Jade, amidst the off-topic comments, you did bring up a legitimate point: Discussing this volatile topic in-person as opposed to an internet discussion.
It has nothing to do with respect vs disrespect. The topic is the same, regardless of whether it's in a restaurant or in an internet discussion. Opinions are the same.
The only difference is whether the people actually chose to join the discussion.
In a restaurant, having dinner with friends, who are almost always meat-eaters being that the vast majority of the population are meat-eaters, eating meat isn't usually the topic of discussion. We might be talking about all sort of other things, and the subject of meat never come up at all.
Some vegans choose to bring up the topic, every chance they get. Most don't. Why? Because we must co-exist with meat-eaters, whether we like it or not. It's pretty near impossible to be an activist every time we dine with meat-eaters. A vegan can't talk about meat to his/her boss at work and still expect to keep his/her job, so s/he must just swallow it most of the time.
Whereas, here in THIS thread, meat IS the topic of discussion! It's an entirely different setting! Here, we are already talking about meat! That is the difference!
Most vegans will talk about their views if an opportunity presents itself, and if they can do so without jeopardizing their job, business, whatever. It has nothing to do with respect. Most vegans I know still love and respect their friends and families even though they're meat-eaters. But they aren't ever going to say that they respect the meat-eating itself!
And when the topic does come up in social circles, you can bet that we DO voice our opinions! But usually, we have only a few minutes to do so. Not several years of ongoing, deep discussion like here on this internet forum.
That is a HUGE contrast!
Plus, we have the added dimension of these discussions being based on the Law of One. That alone makes these discussions MUCH more complex than a brief encounter over dinner.
This discussion is about meat-eating. I love and respect all of you, regardless of whether you eat animals. But don't ask me to respect the eating of animals itself. And that is exactly what we're talking about here - the eating of animals.
What happens a lot is that people confuse a viewpoint about eating meat, with the actual person. The viewpoint about eating meat is NOT directed to the actual person! If the person eats meat, then THEY are personalizing a general comment into one that is perceived as personal. That is their doing. They are personalizing a discussion about a topic that isn't personal.
I really dislike football. I think it's a silly game and dreadfully boring. I can think of 1000 other things I'd rather do than watch a football game.
Any football lovers here? No disrespect intended. My comment was about football, NOT about YOU. If you happen to love football, go for it.
It's the same with meat, EXCEPT that football doesn't have any victims, and eating meat does. That minor little detail cannot be ignored. It is part of the equation.
I hope that this clarifies. There is a very big difference between respecting the person and respecting an action.
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It has nothing to do with respect vs disrespect. The topic is the same, regardless of whether it's in a restaurant or in an internet discussion. Opinions are the same.
The only difference is whether the people actually chose to join the discussion.
In a restaurant, having dinner with friends, who are almost always meat-eaters being that the vast majority of the population are meat-eaters, eating meat isn't usually the topic of discussion. We might be talking about all sort of other things, and the subject of meat never come up at all.
Some vegans choose to bring up the topic, every chance they get. Most don't. Why? Because we must co-exist with meat-eaters, whether we like it or not. It's pretty near impossible to be an activist every time we dine with meat-eaters. A vegan can't talk about meat to his/her boss at work and still expect to keep his/her job, so s/he must just swallow it most of the time.
Whereas, here in THIS thread, meat IS the topic of discussion! It's an entirely different setting! Here, we are already talking about meat! That is the difference!
Most vegans will talk about their views if an opportunity presents itself, and if they can do so without jeopardizing their job, business, whatever. It has nothing to do with respect. Most vegans I know still love and respect their friends and families even though they're meat-eaters. But they aren't ever going to say that they respect the meat-eating itself!
And when the topic does come up in social circles, you can bet that we DO voice our opinions! But usually, we have only a few minutes to do so. Not several years of ongoing, deep discussion like here on this internet forum.
That is a HUGE contrast!
Plus, we have the added dimension of these discussions being based on the Law of One. That alone makes these discussions MUCH more complex than a brief encounter over dinner.
This discussion is about meat-eating. I love and respect all of you, regardless of whether you eat animals. But don't ask me to respect the eating of animals itself. And that is exactly what we're talking about here - the eating of animals.
What happens a lot is that people confuse a viewpoint about eating meat, with the actual person. The viewpoint about eating meat is NOT directed to the actual person! If the person eats meat, then THEY are personalizing a general comment into one that is perceived as personal. That is their doing. They are personalizing a discussion about a topic that isn't personal.
I really dislike football. I think it's a silly game and dreadfully boring. I can think of 1000 other things I'd rather do than watch a football game.
Any football lovers here? No disrespect intended. My comment was about football, NOT about YOU. If you happen to love football, go for it.
It's the same with meat, EXCEPT that football doesn't have any victims, and eating meat does. That minor little detail cannot be ignored. It is part of the equation.
I hope that this clarifies. There is a very big difference between respecting the person and respecting an action.
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