'Vegan' The New Gay

Now that Same Gender Marriage is officially just plain old marriage, it's time for they haters to take up a new cause. I have seen this coming for a while. They can no longer stand in the way of Veterans being laid to rest, Same Gender people from getting married or Refugees from living the American Dream. And since they just can't let it all go and mind their own business, I am seeing an abrupt trend toward ridiculing Vegans.

When I chose to change over to a Vegan diet, I did expect some of the reactions that I have received and others were not so expected. One man proclaimed that I must be Gay, one woman started crying and wait staff at Applebee's, Ruby Tuesdays and Culvers treat me like I am complaining I just found at body part in my food; when I ask for a salad with no cheese or if they have a veggie burg on their menu. In fact, at one restaurant the waitress got the manager and all I did was ask if they had any vegan choices. So what's next? Do we have to march on the Capital and demand equal rights for eating right? People Please!

Throughout my life I have had problems with my digestive system breaking down and assimilating Animal Proteins and I would take pills and do all sorts of things to control the pain and distress until I realized that simply not eating what was harming me would be the answer...Duh!

With this change I have had a lot of emotional ups and downs, then I realized that consuming meat and products created from animals was actually addicting, but why is it addicting?
Meat - why is it bad? - Why Go Vegan?

I've also fallen prey to probably the most significant repercussion of going vegan and that is the chastising and almost aggressive responses I get from people I know and those I don't.
I have been insulted, laughed at and ridiculed. But it's the expression on the faces of these Nay Sayers that really says it all, it's the look of shame. I'm not talking about shame they feel toward me, it's the shame they feel toward themselves because they know the ugly truth of what they're doing every time they shove a cheeseburger into their mouths. They know how deadly it is for their bodies and souls and the earth to inhale those chicken wings and yet they can't really put their finger on it. They feel such disgust for their personal choices and yet on a conscious level they have no clue why they are so upset.  They shout the usual slew of excuses and try to tell me it's perfectly natural to eat meat.
Actually it's not. The practice of eating meat is a choice and nothing more. Even the Christian Bible sates that Man a/k/a Adam and Eve were created to tend the Garden a/k/a Earth, not a slaughter house and it was only after their fall that man started committing carnivorous acts...and killing each other...and greed...

Recently a news article came out in my beloved home of Minnesota announcing the new foods being served at this years State Fair. One of them is deep fried Pig's Tails. I was first shocked then disgusted and finally brought to tears. And my fellow citizens, well they are cheering and drooling and acting like this is the greatest thing since French Fries ( which by the way are vegan ).
I commented on the post by simply stating that consuming meat is unnatural and disgusting. I got a response back from some unknown guy who remarked; 'Well I guess there's no tube steak for you! LOL' according to his photo he should be a grown man but his comment says he is about 12, and an ignorant bully who might be homophobic.

Truth is I'm tired of people having uneducated opinions that hurt other people and not keeping those opinions to yourselves. What I fear is people teaching their children that if you are a vegetarian or vegan you will become gay just like masturbating will make you blind, your face will freeze like that and you can get AIDS from shaking hands with a gay guy.
All of our knowledge and all we know to be true and we still hide behind the antiquated stereotypes of our ancestors. Shame on us.

Being vegan isn't a new concept, again referring to the Holy Bible, Noah and Moses were vegan,  so was of course Adam and Eve and there are no references anywhere in the text that states Jesus ever consumed meat, even though he multiplied the Fish there is no statement that he ate them.
I think the core of this problem and the deeper issue is social and peer pressure. How can you call yourself 'One of the Guys' if you don't engage in BBQ activities or beer and wings at the bar with your buddies? Eating meat is like a right of passage and eating your veggies is for Mama's boys and weaklings. First we are born drinking only milk, then given jars of baby food made of produce then,when teeth appear so does the meat.
We never want to be left out of gatherings, or refused a date because our dietary choices make others uncomfortable so it is just better to go with the flow of the crowd than upset the apple cart. Even food commercials are forcing it down our throats with ads for 'No Name Meats' containing content that is bordering on pornographic. There is nothing sensual about cuddling up to a rack of ribs.

Everything comes down to respect and the chain reaction it causes. If you respect all life you will respect other peoples' choices. If you respect animals and decide to stop eating them you will see such change in your body and mind as the universal energy that connects all of us will be forever changed and the beauty of the world around you becomes clearer. Becoming vegan can be scary at first and you will go through the same emotional responses as people do when they quit smoking or drinking, but after awhile you will start to lose weight without trying, see your skin clear up, you will sleep better and so on. What you won't get out of becoming vegan is being struck blind, turning gay, contracting a vicious disease or grow hair on your palms. If anyone criticizes you just be calm, be silent and grab a cup of Chamomile tea. While you're gently sipping away be serene in the knowledge that you may not being doing the right thing for everyone, but you are doing the right thing for you. Don't cave to peer pressure.
 If I were gay I would be just as proud as I am being vegan. Maybe there are more vegans among gay people because they are better at respecting 'Free Will Choice', our planet and our responsibility to it and all that live upon it. The vegans and gay people I know and love are passive and loving and advocate the welfare of others and those who have no voice. They protest peacefully and spread love not war, respect not ridule.I have never met gay person who mistreated me for being vegan and I have never met a meat eating gay person that I love any less.
One persons choice to change themselves can truly change the world.