I'm not a preachy vegetarian, don't be an asshole omnivore

One of my brothers appreciates how I'm not super vocal and preachy and over the top about the things that make me even more of a minority than what I already might be considered. I'm not a super swishy over the top out gay man, and I am not a pushy, preachy, holier-than-thou vegetarian. I figure, just respect people whoever they may be, and let them make their own decisions even if you may not agree with them. In other fronts I may be a little less forgiving, or push back against views I don't necessarily agree with, and my decision to be vegetarian has seldom been one of them. Overtime however, there is the accumulation of small snippy comments along the lines of "more meat for me", and "How could you not like bacon?!" which pile up. They are like small pebbles thrown at my head. They are more annoying then damaging. However if you get enough of them, they accumulate, and maybe slip into your shoes, and eventually fester and aggravate. I have remained respectful of other people's decision to eat meat, and I do not think that it is too much of a stretch of the imagination to expect similar respect in return. However when you crack a joke like pigs are vegetarian, so ham is actually vegetarian too; you are not being clever. You are not being funny. You are being a disrespectful asshole who has become worthy of my contempt. I try to do vegetarian right. I eat plenty of vegetables, and fruit. I try to avoid the bread and pasta pitfall some people fall into sometimes at some restaurants, or at family gatherings where the menu is poorly thought out. I don't constantly preach about how you can actually get more than enough protein being vegan or vegetarian if you eat the right grains and legumes, or how it helps you lose weight, and lower blood pressure, or the other multitude of benefits that being vegetarian can bring (if done correctly). If you crack a joke like the ones I mentioned above when I mention I am vegetarian to you, do not be surprised if I smack you upside the head for your blatant disrespect. Granted, I tend to avoid physical violence, as we are supposed to be a civilized people. But I do hope you understand if I do not speak to you again and that you enjoy your heart disease, and diabetes 20 years from now.

convictions, or lack thereof: musings on NATO, protesters, and teaching

I have had NATO and activism on the mind, and I am not sure how I can reconcile my sentiments on this. In spirit, I support the protesters in their actions, but lack the courage and conviction to be out there on the streets with them. What little I have is too tenuous and fragile to destabilize it further, and I am trying to make peace with what I have, and the change I am hoping to enact in this world as a classroom teacher. I recognize that may have been an abrupt transition in topics, but if I make a point of discussing systemic inequities in society in my classroom, is that not a form of protest? If I point out that there are injustices in the world which are not necessarily globally spanning sentiments, but things which are in the very halls of the schools where I teach, in the homes of my students, and in the neighborhoods; and that NOT accepting certain things as truth and immutable is itself an act of rebellion, and a catalyst for change? While I do not want to equate the actions of a protester who marches to express their grievances to the world leadership (who, in my opinion, are clearly not listening or paying attention whatsoever), and my day to day toils with students, in the long term, are we not going for similar goals: change for the better? The kind of change which does not make for a fancy feel-good political campaign, but the change where people collectively feel safer, more trusting in the general good-will of their fellow person, and not looking for any and every which way in which to take down everyone else in order to get ahead, or at least keep another from advancing?
Today many military Veterans symbolically divested themselves from their Global War on Terrorism Medals, Operation Enduring Freedom Medals, and Operation Iraqi Freedom Medals. Neither NATO nor the United States Government send any representative, which I guess were expected to be present, to receive them. Their gesture spoke volumes about the veteran’s convictions; which I admire. I also think that the NATO or US leadership could not be bothered to send anyone to hear the grievances of the protesters is also very telling. The fact that politically, they basically outfit the police in a fashion akin to a soldier going on patrol is very telling of how things have changed now. It is scary, and I hope that in the end general decency and good will prevail; though thinsg are seeming more and more doubtful.