Don’t Hate Vegans Just Because The Internet Does
You can put your pitchforks away, I’m not a bitter vegan. I’m not even a vegan. I am, however, a friend of vegans, literally and figuratively.
My friend laughs and passes their phone around the table.
“Have you seen this?”
I laugh but I feel a slight pang of guilt. Another vegan joke to be added to the burgeoning collection being liked, shared, favourited, upvoted and spread across the internet. To be fair, this one’s a pretty good one.
It’s official. Veganism has become a bona fide internet joke. Unceremoniously shelved between Nicholas Cage, Nickelback and cross-fit, doomed to be mocked and dismissed and until it’s dropped for the next unsavoury trend.
The internet is a powerful, unpredictable and often cruel beast. It can either sweep you up and whisk you to the top or grab you by the scruff of the neck, rip you to shreds and toss you aside. Sometimes the targets for these extreme reactions are obvious. The attractive and relatable Jennifer Lawrence is a walking, talking gif and therefore an obvious heir to internet royalty.
Others are more surprising. Otter-turned-man Benedict Cumberbatch has an obsessive and sizeable internet following, just as every man and his dog wants Leonardo Dicaprio to win the Oscar, despite the fact that very few of them will have endured Leo drooling and grunting his way through 3 hours of The Revenant.
But for every Leo there is a Nickleback. A person or concept who you trade your hatred in for internet validation. It’s not optional. Liking Nickelback is a purely private recreational activity.
While this is amusing and fairly harmless when it comes to a chart-topping band, it is far more damaging when takes aim at complex social issues such as veganism.
Computer says no
The internet has made its call on veganism, laid down its final judgement. Vegans are annoying. Vegans love to tell you they are vegans. And that’s about it. The complex, progressive concept of veganism distilled into a single punchline, to be recreated on memes and plastered in comment sections — a DIY starter pack for likes and upvotes.
Trying to counter an internet joke is like trying to call out the popular kid at school. “Oh my god it was a joke, stop taking it so seriously.” Suddenly you look like the uptight loser who can’t take a joke. The stereotype persists.
There are no appeals in the court of internet jokes. One cannot simply dislike Shannon Noll. Where’s the fun in that? There is no space for real discussion of these jokes. They are funny and if you don’t find them funny you aren’t part of the clique.
Somewhere along the way vegans became the butt of the joke.
Why the hate?
For most of us, having a chuckle at the expense of a vegan is a harmless joke. However, just as Shannon Noll might actually resurrect a stone cold dead career due to an army of ironic internet fans, this fad has lasting consequences for the vegan community.
Even if you’re not vegetarian or vegan, most of us are aware of the rationale behind the idea.
Vegans ditch meat and dairy to embrace the humble vegetable and to varying degrees also avoiding products such as leather and cosmetic items, evading any cruel exploitation of animals.
Some vegans are in it for more than just the animals’ sake though. Studies back up the idea that going vegan can help the entire planet, and help curb the effects of global warming due to the large amount of land and sustenance needed to farm animals for meat, not to mention the CO2 emitted from the animals’ rear ends.
Nothing particularly bastardly about either idea right? Especially considering we live in a culture in which wearing a fur coat is frowned upon, in which you’d happily sever all ties with anyone who even threatens to kick a dog. Vegans are merely acting in the further defence of these animals.
A little bit of respect
Vegans are heading the way of Nickelback on the internet, becoming more of an internet joke every day. That’s not to say that there aren’t communities on the internet that are pro-vegan, in fact, large supportive vegan communities thrive on the internet. But on popular social channels, the largely harmless vegan baiting leaks into reality, and the disdain for vegans grows ever larger.
I’m not proposing we do a Justin Bieber and embrace vegans like a prodigal son risen from the dead (but seriously though Bieber’s new album is fire). You don’t have to love vegans. You don’t even have to like them. But it probably wouldn’t kill us to respect them. Especially considering a lot of vegans are standing up for the same values many of us would march in the streets for, namely action against climate change.
Laugh at vegan jokes. They’re usually pretty funny. But don’t let the joke take ownership of the concept. Let the joke open doors to a conversation about the issue, not shut it down.
Maybe also find it in yourself to listen to one Nickelback song.
Haha I’m kidding, they’re terrible.
…
Originally posted at The Vocal by Cameron Nicholls
