Beautifully said.
I'm always available for bar mitzvahs, birthdays, anniversaries, funerals, and nad-punching fests, ya know.
I really understand your anger. But are you sure the post-it came from the vegan owner of the other car? Couldn't it have been a random person going by your car and being provoked by your sticker? But no doubt that it is a stupid and cowardly thing to do.
I had the same thought too, Karin... And it very well could NOT have been. But there were only a few cars parked over where I parked, and it seemed weirdly coincidental that anyone would be roaming around by my car, notice the bumper stickers, and care enough to comment on just MY 'vegan' car out of some weird vegan-hatred... But yes. You could very well be right. I actually *hope* you are right. Because that makes me a LOT less pissed off. =P
You tell 'em. You're hot when, as my Dad used to say, full of piss-n-vinegar. You can preach to me anytime.
...does that look like I'm making a pass?
This really hit a chord with me Lindy Loo! I've been a vegan for going on two years. The vehicle I drive is one I've had for about 5 years or so...and has leather seats. Do I like them? Hell no! But I'm not going to get rid of a perfectly good, and paid for, vehicle just for that reason. It's something I simply can't afford to do. To think that a fellow vegan would think less of me because of this is unfair. It doesn't make me any less a vegan. It just means I'm a broke-ass vegan! And when the time comes that I do have the financial means to purchase something else to drive, I'll avoid leather seats like the plague.
Excellent!! I'm with you.
What a great post... and what an asshole comment! Why not instead be happy that there ARE other vegans instead of putting the few ones you see down? Seems like some post-it-sticker-writing-person needs to learn some basic manners and maybe pull their head out of their ass.
three cheers for lindy loo! someone once asked me how i rationalized driving an SUV (a small one, and i usually ride my bike, but still) and i said my wallet rationalized it, as the car came from my boyfriend's parents and we're not in a position to pick out any old vehicle we want. most people do the best they can while trying to be better, and those vegans sound like total assholes. i hope they read this blog, too!
My first thought was to be charitable and think maybe it wasn't the vegan that left the note. But whoever left that note was a right f**king arse and you are absolutely right that that kind of judgemental, cowardly, holier-than-thou, bitchy, intolerant attitude gives all vegans a bad name! Dammit!
Karin & Bazu: I totally feel you. I just needed to say SOMETHING about it to SOMEONE so that I didn't keep getting angry about it, you know? Because it's so invasive when somebody does something like that, especially when you are left with no way to respond. Posting about it makes me feel better.
a-fuck'n-men!
What a shitty thing for someone to do - I love your response, it's dead-on!
Nicely said! I have a serious question: I'm a recent (less than 2 years) vegan, and while I don't buy NEW leather, I do very occassionally buy USED leather pieces. Is that horrible? Seriously? I'm really wondering if I'm being a "bad" vegan... write to me at: mlbrown@winfirst.com with your opinion. THANKS!
FatMom: If I were you, I'd just go with what you feel comfortable with, without worrying about what other vegans think.
For every vegan who buys second hand leather I could find you another 5 that eat sugar without checking if it's vegan.
None of us is perfect but being vegan, however you precisely define it, is a step towards being more compassionate. Just like being vegetarian or even refusing to eat factory farmed meat. It's a start.
Which is exactly why preachy vegan assholes are assholes.
Wow, that was one awesome argument. With you all the way.
Hey, FM: I emailed ya. Just so ya knows. ; )
*Winking lasciviously at Lyvvie*
So well said.
I wear leather as well--no, since going vegan I have not PURCHASED any new leather goods, but I will wear my leather shoes and bags until they fall apart. I would feel that if I just throw them in the trash, then that animal really DID die in vain.
Snarkiness has its place but not in nasty anonymous notes!
Oh, Lindy Loo! That totally sucks! I'm so sorry that happened! It makes me want to leave cupcakes on every vegan-stickered car in the city and hope that one of them is yours!
On a marginally related side note, I noticed a girl in one of my classes last semester with a tattoo on the back of her neck. Upon closer inspection, I saw that she had "vegan" tattooed on the back of her neck. Squealing with excitement and too shy to approach her, I called my guy to squeal about the fact that there was a VEGAN in my land use class and wasn't that just the best thing EVER?!
My point is that there are too few vegans in the Cleveland area, so why one vegan would be a douche and leave a post-it like that on a fellow vegan's car is beyond me...
Sorry about your experience.
I don't buy leather or fur but I do have a penchant for faux fur. It tickles me when carnivores look at me judgementally and say "that better not be real fur!"
Just to play Devil's Advocate (which I LOVE DOING), if you have leather seats in your car, then depending on what car you drive you can probably sell them on Ebay for more than what it costs to buy comparable cloth ones. People love the upgrade, and are willing to pay shipping costs.
I've never seen the big deal with leather anyway... as long as it comes from animals that die of natural causes! What better way to respect their lives than to fully use their bodies for something useful?
*Eyeing you suspiciously, mdmadph. Eyeing you suspiciously*
You're supposed to say, "Well then -- how would you like it if after YOU died, someone made a couch out of YOU, mdmadph?" to which I give an appropriately weird and cryptic response about butts or something.
I love your blog, and whoever left that note is an asshole that will burn in the lowest layer of hell.
And mdmadph, I respect your opinion but I have to disagree. I don't think animals are ours to use, so I don't think using the skin of a dead animal is right.
Well, I greatly respect your opinion, but have to disagree, as well.
"Ours to use?" Oh, but plants are "yours to use," though, right? :P
The way I see it, either all life is sacred, or everything is free game. You can't pick and choose when it comes to living creatures.
And whatever you do, don't argue that animals are a "higher form of life" -- any flies right now reading this (on their little fly iPhones) whilst in the clutches of a venus fly trap might like to differ. 
Lindy Loo, I'm glad you feel very strongly about the dialogue and not the preaching when it comes to the ethics of being a vegan. I take the same approach to my vegetarianism, and frankly, it's not my place to tell other people how to live their lives. Although I will say that I was THRILLED when Chicago got rid of smoking in bars, which is, in a way, telling people how to live their lives. But I digress. You rock! Keep fightin' the good fight.
And um, just to lighten the mood a bit, does anyone know if vegan marshmallows are commercially available? I know regular marshmallows are not vegetarian (damn that gelatin--it infiltrates EVERYTHING!), but I'd really like to get my hands on some vegan marshmallows to make some fluffernutter brownies. Oh yes.
That note is seriously effed up. I really despise in-fighting (is that a real term or did you just make it up - it's pretty cool). I hope they're a reader of your blog because your letter kicked ass!
If I had your address I'd send you 50 "hooray you're a vegan" post-it notes.
you're absolutely right on. vegans have a special responsibility to be kind and mature in their interactions with others, being a minority, we are each representative of the "movement" as a whole and preaching and stomping their fist doesn't cut it!
Roseanne: I know you can typically track them down at natural-foods stores, though they cost an arm and a leg. Also, some of the shopping links in my sidebar probably carry them as well.
So I just found this blog and already I'd like to hug you. I just went through a similar situation this week and my faith is little shaken to be honest.
Also, not that you'll be back to read this, but mdmadph? No one is arguing that non-human animals are higher forms of life. Most vegans hold the view that there is no hierarchy, only a continuum. And common sense and a lot of evidence tells us that plants and animals, while both living, are not the same in regards to their experiences and sentience. I'd be happy to talk to you a little more about it, because you seem confused.
You should find them and run them over with your car. I mean, since it's already an un-vegan car. Right?
Thanks for following up on my question about the vegan marshmallows, Lindy Loo. I think you are right about the cost; I found some mail-order sources that charge ~$6 for 12 marshmallows. But they did get rave reviews. Here's a link I found for anyone who might be interested:
http://
www.cosmosveganshoppe.com...oduct_Code=SSMM
This blog sure was a fun lesson in irony and hypocrisy.
Someone wrote some good advice on how discuss issues, give criticism and have dialogue... and even veganism in general. It goes like this:
"Criticism needs to be constructive. Criticism needs to come in the form of a dialogue. As soon as you get up on the pulpit and start pounding your fists and hollering, you've lost everyone. You really need to rethink your way of addressing the topic of veganism and of how you choose to represent the rest of us vegans."
Do as I say though, right?
"As a vegan, it's hard enough putting up with some meat-eaters' bullshit need to jam their two cents down our throats. We don't need it coming from people who are SUPPOSEDLY ON OUR SIDE."
I couldn't agree more.
Bravo!!!!
Sassy
VeganCoach.com
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