we sat down to eat, we found out everything was cooked in lard (even the chips). It was real frustrating for him, so we usually would just call first or I'd ask him first if he could eat something or not. I do this for my own education. In your case, I'm not sure, but in my experience, it was truly to learn so that I wouldn't put him or myself in an awkward situation.

BTW, hopefully he'll be moving back to Dallas soon.)(

 

[McBell]

i get the " what do you eat?" question a lot.

As do I.
I just reply, "the foods I know won't tear up my insides."
Usually I get a confused look in response then "What are tyou talking about?"

That is when I explain to them that i am a vegatarian mainly because whenever I eat meat, aside from chicken and turkey, I get severe abdominal cramps.

And when i say severe, I mean cramped into the fetal position where three orderlies and two nurses cannot straighten me out.