EXTREME frustration

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Aimee VIC • Posts: 957

1 15 Sep 2009

http://www.swinburne.edu.au/lss/staff/images/simpson_d4.jpg

This guy is my hyperactive lecturer. Today after the lecture I stayed back to ask him a question then as we were leaving he asks me what my jumper is about (it was the Animal Liberation Youth hoodie) so I explained and he says "ah, so you're a vegetarian?" and I said "yeah I'm vegan" and he goes "ooooh......you're THAT extreme laugh

"

Then he asks me "but what's wrong with dairy?" so I explain yada yada bla bla bla cow

and I'm pretty sure at that point his brain ran right out of his ears and he was left with a lifeless expression on his face and was pretty excited to get out of there, I must have made some sense to him and he didn't like that.

GRARGH angry

what is more *extreme*? A pile of vegetables or a pile of slaughtered creatures? Little does he know there are atleast 3 vegans in that one lecture (that I know of)...
I wonder if his opinion of me has changed now because he thinks I'm such an "extremist"? It was pretty good before.

I really just had to vent. "Extreme"...it's what omnis say about us so they can dismiss the issue completely frog

Karen Australia • Posts: 993

2 15 Sep 2009

I sympathise!! This drives me insane too. But if you called you 'extreme' AFTER you explained what's wrong with dairy, then I'd be more concerned...

You're right, sometimes vegans are intentionally derided for being 'extreme' by the media and animal abusing industries when it suits them. And that rubs off on a lot of people, particularly when they don't know any better.

To the average omni (who really has little clue about the reality of dairy), someone who goes out of their way to avoid a little bit of white harmless liquid that's supposedly the life-force of adult human beings everywhere may indeed sound a bit extreme. If that were true, I'd even agree! But we know that their assumptions are all wrong, and their coming to the 'extreme' conclusion with totally misleading information.

I find that once people realise the cruelty of dairy, and eggs (and any cruel industry for that matter), deciding to refuse to support those industries seems more like a logical conclusion, rather than an extreme decision. I'm sure he wasn't expecting to have his life-long-held assumptions challenged by what he thought was an idle remark. Hopefully now that you've helped to dispel those myths about dairy, he will think twice about calling another peace-loving vegan an 'extremist'!!

jack VIC • Posts: 1463

3 15 Sep 2009

he sounds smart but kinds closeminded

Frenzal bop SA • Posts: 778

4 15 Sep 2009

what a stupid god damn dumb shit motherf**ker..

Apple Scruff VIC • Posts: 180

5 15 Sep 2009

Grrrrrrrrrr. This happened last night, my dad didn't even know I was against wool and when he found out I heard "WOOOOL??!! WOOOL!??! WOOOL!?!? ARE YOU INSAAAAAAAAAAANE?!"

Ha, sometimes you just have to laugh...

Aimee VIC • Posts: 957

6 15 Sep 2009

I literally did laugh when I read your post! Aussies and their moccasins...sigh...

Francis VIC • Posts: 286

7 15 Sep 2009

This is incredibly frustrating I know.

But unfortunately unsurprising when we have the majority of percieved animal rights groups promoting vegetarianism as the ethical choice and very little coverage regarding abolition/cruelty to 'free-range'/'humanely slaughtered'/'organic' animals.

The best way to stop it, as far as I can see, is further emphasis on veganism in every sphere of animal activism.