Even if it's not religiously sanctioned (like in India) the unnatural tendency towards vegetarianism brings out irrational antipathy towards normal eaters. The annoying rejections one encounters during rental house hunt in India is a case in point.
On a different note, Gandhi needed endorsement for his Jain influenced vegetarianism and non-violence principles (as true Indian identity markers) from the people who he thought had reached the pinnacle of human civilization. He obviously found his support from similar faddist crackpot quarters in the UK.
My experience as former vegetarian is the opposite: omnivores, specially those with strong preference for meat, show marked antipathy or mockery for the vegetarian option. However here it's a minority option and not sanctioned by any religious belief.
ReplyDeleteWe do mock but don't discriminate. Some of us go out of our way to accommodate these specimens. But I think it's mainly because of 'shame' associated with impure meat eating as they subscribe to the caste purity-pollution rules.
ReplyDelete