Why do people hate vegetarians?

Well good on you for being apart of this forum! It's all about the little changes and is absolutely fine to take it in stages. And just being aware of whats going wrong can unconsciously effect your decisions without you noticing so its great that you are here

Thanx Shonnie, that's really nice  

A statemet like that is going to get you hated by omni's.
To me, even as a vegetarian, that statement sounds preachy.
People dont like preachy.

This might seem weird, but compare veg*nism to religion.*GASPS*
Some people believe, others dont.
I dont. Therefore i dont want believers 'Speaking on behalf of the Lord about [insert preachiness here].
Lol just the way i see it.

Well, its very hilarious for me. At 14 years of age, my friend thinks that its crazy for me going Vegan. "You shouldn't go Vegan, cause God put animals on the earth for us to do whatever we want to them" and I say "No, God put animals on the earth to help sustain the many other animals on the earth"

Whats really strange is that all my friends and family are trying to persuade me to not go Vegan, since Vegans are "idiots" "We NEED animal products to be healthy" um, there has been hundreds of Vegan sites I have visited saying how healthy a Vegan diet actually is "Just don't think about where the animal product came from" too late!

Anyway, I think they hate Vegans and vegies, cause its not "normal" to what most people do. And thanks to the bible "God put animals on this earth so we can do whatever we want to them" and the animal industries lies, not many people will believe that becoming a Vegan and a veggie is actually waaaaayyyyyyyyyyy healthier. Either they know it, or they pretend they don't.

I do agree with some of what Daniel5 has said - it is because some vegetarians take preaching too far. Sometimes they can be too critical of others and their beliefs, and think things are black and white when they're not (sometimes I see it on this forum as well).

Although I'm vegan, I find PETA extreme and idiotic as well (they do good things, though, but there's a LOT I don't agree with). It's those sort of vegetarians that ruin it for the rest of us, and make many meat eaters hate them and think all vegetarians are aggressive.

However, I think it's the meat eaters who are more aggressive. I never give people shit for eating meat, but MANY people try and argue with me about how veganism is stupid -- so yes, they still do hate us initially despite the fact that some people do not preach (but they don't personally hate me when they realise I'm not like that). The Sam Kekovich ads were saying how idiotic vegetarians were, and how we were un-Australian for not eating meat. Can you imagine what kind of negative response us vegetarians would have gotten if we'd done a similar ad blasting meat eaters?! We evolved eating meat, so technically veganism could be deemed unnatural in comparison, but I think people do not understand the atrocities that are committed in the meat, egg and dairy industries. I can see how some people compare fundamentalist religion to preachy veganism -- it has similar traits. But in reality, meat eaters are far worse in their preaching I think.

I think the more of us who can show people that not all vegetarians/vegans are preachy or extreme, the more people will realise that vegetarianism is not as extreme as it may sound We shouldn't be persecuted for not wanting to contribute to the awful industries our society supports. If you're not, "OMG YOU'RE A MURDERER IF YOU EAT MEAT!!111!", people are more likely to listen to you.

I think everyone should be the change they want to see in the world and never push it. When I did, I offended family and friends and I risked never having friends as i moved to a new place where I didnt know anybody.

I became accepting of their lifestyle and they became accepting of mine.  If I put up barriers and lectured I would have no friends and in a University college that would be very stupid and lonely.

Its amazing that when my boyfriend and I became accepting the amount of people that wanted to know more was staggering. People actually wanted to know why we dont eat meat or dairy. Tristan has got three of his friends to try vegetarian because they were interested. If we preached he would of turned them off.

I hate it when Christians preach to me what they "think" is right, even being called evil as a joke the other day annoyed me.  Its amazing what people can succeed when they become loving and accepting. I have a satanist and a christian who are friends.. I also socialised with a chicken farmer the other day.. I just shut my mouth It was hard though.

What most people (including vegans) forget is that 99% of the people on this planet  are trying to be the best they can and are good people. Just because they have flaws, like weakness and instability to stick to a vegan diet doesnt make them evil. Being stubborn, angry and pushy are flaws too.

The only way to successfully spreeing the word of veganism is to be happy, and healthy so others can aspire to be like us. To act like its hard, and act like your superior does nothing for our cause. I want people to see me as happy, healthy and loving. Not pushy, radical and angry.

Thanks guys. You all make really good points. I guess its trying to find that fine line between promoting awareness of the issue of animal cruelty without annoying the shit out of people. However I haven't been 'shoving it down peoples throats' per say. If people ask me why I've made the change then I will tell them..and sometimes I probably do keep talking for too long and explaining things in very graffic detail but hey..they asked so I'm going tell them exactly how it is. I've been strongly encouraging my brother and my boyfriend to cut down on their meat intake by offering to cook them meals etc. I think eating meat twice a day 7 days a week is just being ridiculous. I have a few vegetarian friends which is great but the ones who aren't just roll their eyes, tease me, tell me about all the health issues and how delicious animals are so who gives a f**k how they're treated. Anyway I guess there are a ton of reasons for some peoples angst towards vegetarians and vegans..Its remarkable that so much hate could be generated towards people who are just trying to make a good ethical life choice though. Guess thats life. Thanks for all the feedback everyone

By saying you're a vegetarian/vegan you're bringing up the idea that what they're doing (eating meat, wearing leather, drinking milk etc) is wrong. The only people that get upset are the ones that know you're right to do what you are. You just have to take comfort in that. They wouldn't get so angry and worked up if they thought you were wrong, now would they?