When non-vegans "Double Down"
"Doubling Down" describes a certain kind of behaviour I have seen a lot of since becoming vegan. Basically, it's when a non-vegan, confronted with someone who is vegan, feels the need to assert their commitment to animal cruelty in an exaggerated way. It manifests itself in a number of ways, which I'll try to describe.
The first (and possibly worst) is when you tell someone you're vegan, or you are eating with them and you order a vegan meal, and they say something to the effect of "I'll guess I'll have to eat even more meat", or, "I'll have to have extra bacon then!" I think non-vegans think it's funny to say stuff like this, but if you dig a little deeper, it's pretty sick.
If I told a non-vegan that I'd rescued a dog from a fire, they would never say "Well I guess I'll have to go burn two dogs then!" Similarly, if you told someone you had adopted a cat from a shelter, they wouldn't tell you they were going to go out and kill a cat to compensate for it. And yet, when you tell people you don't eat animals, which is an act of compassion, many of them feel compelled to "Double Down", and state that they will not only continue to eat animals, but will eat more of them, presumably to demonstrate how absurd they think it is to be vegan. It's difficult for me to think of any other situation in which the response to someone doing a good thing is to pronounce you will have to do more of a bad thing. But this is what vegans face all the time.
Here's another situation in which I have seen non-vegans "Double Down"; at dinner parties and get togethers. Now, I'm always happy when there's a vegan option at gatherings. And I suppose that having something, even if it is just one dish, for your vegan guests to eat fulfills the minimum obligation of a host. But more than once, I've been to gatherings where it was very clear that although there was a dish for the vegan guest, there was no way in hell the hosts were going to eat any of it themselves.
At various times, I've had guests over for dinner in my own home that were on gluten free diets, had food intolerances, allergies etc. Never have I prepared a dish just for them and prepared a different dish for myself and my family. I always make a meal that everyone can enjoy together so nobody feels excluded or is made to feel embarrassed about their dietary needs. And even at other peoples parties and gatherings, usually everyone will happily eat the food whether it is gluten free or peanut free or whatever. But there is something about veganism that can so anger some non-vegans, that although they might prepare and serve vegan food for their guests, they will make a point of refusing to eat it themselves just to show what the really think of your diet. I swear there are people who would never eat an apple again if you told them it was vegan.
Do you have any examples of non-vegans "doubling down" on their commitment to hurting animals? Let me know in the comments!
The first (and possibly worst) is when you tell someone you're vegan, or you are eating with them and you order a vegan meal, and they say something to the effect of "I'll guess I'll have to eat even more meat", or, "I'll have to have extra bacon then!" I think non-vegans think it's funny to say stuff like this, but if you dig a little deeper, it's pretty sick.
If I told a non-vegan that I'd rescued a dog from a fire, they would never say "Well I guess I'll have to go burn two dogs then!" Similarly, if you told someone you had adopted a cat from a shelter, they wouldn't tell you they were going to go out and kill a cat to compensate for it. And yet, when you tell people you don't eat animals, which is an act of compassion, many of them feel compelled to "Double Down", and state that they will not only continue to eat animals, but will eat more of them, presumably to demonstrate how absurd they think it is to be vegan. It's difficult for me to think of any other situation in which the response to someone doing a good thing is to pronounce you will have to do more of a bad thing. But this is what vegans face all the time.
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| Good example of the childish need for non-vegans to "Double Down"! |
Here's another situation in which I have seen non-vegans "Double Down"; at dinner parties and get togethers. Now, I'm always happy when there's a vegan option at gatherings. And I suppose that having something, even if it is just one dish, for your vegan guests to eat fulfills the minimum obligation of a host. But more than once, I've been to gatherings where it was very clear that although there was a dish for the vegan guest, there was no way in hell the hosts were going to eat any of it themselves.
At various times, I've had guests over for dinner in my own home that were on gluten free diets, had food intolerances, allergies etc. Never have I prepared a dish just for them and prepared a different dish for myself and my family. I always make a meal that everyone can enjoy together so nobody feels excluded or is made to feel embarrassed about their dietary needs. And even at other peoples parties and gatherings, usually everyone will happily eat the food whether it is gluten free or peanut free or whatever. But there is something about veganism that can so anger some non-vegans, that although they might prepare and serve vegan food for their guests, they will make a point of refusing to eat it themselves just to show what the really think of your diet. I swear there are people who would never eat an apple again if you told them it was vegan.
Do you have any examples of non-vegans "doubling down" on their commitment to hurting animals? Let me know in the comments!
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