We have to ask ourselves, why are we vegans so strongly hated? The honest reason is that we vegans tend to shine a light on the moral failings of others. Its projected hate per se.
We are vocal about animal rights, challenging traditions, and customs, and people don’t like change… Do they?
We tend to receive hate from people because we show people where they are failing, and people tend to project the feeling of not doing enough or being strong enough to do what we do, onto us. In a sense, it is partly because of shame.
However, this hate tends to be ferocious.
Today, we will go over a few reasons why vegans get so much hate.
So, let’s get to it…
Vegan Hatred
Let’s give an example of some of this petty hatred. Cobra Kai was a hit Tv series sequel, it’s a great show. But, two of the characters are carnivorous sensei who take repetitive shots at veganism in order to show who’s more masculine.
However, this is pretty gentle hate, there is also culinary hate, as we can see from the late celeb chef Anthony Bourdain:
“The vegans, are a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn”
Gordon Ramsey said:
“If the kids ever came up to me and said, ‘Dad I’, vegetarian’, then I would sit them on the fence and electrocute them.”
It’s actually quite ironic that Ramsey then went on a health kick to transform his body which he attributes a lot of his success to removing dairy from his diet… Funny that…
Oh and let’s not forget those good old keyboard warriors, lurking on every vegan corner of the internet to spread hate. It does go both ways, vegan hate, and vegan extremists both do this, it is very sad, and surely there are more productive ways to spend your time, but each to their own…
Aside from the media, mean jokes about vegans can get plastered everywhere. Bumper stickers, T-shirts, badges, and everything else.
But, what hurts the most is in-person encounters. Snarky comments from friends, family, and total strangers. Most of the time saying you’re vegan gets met with criticism and defensiveness.
The dislike of veganism is so powerful there is a term for it: ‘vegaphobia’. In my opinion, it is a weird thing to have such a strong opinion. I’m vegan, you’re not, okay…Cool. Why does it have to be an upsetting topic for people to go so far, if it is not affecting their lives?
Anyway, let’s take a look at why this vegan hate even exists…
Reason 1: Breaking The Wheel Of Cognitive Dissonance
Cognitive dissonance is that unpleasant mental discomfort that we feel when we have 2 or more contradicting attitudes, beliefs, or values.
You may feel that eating meat is wrong but if you enjoy the convenience and taste, this would be cognitive dissonance.
Most people are not unaware of the impact of our choices on animals, most are aware but we are very good at compartmentalizing the truth of animal exploitation.
Most people choose not to think about the food we eat as living things, or how the thing died, so what vegans represent is actually shining a light on the truth that forces people to face reality, which causes do-gooder derogation.
This is the act of degrading someone who is trying to improve the world, and it is a way that people deal with cognitive dissonance. It is a form of projecting, like in school, the goodie-two-shoes kid got bullied for being good, being good wasn’t wrong, but it was the bullies projecting cognitive dissonance.
Reason 2: Loud & Proud
The loud and proud minority of vegans do make it seem like all vegans will attack omnivores for their choices. However, this actually only represents a small few vegans.
Many people criticize vegans for being so loud about their veganism, but veganism affects consumption choices, as well as other purchases such as clothes and furniture, so the only way to state your needs is to say you’re vegan. It’s not a brag, it’s actually similar to stating religious preferences.
One of the reasons that the loud and proud vegans set this negative image in two however was that many meat-eaters believe that vegans see them as being inferior. And while in a study it was shown that many vegans and vegetarians do look down on omnivores it is not actually to the extent believed.
Reason 3: Breaking The Status Quo
In many cultures, animal flesh is rooted deep in customs and traditions. Many fond memories include the consumption of animal meat. Vegans come along and present a threat to said traditions.
Even if a vegan is non-threatening the message is always that veganism is a threat to the status quo for many.
Note that political beliefs and religious beliefs also often impact anti-veganism
Reason 4: It Makes People Face What They Do Not Want To
It is no new news that people hate the truth. It has been shown in media and politics that most people would rather shy away from the truth and believe something false just because the truth hurts.
People do not like change. A majority of the Western world cannot bare hearing about the animal cruelty that spurs on a lot of vegans. With vegans representing a truth people do not want to hear, it’s no surprise they tend to get angry.
It is sad to say, but most people would rather live totally oblivious to the truth.
Reason 5: I Don’t Understand
In spite of how intelligent humanity is, we still get threatened when we do not understand something. If we are uneducated and unaware of the truth of something, it is new, and new is scary.
The media does not help, oftentimes the media does not represent vegans in a great light which often leads to people painting us all with the same brush.
Perhaps some education on the matter would help our case!
FAQs:
Why Are Vegans So Judgemental
Vegans often come over as being more judgemental than we actually are. Many people feel guilty about consuming products that do not match up with their morality, what many see as a judgment from vegans often is actually self-judgment.
Why Are Vegans So Sensitive?
Not all vegans should be painted with the same brush. However, some vegans can be sensitive to the consumption of animals as they have seen what really goes on with the animals killed for food. They lifted the curtain, and if more people did, more people would certainly be vegan.
Why Do Vegans Hate Meat Eaters?
Most vegans do not hate meat-eaters, few vegans were raised this way. However, they may have a distaste for eating meat and avoid being around people eating meat as it can make them feel unwell or they simply do not want to think about what happened to the animal for it to wind up on a person’s plate.
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