Don't ruin this sub please
Hey y'all. So I am throwing out a Hail Mary and hoping we can keep this place chill. But I'm noticing a worrying trend of grievance politics starting to become popular in this sub and I am really not liking this trend.
Let me preface this by saying I am vegan. I have been vegan for 9 years now. I have cried watching documentaries, I have argued with friends and family, I have spent many sleepless night wondering how I can be a better advocate. I will always be vegan.
What I don't like is how grievance politics are starting to infiltrate this sub. Let me explain. Back when I was pretty active in r/vegan I loved finding community. I love dunking on people and proving I was right. I felt like I had found community and understanding......until one day.
One day there was a thread bashing a celebrity for no longer being vegan. Don't get me wrong, I was very upset by it. But what really upset me was the competitive vitriol going on in the sub. Ableist and sexist terms were be thrown at this person, and it was really upsetting to read. So I tried to speak out. How I didn't think that calling a celebrity a "fake mentally ill Hollywood bitch" isn't productive, nor helping the animals. It was a dogpile, and a viscious one at that.
So when I spoke out against that, most everyone turned on me. Suddenly I was the problem. I was an apologist. An animal abuser. A fake vegan. I was told in no uncertain terms that I am not welcome here, so either agree or leave........it broke me. The only community I had cast me out. I felt so alone being vegan yet again, and it brought me back into a dark headspace. It showed me that this wasn't community.
Maybe I'm too late. Maybe enough grievance politics have already taken over this sub. And the cycle of me losing the only online vegan space I have will be gone.
I'm all for having discussions and commiserating. But if we can't keep it kind and respectful, then what's the point? You can be right and still treat people with decency. I will always maintain that it is better for the animals to be kind, patient, and empathetic, even when it's hard. Even when the other party doesn't deserve it.
So yeah, that's my piece. Maybe it won't matter, but I'm hoping we can truly keep this sub chill.