"I knew that thing about little minds and foolish consistency and hobgoblins. I wanted to enjoy my one life on this planet, so sometimes—arrest me—I did eat butter."
Vegans don't avoid butter from some arbitrary rule. They do so because they reject the commodification of animals. They refuse to support an industry where cows are repeatedly forcibly impregnated, separated from their calves, and slaughtered the moment they stop producing milk.
I see commitments with another angle. Heres few stances that I don't buy in, but still arguably true (exemples might be wrong but I hope you get the idea):
- a monogamous person that cheat their partner a few times is polygamous or polyamorous.
- a Muslim that drink alcohol once isn't Mulsim
- a Catholic that didn't make their confirmation isn't Catholic
- an altruistic that bought a commodity made by child or slavery-close (think fashion industry in Bangladesh or child labour for minerals in batteries) isn't altruist
- a soldier that fight for freedom by removing others freedom to live in peace
Understanding others comes from genuine interest in their actions and motivations. The names they give themselves is just a brand, a word they choose to define what they are proud of or believe in, even if they don't strictly follow the precepts.
> "sometimes [...] I did eat butter" is not different that the muslim that did drink alcohol. If I try put to myself in their shoes I could easily see the world around is full of alcohol and butter, from supermarkets to friends parties to advertisement to (for most vegans) family traditions... Those person believe in what they're doing: believe in god, avoiding cruelty, avoiding adultery. The fact they don't all apply it with absolute perfection simply reflects the reality of human existence: how fallible human being are. In the concrete exemple of the post, I give her credit by guessing she loves so much butter that stopping it entirely would make her miserable - which isn't the goal of veganism. Perhaps she even reduce her better consumption by 90% which is already a huge step in regards of her goal.
A side note on definitions. Some likes to highlight absurdity or contradiction of veganism in general. That is a fools (no offense) take:
A. no human is perfect (see above).
B. judging someone without trying to understand their motivation closed mindset and no curiosity.
C. veganism "mouth/dictionary" definition is very reductionist of how vegans think about it. Here's a more concrete definition by The Vegan Society:
> Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals
Vegans don't avoid butter from some arbitrary rule. They do so because they reject the commodification of animals. They refuse to support an industry where cows are repeatedly forcibly impregnated, separated from their calves, and slaughtered the moment they stop producing milk.
Interesting article, but she was never vegan.