How to deal????? - Omni Comments
So last night my husband and I had a BBQ and we had his best friend over (which we do quite often). First let me just say, I have always been teased by my husband, his friends and his family about my love for animals. I am constently defending the praire dogs, bunnys, mice and all other furry creatures that live in our community. Now, while this area is quite developed now, 20 years ago it was a farm community so there are still alot of the people who grew up around here that still think that way (aka praire dogs are pest should die.....such a sad attitude). Sometimes I can take the bashing all in good fun, and other time it REALLY gets to me! We were drinking margaritas last night (which I'm sure didn't help) but I'm really annoyed over last night! Not only did they do the usual praire dog picking, but they picked at my food (more the friend than my husband). They had steak, I had tofu....I kept getting comments like "Oh, this is a nice, tasty piece of animal flesh...." "How's that tofu treating you?" Grrrrrrrrrrr! So I'm wondering if some of you could share with me how you deal with situations like this so it doesn't ruin your next week because your so mad?! I wish I just didn't let it bug me so much. Screw them, ya know?!
I will say I good one in though.... later on the friend was talking about how much he missed his cat he just lost not to long ago...went on and on about wanting a new one and wanted to adopted an older one from the 'pound' (i hate that word) because they are less likely to be adopted. Yes, that is very good! But I took that opportunity to tell him what a hypocrite he is because he has such compassion for common domestic pets and not any other animal.... He actually agreed with me and dropped the animal talk all together.... Whether it was a low blow on my part or not it sure made me feel better! ;)
in the book, she also talks about making sure that your not subconsciously harassing them about their choices also. She said from her experiences, that a lot of people would make others feel uncomfortable about their choices without even knowing.
I think a lot of things are give and take. If I talk about animal rights, someone's bound to talk about my food. Animal rights includes an assumed condemnation of the meat industry; therefore, I've brought it up first. Usually, if someone says a steak or something is especially good, I'll talk seasoning and food prep with them to get ideas about what to put on my tofu.
I tend to try to not feed the fire...or if the person keeps it up, I will say something like "Thank you for your input. What I eat is about me." However most people in my community don't pay me much attention anyway so I just wait for someone to interrupt the conversation and distract the hassler's attention from me.
You could always roll your eyes and say, "Whatevah." :-D
My reaction is to overwhelm people with vegan goodness or only give them the attention they deserve.
So if I were sitting down to BBQ with well loved friends, the spread is huge. Veggies grilled and seasoned with salt and balsamic, crisp corn roasted in the husk and slathered with earth balance margarine, lush salads with sharp paprika and creamy homemade almond garlic mayo, and succulent sweet grilled fruits of pineapple, banana and peaches under a mound of melting Purely Decadent Vanilla Soy Ice Cream.
If they made some disdainful comment I would arch a brow and look at my full plate. Maybe mumble something with a mouthful of decadence about 'oh, yeah, im starving over here'. Of course my sarcasm would probably end with a snort and me trying not to choke on my food or me moaning in delight at the next bite.
There are times to eat bland foods like barely seasoned tofu or unseasoned rice and beans. In front of snarky omni's is NOT one of them. My goal is to always overwhelm people who eat at my house with options. Dont make one veggie, make three. Season things well, have a spicy dish, have a mild dish. Serve something lush for dessert even if no one has room.
If they are NOT good friends than simply do not give them the power to hurt your feelings. Ignore them, walk away, or always be pleasant but distant.
Prairie dogs are my girlfriends favorite animal. Did you know they actually have their own language?
Prairie dogs are my girlfriends favorite animal. Did you know they actually have their own language?
Don't all animals?
How can they want prairie dogs dead? They are so cute!!! I saw them when I was in West Texas and wanted so bad to pick one up and give it a hug, but of course they ran away from me.
awwww, that are kissing. :)>>>
Or maybe they are "whispering" secrets!
That is a really cute pic SQ.
babyboo, I think you pointing out that he is a hypocrite for wanting a cat while enjoying steak was perfect. Maybe it will help him think about his food choices a little more. You could also point out that in some countries people eat cat.
If someone is really getting on my case, I tend to point out the health aspects. "yes, my tofu is really yummy, thanks. Can you actually feel your artieries clogging up as you eat that?" I also tend to have lots of energy after a healthy dinner so they drop the subject once I'm bouncing around after eating & they are sitting in a food coma.
It really sucks when people act that way. How I respond usually depends on my mood and the attitude behind the comment that was made to me. If I'm annoyed I'll say something like "What I eat is a choice I make for myself, not something forced on me, so your comment really just shows your ignorance and not your humor."
BTW, I LOVE praire dogs!
sq's story puts things into perspective, too:
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=23000.0
;)b I love praire dogs too! In college I was a hydrogeology major so I ended up taking a lot of environmental ecology type classes. Praire dogs were a pretty common topic as an example of a species being so ecologically important. I had always been an animal lover, but during college thru all these classes is when I really got turned onto the whole animal rights movement. check out the 'Save the Praire Dogs' website:
http://www.prairiedogs.org/index.html
They use to sell these cute little t-shirts that said "SAVE THE PRAIRE DOG" with a cute little picture of a praire dog on it. Maybe I'll get one and wear it to dinner next time! :)
No, this is better! I will buy them each one of these bumper stickers!
;D
No, this is better! I will buy them each one of these bumper stickers!
;D
:-D Yes. I like that one very much.