Most people seem to have an impression that all vegans are angry and judgmental about everything. To the extent that I am hesitant to tell people that I am vegan sometimes, even when it is relevant to the conversation or context.

I don’t think that this impression is helped by a very vocal minority of vegans who like to complain about everything and anything. However, judging all of us based on this minority is a bit like judging all christians based on the actions of religious extremists. Most vegans think that extreme vegans are as odd as meat eaters do, trust me. There is a good chance that these extreme vegans would see me as being either just as bad or worse than meat eaters because I don’t react the way they do.

I would consider myself to be representative of most other vegans. I don’t mind talking about why I am vegan or what I use as alternatives but I will only do this when I am directly asked a question about it. I am not going to lash out against something you are doing and I don’t care what you put in your mouth. The fact is I am not going to judge you based on what you eat, all I ask is that you don’t judge me for what I eat.

The fact is, I would love it if the reputation of vegans would be overall more positive (mostly because it would make people less judgmental of me). I think that this is going to take some time to change, and maybe more non-judgmental vegans being vocal to show the world that we are not all angry about everything.