From: claudiak@spider.co.uk (Claudia Kale)
Newsgroups: rec.food.veg
Subject: Re: A suggestion for rec.food.recipes
Keywords: This is NOT a recipe.
Date: 14 Apr 92 08:31:45 GMT
Organization: Spider Systems Limited, Edinburgh, UK.

In article <1992Apr13.175850.20622@Princeton.EDU> asannuti@dae.Princeton.EDU (Arun M. Sannuti) writes:
>In article <1992Apr13.090449.11583@spider.co.uk> claudiak@spider.co.uk (Claudia Kale) writes:
>>I am
>>saying that the logic behind that club policy has an eerie echo in the
>>call for a newsgroup for "vegetarians only".
>
>	Methinks you misunderstood my arguement.  I was just agreeing
>with Micheal's feelings that people should try and confine vegetarian
>bashing to talk.politics.animals.  (IF micheal doesn't agree with
>this, then I misunderstood him) I like this newsgroup, but one of my
>primary reasons for reading it is to get away from all the vegetarian
>bashing I get in everyday life.  I can't exist a day without someone
>commenting, in a negative way, about my eating choices.  I'm not an in
>your face vegan.  In fact, I almost never mention it, unless someone
>asks me specifically, and even then, I am reluctant, because I hate
>getting into arguements.  But I am still continually harshed on for my
>eating choices.  I was just expressing my preference for a newsgroup
>in which I would could find some friends who understood my desire to
>avoid vegetarian bashing.  I'm a social person, and I like having
>company, and I sometimes enjoy being able to share my experiences, or
>listening to shared experiences by what I feel is an oppressed
>minority in this country.  (I don't really know about other
>countries.)  It disturbs me greatly to come to the one place where I
>have a small possibility of getting support and instead reading about
>how stupid vegetarians are and how we should all eat meat.  I get
>enough of that in real life.  I don't need it here.
>
>Arun Sannuti

It appears that I did indeed understand you correctly, as your second
post eloquently expands upon your first. I quite understand that being
on the defensive continually because one is a tiny minority is wearying.
And it's always nice to have our own perceptions of "truth" reinforced
by others' perceptions. Well-meaning friends and relatives can be
astonishingly relentless in their efforts to "guide" you "in your
own best interests, of course, dear!" So you want a safe haven from
all of this aggressive persuasion. This is precisely the reasoning that
club manager put forth: these people (members) were daily surrounded by a
majority who felt that *all* persons, regardless of their skin colour,
religion, sex, hat size, what-have-you, are entitled to equal access
to social organisations; the members felt otherwise - most felt threatened
by people with black skin and wanted someplace where they could relax
with other people who were threatened by people with black skin, and
where people with black skin were excluded.

Nobody I know of is looking for ways to make their life harder. It
would be lovely if everybody in the group held compatible views, but
even if the group was a more restrictive rec.food.veg.friends.of.nutroast,
it isn't going to happen. So how can you avoid being harangued while
still allowing others their right to express their own views? Just
skip the articles you don't want to read.


Cheers,
Claudia (no .sig)