Re: POLITICS: Re: Any difference between vegan activists & right-to-lifers?

[Guest guest]

Robin Ann:

>A lot of amazing stuff happens when you've had a set-back. I'm lucky

>enough to be coming out the other end of mine seemingly intact and

>now going through a sort of " processing stage " where virtually every

>belief I've ever had is being reevaluated. I feel closer to some

>core truths (whatever that means) and now life seems a heck of a lot

>simpler as a result. It's great.

This is very true. I've had a couple of MAJOR traumas in my life,

and both of them made major life changes and I felt like my

brain had gotten ripped out remolded and stuffed back in

my head (in a good way, of course ... :-) I really liked the

movie " Angels in America " about that aspect of life!

What happens when major trauma gets thrown at you? How

do you react?

>Even my complaints about food activists are solely based on the fact

>that they're whittling down my food choices. Food should not be

>political.

No, it shouldn't.

>And oddly enough my original post on this subject stemmed from the

>fact that I considered joining a meditation retreat (something I'd

>not done before) and it required a few days stay; When I saw the

>notice that only vegetarian meals were provided I felt provoked. By

>a long shot, this is not the first time I've been confronted with

>this vegetarian thing around here...

What's interesting to me is that a lot of the vegan people are

also leaning toward Buddhism, which I'd always felt was

vehemently anti-meat. But when I read stuff by the Dalai Llama

and others, Buddhism is all about letting OTHER people find

their own path and finding the truth " no matter what " (If you meet

the Buddha on the road, kill him!).

" Retreats " in general though are all about providing a certain

" atmosphere " for the participants, and a lot of vegetarians feel

that just having meat around ruins the atmosphere, and makes you

less holy etc. So while I too, would get angry and hurt, I guess

I'd expect it. It's a little like expecting to have prayer rugs

or same-sex couples at a Christian fundamentalist retreat.

Actually I have to deal with this all the time because

many places I go I can't eat any of the food ... like I had to

go to a birthday (relatives) in a spaghetti house that served

NO food without gluten. And typically the gluten eaters get

angry at me for not participating in their feast, though I

*don't* lecture anyone except to say " I'm allergic to it " , unless

they ask for more details.

>By the way, I live on the county line between Marin and Sonoma

>Counties in northern California. About 8 miles inland from the ocean

>and 30 miles north of San Francisco.

Oooh, that's beautiful country. I know of someone who raises

meat goats around there. Maybe the meditation folks are vegans,

but there's plenty of meat eaters too ...

>

Heidi Jean