I don’t believe this policy is viable for most people without suffering meaningful social isolation as a result, with limited benefits.
In particular, if one has few vegan friends, then this precludes participating in group dinners unless the venue is vegan, which may be a tough sell to insist upon every time there’s a group dinner. If one is not in a major metro area with lots of vegan options, it may preclude eating out at all, as there may not be any exclusively vegan dining options.
as i clarify in section I, the Pledge does not require we only attend vegan venues. it simply requires that we only eat at vegan tables. this essentially leaves all the same venues friendly to vegan consumption friendly to Pledge practitioners as well.
That deals with the venue problem, but not with the group dynamics one. If my social group is eating together, I do not want to be the one insisting that my presence requires everyone else to eat only vegan options. It’s just going to annoy people and make them think I’m difficult to be around.
This is different to meeting one friend for food or something where the ask is smaller, but if there’s a group of six friends, say, and only one person is vegan, the ask that everyone only eat vegan options every time the group meets is not going to engender goodwill for the vegan at the table, I think.
if i really wanted to be in that environment (i.e., feigning normalcy and pleasure while those in my company eat animal bodies [which, as argued in the article, i generally view as problematic]), i would attend without eating. in fact, i’ve done so myself on two occasions.
even so, i think if one was open to practicing the pledge in some circumstances but not all, they should still practice the pledge in those limited circumstances! we are all imperfect, and i don’t think we should allow a commitment to purity to prevent us from making positive progress. (in my eyes, i just don’t see the “sacrifices” that come with the Pledge to outweigh the benefits, but can understand that many don’t yet agree).
Thanks for the responses, it’s been very helpful!
I still do not agree that this is a productive step but I feel I have a better understanding of your approach than I did.
I don’t believe this policy is viable for most people without suffering meaningful social isolation as a result, with limited benefits.
In particular, if one has few vegan friends, then this precludes participating in group dinners unless the venue is vegan, which may be a tough sell to insist upon every time there’s a group dinner. If one is not in a major metro area with lots of vegan options, it may preclude eating out at all, as there may not be any exclusively vegan dining options.
hey Charles,
as i clarify in section I, the Pledge does not require we only attend vegan venues. it simply requires that we only eat at vegan tables. this essentially leaves all the same venues friendly to vegan consumption friendly to Pledge practitioners as well.
That deals with the venue problem, but not with the group dynamics one. If my social group is eating together, I do not want to be the one insisting that my presence requires everyone else to eat only vegan options. It’s just going to annoy people and make them think I’m difficult to be around.
This is different to meeting one friend for food or something where the ask is smaller, but if there’s a group of six friends, say, and only one person is vegan, the ask that everyone only eat vegan options every time the group meets is not going to engender goodwill for the vegan at the table, I think.
if i really wanted to be in that environment (i.e., feigning normalcy and pleasure while those in my company eat animal bodies [which, as argued in the article, i generally view as problematic]), i would attend without eating. in fact, i’ve done so myself on two occasions.
even so, i think if one was open to practicing the pledge in some circumstances but not all, they should still practice the pledge in those limited circumstances! we are all imperfect, and i don’t think we should allow a commitment to purity to prevent us from making positive progress. (in my eyes, i just don’t see the “sacrifices” that come with the Pledge to outweigh the benefits, but can understand that many don’t yet agree).
Thanks for the responses, it’s been very helpful! I still do not agree that this is a productive step but I feel I have a better understanding of your approach than I did.