Interesting ... "Vegan man ridiculed online after publicly shaming woman for ..."

[inavalan]

Vegan man ridiculed online after publicly shaming woman for buying child ice cream

This kind of discussion and argumentation applies to so many heated and intolerant arguments, that grace to social media multiplied exponentially.

I'm surprised that nobody raised another aspect of the story too: giving high sugar dessert to somebody else's child without parents' approval.

I think that if we do something for spiritual reasons, we should take the high road with those who don't share our convictions, or at least not act in extreme ways, which definitely negates our other spiritual efforts, and shows that we didn't get it yet.

[LillyBelle]

A child was crying in her driveway because they couldn't get ice-cream like their friends. She gave the child the money to buy one ice-cream. It made the child happy. It did no harm to anyone and brought a little kindness into the world. Everything was perfect and beautiful until that one person had to go and ruin it.

We need more people like her in this world. I'm so disappointed that someone would find something wrong with such a kindhearted deed.

[Debrah]

My guess is the guy who talked to her about it was thinking about 1. the calves and cows who suffer. and 2. the destruction to the environment that is caused by the dairy industry and 3. indoctrinating children to not think about the animals is cruel and unjust (from every perspective).

[Altair]

Originally Posted by LillyBelle

It did no harm to anyone and brought a little kindness into the world. Everything was perfect and beautiful until that one person had to go and ruin it.
We need more people like her in this world. I'm so disappointed that someone would find something wrong with such a kindhearted deed.

Actually, a vegan would point out that there is harm involved, because of the dairy industry..

You see only ''kindness'' because you won't look past your initial observation. It's easy to shut our eyes, in fact many meat eaters do the same.. they prefer to stay in ignorance during a Christmas meal or while enjoying any meal with meat. It is good that there are people out there pointing out the issues with animal agriculture..

We need to put our own ego's aside, and often we are not willing to do that because we are reminded that we all partake in cruelty at some level, just to different degrees..
I am no vegan myself but I don't mind if they argue with me over dairy, eggs, or honey. In some ways I agree with them, in other ways not..

No doubt ''Fox News'' and most of their readers and watchers will blame the vegan, start co-producing more myths, and are all willingly ignorant about the actual issue.
Some people are just too scared to deal with the issue itself, no doubt in the US this reflects the majority..

[LillyBelle]

Originally Posted by Altair

Actually, a vegan would point out that there is harm involved, because of the dairy industry..

You see only ''kindness'' because you won't look past your initial observation. It's easy to shut our eyes, in fact many meat eaters do the same.. they prefer to stay in ignorance during a Christmas meal or while enjoying any meal with meat. It is good that there are people out there pointing out the issues with animal agriculture..

We need to put our own ego's aside, and often we are not willing to do that because we are reminded that we all partake in cruelty at some level, just to different degrees..
I am no vegan myself but I don't mind if they argue with me over dairy, eggs, or honey. In some ways I agree with them, in other ways not..

No doubt ''Fox News'' and most of their readers and watchers will blame the vegan, start co-producing more myths, and are all willingly ignorant about the actual issue.
Some people are just too scared to deal with the issue itself, no doubt in the US this reflects the majority..

You can't force your beliefs on a child. Not only that a child cannot live without the nutrition provided by a non-vegan diet. Not to mention unless you want to live off nothing but the air, there's going to be some cruelty involved somewhere. I'm sorry, but the act of eating involves cruelty. Animals have to eat.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by LillyBelle

You can't force your beliefs on a child. Not only that a child cannot live without the nutrition provided by a non-vegan diet. Not to mention unless you want to live off nothing but the air, there's going to be some cruelty involved somewhere. I'm sorry, but the act of eating involves cruelty. Animals have to eat.

You believe animal slaughter is fine, that is your belief and you think it is okay to force this upon a child. It is no different, we "force" our beliefs upon children regardless. If you want children to make their own decisions you should show them the facts of agriculture and slaughterhouses, but I'll assume you prefer keeping them in the dark. We can however choose between beliefs, some being more harmful than others. There is indeed always some cruelty at some level, but again, some diets and some paths are more harmful than others.

You look at this issue narrow. It's a politically correct stance to take, but the actual lives of living beings are ignored. It's just completely non-comparable... the ice cream versus how we treat billions of animals.

[Blue Tiger]

The saddest part of this whole episode? A person tried to do a nice thing for another human being, and because of perceived "political incorrectness" are made to be the target of anger and hostility. The child learned that adults CAN be kind, but the person who was kind to them will surely think twice before being kind again. If the child is aware of the brouhaha they're are going to be horribly confused by the whole thing and possibly question the motives and agendas of every adult in their life.

In this case, there was no "force" exerted on the child. They were offered a gift. In fact the only "force" I see here is the shoving of vegan agendas down the throat of people who were simply living their lives and being nice to one another.

Is this looking at the issue in a narrow fashion? Yes, I imagine it is. Is it wrong to do that? No, it isn't.

The tiny decisions of one person will have no substantial effect on any of the global issues. Not hunger, animal cruelty, warfare, nor anything else. I could abstain from meat for the rest of my life, and not a single cow will be saved, because my meat consumption is already low (too many calories) and I'm getting older.

Should we educate children about the way animals are treated? Absolutely yes. And they should learn to make THEIR OWN healthy, responsible choices in life. But demanding that they adhere to someone else's standard of right/wrong meat/vegan is not healthy. When it is pounded into someone's head it amounts to emotional abuse.

So give the kid ice cream. Let them know joy and for a moment just be a kid.

[LillyBelle]

Originally Posted by Altair

You believe animal slaughter is fine, that is your belief and you think it is okay to force this upon a child. It is no different, we "force" our beliefs upon children regardless. If you want children to make their own decisions you should show them the facts of agriculture and slaughterhouses, but I'll assume you prefer keeping them in the dark. We can however choose between beliefs, some being more harmful than others. There is indeed always some cruelty at some level, but again, some diets and some paths are more harmful than others.

You look at this issue narrow. It's a politically correct stance to take, but the actual lives of living beings are ignored. It's just completely non-comparable... the ice cream versus how we treat billions of animals.

Actually, I couldn't care less about political correctness. You're waaay off on your judgement of me if you think that. I look at this in a realistic,rational and moral standpoint. I don't care about individual beliefs, I don't care about politics. What I care about are people.

You see a kid in your driveway crying over an ice-cream and you're going to stand there and deny the kid. Then,what preach to the kid about your concerns of a dairy farmer miles away. Really? No, you give the kid the money for her ice-cream and drag your soapbox to a more appropriate forum.

[Blue Tiger]

"You see a kid in your driveway crying over an ice-cream and you're going to stand there and deny the kid. Then,what preach to the kid about your concerns of a dairy farmer miles away. Really? No, you give the kid the money for her ice-cream and drag your soapbox to a more appropriate forum."

Well said, LillyBelle.

The child in question is likely to be maybe 6 or 7 years old, may never have even seen a cow or a farm, has no concept of what a vegan is, and has most likely eaten ice cream many times before with their parents' blessings.

Ice cream may not be to Altair's liking, but that is entirely Altair's choice. One person's choice does not make that choice right for everyone else.

I'd much rather give a child the message that there are kind people in the world, rather than that some people think ice cream is somehow evil.

[Altair]

Originally Posted by LillyBelle

Actually, I couldn't care less about political correctness. You're waaay off on your judgement of me if you think that. I look at this in a realistic,rational and moral standpoint. I don't care about individual beliefs, I don't care about politics. What I care about are people.

You say you ''care about people'' based on this ice cream story..?
Our ''care'' should also not be limited to one species. To the kid, this is about an ice cream, not exactly a mind shattering topic concerning human ''kindness'' or ''care'' - just a trivial issue. To the animals however, it is a different matter. And the way we consume is surrounded by death, often unnecessary death.. so the comparison shows that the vegan may have a point, although it perhaps may not be the right setting to point it out..