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DTM · 07-01-2009, 08:49 AM

The problem, etherspin, is that you appear to be conflating preference with moral imperative. Some things are moral imperatives, but not everything is.

If I were in China and were offered cat, I would decline to eat it. But I wouldn't lecture those who do about their preference being wrong or mine being morally superior; doing so would be rude and obnoxious. If someone wants to add beef, pork, chicken and fish to the list of things they prefer not to eat, that's fine with me. But if they proceed to lecture me about my preference being wrong or theirs being morally superior, they would then be rude and obnoxious. That's the sort of thing that this thread is about. (And, by the way, let me make it clear that most vegetarians I know are not like that.)

This is but one symptom of a larger problem that is awfully common, the notion that "everybody should be just like me". I find it annoying to listen to people who insist that I should not only eat what they prefer to eat, but drive the same kind of car they prefer to drive, watch the same TV shows they prefer to watch, listen to the same music they prefer to listen to, etc.

Oh, and use the same e-book reader they prefer to use.

07-01-2009, 08:49 AM	#65
DTM Intentionally Left Blank Posts: 172 Karma: 300106 Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Royal Oak, MI, USA Device: Nook STR	The problem, etherspin, is that you appear to be conflating preference with moral imperative. Some things are moral imperatives, but not everything is. If I were in China and were offered cat, I would decline to eat it. But I wouldn't lecture those who do about their preference being wrong or mine being morally superior; doing so would be rude and obnoxious. If someone wants to add beef, pork, chicken and fish to the list of things they prefer not to eat, that's fine with me. But if they proceed to lecture me about my preference being wrong or theirs being morally superior, they would then be rude and obnoxious. That's the sort of thing that this thread is about. (And, by the way, let me make it clear that most vegetarians I know are not like that.) This is but one symptom of a larger problem that is awfully common, the notion that "everybody should be just like me". I find it annoying to listen to people who insist that I should not only eat what they prefer to eat, but drive the same kind of car they prefer to drive, watch the same TV shows they prefer to watch, listen to the same music they prefer to listen to, etc. Oh, and use the same e-book reader they prefer to use.