i knew this would happen when i started this thread. and bill, you'd be surprised how many times i've been at a jewish gathering (i'm jewish), only to have other jews tell me i should eat brisket or lox or whatever because hitler was a vegetarian. there's a song by a band called anal cunt called "hitler was a sensitive man" that talks about how he was a vegetarian, and that if he were alive today, his favorite band would be the smiths.
look, i think bukowski's stuff in living on luck (cited by ninjerk) is applicable to the little spat going on here. buk was horrified at the animal rights violations he saw in the meat industry, yet he continued to eat meat, not because he was a huge hypocrite, but because he drew his personal line where he did... sensitive enough to care that humanity had advanced to a state where it could treat animals like that, sensitive enough to give a shit about them, but not so broken up over it that he changed his lifestyle to accommodate this sensitivity. to me, that's better than some asshole who says "fuck the cows, they're dumb and deserve to die", even though that asshole is consistent. likewise, mjp at one point didn't eat meat, but he didn't draw his personal line at not using any animal products at all. likewise, i still eat honey, although i have vegan friends who will not, because i draw my personal line in between bees and other animals. finally, i have heard mouthfuls from people who rag on me for wearing outdoorsy clothes made from petroleum based products (like polypropylene or gore-tex), saying that i should wear wool, because it's greener. does it make me a hypocrite that i profess to care about the environment while wearing these clothes, because it's more important to me not to wear something that had to be sheared off of an animal? it's a personal choice. the only time i ever lecture someone is in defense ("not eating meat means you're not a real man"), or because their lack of compassion is startling. to me, caring is the most important thing... which is why it doesn't disturb me too much that buk rejected vegetarianism. "deeds not words" i know, but the capability to feel that compassion says a whole lot to me about someone's character.
