Vegan Hate

As a vegan, do you ever feel marginalised and totally hated on at times?

I experienced this for the first time significantly this weekend. I am a member of a forum, which I joined in order to make friends in a new city. Yeah. Stoopid idea.

For the first time I experienced people feeling hatred toward me for no other reason than I am a vegan. I responded to a comment online that I thought was uncalled for, and quite hateful towards vegans. It was in a kind of "oh they're a minority, fuck them" sort of vein. I will not go into what it is I said on the forum, suffice it to say I made a point, which I think was reasonable, and valid, and I did so without shitting on anybody or verbally abusing anyone. 

And what did I get in return? Measured, sensible and thoughful discourse? Heated debate? No, I got a barrage of homophobic, misogynistic, and obscure taunts and abuse. From people who basically no nothing about me other than I am vegan.

I know vegans aren't a minority in the sense that ethnic groups are, or homosexual people are or woman are (the only minority that's actually a majority!), because the big thing about all those groups is that they aren't a choice, and you're marginalised for being the way you were born. Vegans choose their lifestyles and so, perhaps in return they have to put up with a little shit. But comments like that still hurt, and it is the use of the same, minority bashing language which makes me commiserate with those other groups. I'm angry that they are putting me down just for my choices, and I'm angry for every minority they are putting down with the language they use. I'm sure being called a faggot actually hurts a lot more if you are gay, but the sexist slurs made my blood boil... 

I guess I am just feeling a bit poor me about the whole thing, but it just opened my eyes up to what.... areseholes people can be.