In response to The Reluctant Vegan: “He’s not vegan—he’s crazy.”, I made the following comment back on November 1, 2007:
Susie,
Several hundred years ago African Americans were thought of by the majority of people as “lowly animals” (i.e., chattel). Abolitionists of the day, calling for the end of slavery, were thought of as crackpots, cRaZy dreamers, agitators, etc. Fast forward to the Civil Rights Movement. Same thing. Martin Luther King Junior gave a brilliant speech stating African Americans want ALL of their rights HERE in the United States NOW. He was hated by many people and even called a communist by the FBI.
The list of people who were brave enough to tell the truth to the world even though the world wasn’t ready to hear them is long and bloody. But, if it were not for these brave “agitators” where would we be now? I take the bus to work everyday and thank goodness for all the brave “Rosa Parks” of the past that had the guts to stand up against injustice and do what was needed to be done.
Veganism: The boycott of an evil industry that enslaves nonhuman animals is still in its infancy similar to the abolitionist movement to end the Slave Trade in the late 1700s and then the abolitionist movement in the 1800s to end slavery altogether. Social injustice movements generally begin with a handful of people who against all odds do what is needed to wake the sleeping masses up and eventually persevere. Thus, if someone has the guts to nonviolently educate his or her class about veganism I applaud them. Just like I applaud those brave folks of the past who dared to teach that cRaZy theory of evolution.
In conclusion, Susie, please think about people of the past who tried their best to educate others and were wrongly shot down for it AND remember that it’s thanks to them, for example, that it is now “mostly” excepted that the world is not only round but is NOT located in the center of the universe.
Think, then Go Vegan!
Quotes on Slavery 