On Thu, 16 Apr 2009, Doug Henwood wrote:
>> Aren't moral superiority and misanthropy standard charges against
>> leftists?
>
> Yeah, and sometimes they're true.
Agreed. But doesn't this suggest this vegetarianism debate is off-key? Clearly there is a separation between doctrine and attitude -- and it's the attitude that's the problem, not the doctrine.
It seems to me that if a veggie enjoys being a veggie, and doesn't impinge on you, the logical contradictions in the doctrine (which all doctrines have -- they're very hard to iron out -- ask the Catholic church -- it's the felt harmony that matters) are no more relevant than the difficulties of fully identifying with Master/Slave sex practitioners. For an outsider, it's enough that it's a way they find satisfying to express their personal identity. Pursuit of happiness and all that.
I've eaten meat acrosss from Ravi eating vegetables, and a more welcoming and less disapproving gaze is hard to imagine. So I don't see why he should be forced to defend Vegetarians with Attitude. He isn't one.
And surely if the worst thing about (some) veggies is how they harangue us, the last thing we should to is harague them back? It just makes us as bad as them: Omnivores with Attitude.
Michael