h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I mentioned to an acquaintance this morning that I was getting ready for a little get-together tomorrow evening and that the haggis was waiting in the fridge.

'That's gross!'

Thinking this was just the usual North American reaction to this particular member of the pudding race, I repeated the words of my friendly neighborhood sausage maker:

'This is a Highland Haggis: sirloin, a bit of beef liver, a bit of beef heart.' and I added 'No lungs at all'.

'That's disgusting. that's why I'm a vegetarian'


'Oh,' I thought, and then asked 'do you drink milk?'

'Yes'

'What do you think happens to the milk cows when they get old?'

'I don't know.'

'Mcdonalds hamburgers. Do you eat eggs?

'Yes'

'What do you think happens to the chickens when they get old.'


She didn't want to hear any more.

Was I rude to point out some potential moral problems with here chosen dietary position?

I think not, and here is why: If I had known she was a vegetarian, I might not have mentioned the haggis. As it happened, *her* reaction to my innocent mention of the pudding was to quite rudely (I think) suggest that a dish I quite enjoy is disgusting and, with her apparently moralistic statement that such disgustingness was the reason for her own dietary choice she implied that my enjoyment of haggis was, if not absolutely immoral, at least disgusting and not disgusting because of its ingredients at the organic or specific level, but at the kingdom level.

If she had simply mentioned in conversation that she were a vegetarian, I would not have brought up the fate of milk cows and laying hens.


I am quite willing and able to confront the ethical implications of my dietary (and other) choices on my own. I would prefer that others not make moral pronouncements for me, particularly when those pronouncements are made from an incompletely examined position.

No.




A bit acerbic perhaps. But not rude, per se

acerbic? moi?



that's a first.

not sure. Would probably depend on the tone you took, whether it was aggressive or passive.
You were imparting information on the subject of conversation which she had started. Her initial rudeness doesn't factor into it I don't think.

Quite entitled to say what you said though, regardless of social convention.

BTW, on the haggis front, sounds like they may be put on the endangered species list

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/businessBulletin/bb-02/bb-08-30f.htm

"That the Parliament notes with concern that the Food Standards Agency has made a formal request to the European Commission to ban the use of sheep's intestines across the European Union without any acknowledgement of its unique role in Scotland's national dish, the haggis"

doesn't make it clear if this is all hagis or maybe limited to the clockwise or anticlockwise subspecies.

Well, it is the sheep's 'stomach' that is involved, after all. Can the stomach really be construed as the 'intestine'? what's so special about the intestine?

to which Gregory responds:

'Well, obviously, this is not meant to be taken literally. It refers to any portion of the sheep's digestive tract.'

Nonsense (you aren't rude). If she is offended by other people eating meat she should keep it to herself and not be rude herself. You have just as much right to offended by her dietary choices. I only have problems with unrepentant carnivores when they try to change my mind about my dietary choices. Each to their own and devil take the hindmost!

Was she wearing leather? Does she drink wine which is filtered with charcoal from animal bones (most is)? Does she eat winegums that are made from animal by-products (most are)? Does she eat cheese that is made with animal rennet? Or is she an ovo-lacto-pescavegetarian? Bah! I say and Bah! again.

Personally I'd run her out of town.

Rude ? Not by your standards. But I've generally found that the people with the strongest, and least easily defended, opinions are usually those most easily offended.

I've been working on a customer site, and they regularly update the menu to reflect national or international holidays - I was hoping to be there today as they would have had haggis on for Burns night, with neeps & tatties.

They also had haggis on for St Andrews day - but when I got to the counter, it was battered ! I felt this may be too much abuse for my arteries and side-stepped it.

Sorry about schlepping in like this, saw the conversation title in INFO and popped across for a nose.

I agree: each to their own devil; I'll take the hindmost.

I have no interest in trying to change people's dietary choices (unless, hypothetically, I notice someone damaging their health through their health choices, and then i would perhaps offer polite suggestions rather than actually getting aggressive)

battered haggis! Now I know what to do with the leftovers!

Throw a Mars bar in the batter and deep fry it as well. As far as I know, uniquely Scottish....or at least Northern British.

I'm ever so tired of people defending their carnivorous ways when all I do is say I don't eat meat (not entirely true anymore as now I eat game). Why must people think that my habits are an attack on their way of life??

Eat!! Drink!! and be Mary!! For tomorrow the dresses have to go back!!

'I'm ever so tired of people defending their carnivorous ways when all I do is say I don't eat meat'



The shouldn't have to defend their ways (certainly, I'm sure, not against you) and you shouldn't have to defend your ways, either.

Perhaps their defensiveness is an indication that they feel a little guilt about chewing on Wilbur, or perhaps they have a feeling somewhere that they *should* be like you but they doubt their own will-power, or, perhaps a million other things.

As I said to my vegetarian neighbor this afternoon after relating the haggis story to her, I make my own decisions on what I am comfortable eating and accept the ethical implications that may be involved: I don't need to be told 'that's disgusting, that's why I'm a vegetarian' by someone who, apparently, has not considered the ethical implications of their own decision.


(please note that the 'acquaintance' of the first post is not the 'neighbor' of this post.)

Of all arguments in favour of moral regulations, "It's disgusting!" must surely be the worst. No?

TRiG.

Indeed. Disgusting, actually.

I feel it is necessary to tell you I first read the thread title as, "was I nude?"

was I nude?


Only while preparing to sell a shiny kettle on ebay.

...........must..........make...........picture............in head..........go............away!!

here are some more such pictures for your head: http://www.snopes.com/photos/risque/kettle.asp

As you were told, Disgusting!

Well, the Burns Dinner went very nicely, and the word 'disgusting' was not uttered by any of the diners.


Must sleep.