I am a vegetarian
Well, that statement isn't entirely true. Actually I am a pesco-vegetarian, one who eats fish but no land mammals, and I have been for over half of a year now. Hmmmm, that's not entirely true either, I've had exactly one bite of poultry or some other land mammal maybe 5-6 times in the past 6 months, and I had a meatball at my grandmother's when I was home on vacation. And I have eaten a handful of marshmallows in the past few months. So I guess you can call me a pesco-pollo-meatball-marshmallow-itarian. This labeling system can get a little crazy. I feel like a vegetarian, and I have a diet almost completely consisting of vegetables, legumes, fruits, some seafood, and some dairy that is all grown and produced locally or at lest regionally. Also these products are purchased either at farmers markets or the local co-op. But in many circles, I still might not be considered a vegetarian, and sometimes this bothers me. Sometimes I don't feel like part of the club.
This labeling system based on diet is one of many that we give ourselves so that social groups can accept us. Let's see... what am I?
I am a:
White-Male-Straight-Italian-American-Secular-Liberal-Democrat-Cyclist-Accountant-Vegetarian
And look how proud my people are.
Where does this sense of pride come from? Really, if we think about it, it's a feeling of privilege, of feeling that we are better than those who don't meet the same classifications. Why is that ok?
Now, don't get me wrong, it's helpful for my relatives to hear that I am a vegetarian, because then they know that I am not going to eat their baked chicken. And yes for identification purposes I am a white male. But why do we take these general descriptions of ourselves so seriously? How many social problems are caused by doing this?
Before you come at me with an argument for why you are proud to belong to one of these groups, understand that I too get excited because I know the benefits to myself and the earth of being a vegetarian, I know why I am a liberal, and I know that living the cyclists life has many, many advantages. But the thing is that every meat eating, conservative, SUV driving person does as well, and they have their own reasons for thinking that I am wrong. And no matter how foolish I believe those reasons are, they are very personal reasons and who am I to judge them and tell them I am right... everyone has their own truth.
All I'm getting at is that maybe we should stop putting so much weight into these labels and start realizing that we are who we are. I'm not vegetarian, I'm not a pesco-vegetarian, and I'm not a pesco-pollo-meatball-marshmallow-itarian. I'm Sal, and I'm very happy to be me.
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