Veganism is NOT about Perfection

To me, one of the most difficult things to deal with as a vegan, is the endless scrutiny and criticism from not only non-vegans but also fellow vegans themselves. I guess reality is, some of us end up on a pedestal and we look down upon others efforts, contributions and pure reality. That being said, I am not pro meat-eating nor am I praising the animal "welfare" movement. I am simply realizing we are all humans living in a very non-vegan world. Effort is effort regardless how small. Ideally, I want a vegan world. I want you and me and everyone to realize the sentience of animals and to just stop abusing and using animals as if we have the right to do so. But I am also happy small efforts are being made, things like meatless Monday are a great step forward in my eyes.

My biggest difficulty is listening to my fellow vegans, my friends in many circumstances, belittling and outright attacking others for not big things but for small tiny minuet choices. I will say it again, we are vegans living in a very non-vegan world. I, for one, am criticized constantly for things like, palm oil usage, buying Silk (as it's owned by a dairy company), not being raw (which, don't make me say, has nothing to do with animal welfare) and much much more. I feel saddened that in this minority we are apart of, we still can't stick together. Instead we pull out our rods and condemn anyone who isn't perfect in our eyes. No one is perfect, that's right, not even you, not me, nobody. We do what we can. One of my favourite things to say is "veganism is not about perfection, it's about doing the best we can with the resources we have." With that, I want to thank each and every one of you for your efforts, no matter how small. Thank you for giving up meat, for becoming aware of the suffering of animals, for doing meatless Monday's, for switching to soy milk, for trying to make the world a better place. I only hope these small steps will lead to a greater good, that maybe somewhere along the line a light will turn on and veganism will be your answer.

Peace and love