Last night my paternal grandmother said that vegetarians were crazy. In front of me. Now, I'm surprised, because I think that she is a fairly open-minded person. I would have been more expectant of my MATERNAL grandmother to say this instead of her own reply, "Well, we never ate much meat when I was young."
I don't get angry, usually, when I'm confronted with someone who says things like this. But. You know. I haven't heard this kind of reply in a while. And God/Goddess bless all you omnivores, I love you to death and have nothing against you. Even if you eat meat in front of me (who cares? as long as you don't shove it in my face and say "You know you want it!!" Because I don't.)
But when she said that word (CRAZY) I became a little uncomfortable, smiled a little less. Oh, and then she mentioned the word PROTEIN. One thing ya don't want to do is say that word in front of a vegetarian unless you really know what that reaction is gonna be. Unless you really want to see a crazy vegetarian. (I have no idea who started the whole protein scare. I really don't. Way way back when vegetarians like Albert Einstein accomplished things that no one else did?? Oh, well, the point is, I don't know.) The issue here isn't the protein debate. If anyone would want a lecture on how the body works, I would gladly take the time to enlighten someone, however last night, my grandmother did not give that invitation, and I'm generally a peace-keeper. I don't like to get anyone angry or excited, which is how most vegetarians feel. We don't want to!
The bullet was that word, crazy and the following words, "They just need those nutrients." I thought, "How many psychopaths and murderers were/are vegetarian?" And I could not come up with a name. Hitler spread the lie that he was a vegetarian as a tactic to get people to think him kind and gentle. Jeffrey Dahmer, as a child, tortured, mutilated and killed small animals. Animal slaughterers and animal trainers (in circuses) learn to silence their own compassion to get their jobs done, and when they get home, some beat their wives/children or take their frustration out on others. This is not to say that vegetarians are not capable of murder or violence. This is just my own confusion in my grandmother's choice of words. What did she mean by crazy? Aren't ALL human beings subject to a little bit of insanity every now and then?
I couldn't share my frustration with anyone at home: everyone else eats meat, drinks milk. Did they believe what she said? Did my mom, whom I shared audience with, agree? If so, it makes me sad, as it makes me sad every time I have to justify my disgust with the fact that innocent creatures are slaughtered every day. And then vegetarians have to deal with people who call us crazy; we're crazy for standing up to the meat and dairy companies, we're crazy for crying because no one understands us, we're crazy for caring about something other than ourselves, we're crazy because we're not consuming the tortured, mutilated bodies of birds, cows, fish and pigs. If that is what i am going to be labeled, let me be crazy. I would never wish to be sane. I have read too many books and have seen and experienced too much to be sane.
As a person who is not a vegetarian, but has lots of friends who are I can say this: lots of people are going to call you crazy to your face and behind your back, and they will mean it in a rude, hateful way. I don't think, from reading your post, that your grandmother was trying to make you angry, or be deliberatly mean. I think she was just stating something she believes about something she doesn't understand.
MommaTrish - mom of 2 boys and a bump
i know that many omnivores mean no harm when they say things like this, but it is only frustrating because it is a reflection of the type of the world that i live in. it would be just as frustrating to hear someone say a racist or sexist remark or joke in front of me, even if they didn't mean it in a rude or hateful way.