Comments on: Do all vegans need to be friends?

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:40:07 +0000

I often find it easy to be friendly with other vegans because we can more easily bond over cooking, eating and talking about food. It’s something that plays an important part in bringing people and communities together, and also something that I must often excuse myself from as a vegan. Sometimes, it’s just nice to cook and eat dinner with someone who won’t be asking me if I eat butter or making a grossed-out face at my tofu. (As a college student who cooks in a communal kitchen, I often have my dinner preparation interrupted by people who are judgmental of my veganism, and who feel as if it is their duty to interrogate me about my “extremist” eating habits.) However, most of my very close friends are not vegans or vegetarians.

By: Truly Scrumptious

Truly Scrumptious — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:36:05 +0000

“Do all vegans need to be friends?” GAWD I hope not. I know a lot of vegans. Most are great, but more than a few are intolerant jerks, embedded in their own subculture, and judgmental. A few have personalities that I find insufferable. I’m always glad to meet vegans, and I’m happy to work with them towards a common vegan goal, but I sure don’t want to hang out with all of them.

By: Alicia

Alicia — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:02:01 +0000

Supernovadiva I think you examples are spot on!

By: supernovadiva

supernovadiva — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 00:12:49 +0000

it reminds me of how zoos put a male and female of the same species together and get all baffled “WHY AREN’T THEY MATING??!!” or like CNN “let’s get the african american community’s opinion. call jesse jackson!” or how gay people are introduced to eachother at parties hosted by straight people.

By: EJ Anderson

EJ Anderson — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:15:06 +0000

Being vegan does not automatically make you anything. Whether it be a good friend, a good partner or well, a good anything. Just because you’re compassionate about one thing, does not make you everything and more in other aspects of life.

Frankly, I can’t be around vegans much. Because in my experience, nobody polices vegans more than other vegans and that can get annoying real fast.

If I’m eating a Boca burger, please don’t yell at me about it being owned by Altria. I know and truthfully. I don’t care. I don’t need anyone to help me qualify my veganism.

By: Royce

Royce — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:40:54 +0000

I often come across the problem of people assuming that because of some commonalities that people will be good friends. Race and veg*nism seem to be especially so.

I grew up in a small town in Georgia, and the vegans that I knew (none of them of color) and I often butted heads and didn’t get along very well at all.

When I left for college I didn’t really get along with most of the vegans I ran into due to the fact that often besides veganism the only things we had in common was that we went to Vassar.

As it is my town is decently vegan friendly (I can eat something besides salad at most of the restaurants nearby), and my school is not (I ate salad everyday for the last two months of the semester). As is I know a number of vegans through the animal rights group on campus, but I didn’t get along with most of them, and I don’t hang out with any of them.