Thanksgiving was a hot topic for my Vegetarian/Vegan support group. Several members were up in arms over the cruelty of eating turkey and this drummed up several discussion topics. One member shared information about a foundation through which you can "sponsor" a turkey- i.e. purchase it and allow it to live. Several members expressed worry over participating in a Thanksgiving Dinner featuring turkey as a main course. One wents so far as to say that she was angry with her family for eating turkey when she asked them not to. She would be the only vegan at this dinner and she expected her family to change their tradition for her. Two other users suggested that she boycott Thanksgiving dinner or pretend she was sick. This reinforcing behavior definitely contributes to the group polarization I've observed in the group.
Hoping to diffuse some of this isolating and cyclicle thinking, I posted the following response:
"hey onetoomany, i totally agree with you... seeing a roasted turkey absolutely kills my appetite. but i feel so fortunate to have a wonderful and supporting family and i know they would be heartbroken if i didn't attend thanksgiving dinner. i think it's unfair to expect them to change their eating habits just for me when turkey on thanksgiving has been a family tradition for so many years. i plan on bringing my own food and if anyone wants to try, offering them some. my family are all meat eaters, but very accepting of my food choices so it is never a problem. anyway, i think the point of thanksgiving is to enjoy the company of loved ones and be thankful that you are all able to join together. just as my family shows acceptance of my vegetarianism, i will accept their food choices as well. good luck and have a great thanksgiving!"
I didn't receive any responses to my post. I'm assuming this isn't the type of response they wanted to hear.
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