I like vegetarians -- they're all I eat!
Actually, I went vegetarian for six months or so a few years back with no difficulty. It wasn't particularly hard to stop eating meat, although it did make my diet less interesting. Eventually I returned to omnivorosity because I became disgusted with how annoyingly self-superior some vegetarians are.
The only people more holier-than-thou than vegetarians are people who don't watch TV. I don't watch a lot of TV myself, but isn't it irritating to try talking with someone who is constantly reminding you that they "don't waste time with that stuff" and "don't even own a TV"?
The reason vegetarians and anti-TV-ites are so annoying is because they take pleasure in rubbing our faces in their rejection of the very fabric of our shared society.
What's the number one social activity? Eating. And it's difficult for omnivores to enjoy a meal with a proud vegetarian because their food requirements severely limit everyone else's choices. The presence of a vegetarian (or, *gasp*, a vegan) restricts restaurant selection and even makes it hard to host meals in your home. It's also generally recognized as being incredibly rude to refuse to eat food that's served to you when you're visiting someone's home, and I never appreciated the truth of this until I was a vegetarian myself.
As for TV, like it or not it's the foundation of our modern shared experience. Without a rudimentary working knowledge of what's on TV it's impossible to make small-talk and it's impossible to share allusions and inside jokes. Knowing what TV shows a person likes will give you a lot of insight into their personality and can provide a lot of common ground for conversation. Of course, when someone responds that they don't watch TV I guess that tells you a lot too. I'm not a huge fan of TV, and there are only a handful of shows I enjoy, but you don't have to be a carnivore to be polite company, you only have to be amiable enough to go with the flow.
And finally, if God doesn't want us to eat animals, why are they made out of meat? If he didn't want us to watch TV, why did he give us eyes?
We own something like 5 TVs for 2 people. Reason: annual Atari party. The other 3 come out of the closet for that.
I used to not watch TV, but I'm reformed.
hln
When conversing with non-TV watchers, you could talk about books. Everyone reads books. Books have been part a foundation of our shared experiences much longer than TV. Just a suggestion.
Unfortunately, not everyone does read books. Plus, there's a lot more variety and people won't necessarily have read the same books that you have.
This is a generalization that I have made before, and it really makes me appreciate the people who are vegitarians or don't watch TV and don't make a big deal out of it. I work with a guy here who is a vegitarian (mostly -- when his wife is keeping track) and he doesn't make a big deal out of it. The only way someone would even know is if they asked. He orders what he can from whatever is on the menu when we order in. That makes him cool.
The other example is Henry Rollins. The only reason that I know that he doesn't watch TV is that he had to explain in one of his shows why he has no idea what is on TV, and why these Morning Shows blew his mind so much when he watched them on the road.
I have a select few TV shows -- okay, cable shows -- that I watch, and that is it. Mainly because what they have on TV is crap, not because TV itself is crap.
The rabid anti-smokers are also up there in the annoying factor (the worst are the ex-smokers turned health-nazis). I don't smoke, but I don't mind if someone lights up.
Ick, I don't like it when people smoke around me. One of the few political blessings of California.
nice until the sixth paragraph. weak argument. other than that, i agree. do you think I corinthians 9:22 can be used for this post? paul's explanation of Christian liberty starts at the beginning of the chapter, but this is my main point -- "to the weak i became weak, that i might win the weak; i have become all things to all men, so that i may by all means save some."
[to the meat eaters, i eat meat; to the tv watchers, i at least know a bit of what's going on -- so that i might win some.]
Steve: Don't take it so seriously :)
there are VERY good things on tv....they don't matter. DESTROY YOUR TV. email martin_magazine to receive a TVfree sticker to proudly display at your home. GET WITH THE TIMES. TV IS SOOO OUT.