Let me apologize to Viveca for the harsh tone of my email. I reacted to quickly. Although there are vegetarians here in Nashville I know of none. I guess I rely, at this point, on the Vegetarian Society of East Tennessee to be my refuge, via your website and regular email notices. Appreciation to Guy for outlining the complexity of the world in which we function while trying to avoid harming other creatures. It is not possible to do. That would be another reason why I receive comfort and inspiration from your vegetarian society and its activities.
As an indication of how the Vegetarian Society of East Tennessee is an inspiration for me, please check out the attachment. They will start to be put up this week.
Best wishes for 2009. My membership renewal is in the mail.
Bruce
On 1/10/09 3:26 PM, "Guy Wilson" <tnvegan@...> wrote:
Though Bruce has a point, I think you guys need to lighten up a little, especially on your vegetarian apologetics response. Who cares, and why are they spending energy on that? Twenty years ago vacations to Indonesia were popular from Europe and the US that included interviews with living admitted well-documented cannibals, who described the sweet taste of roasted, deep fried, or boiled human flesh that they had enjoyed routinely, all prior to the Indonesian government's purportedly effective suppression of cannibalism beyond the western mountains in the two decades preceding that. Especially popular was discussion through an interpreter with those old folks who had been fond of specialty foods like "pot-boiled thigh of missionary." Lets assume based on the Indonesian government's spun propaganda that Chrysler SUVs are NOT really made by cannibals today, because today Indonesian autoworkers "eat monkeys, not missionaries." Let's assume that's really true. Everyone still agrees that those same cannibals and their offspring are driving rare species of monkeys to extinction by eating them for their food as they busily make most of the products sold in Wal Mart and Target and elsewhere in the US that you consume greedily as you are busy flaring up about the vegetarian / nonvegetarian content of Knox restaurant menus. We are a non-manufacturing information-based economy embracing globalization that is maximizing permissible discharges while minimizing labor via postmodern pseudoslavery of children in developing nations. In parts of Asia in 2009, if you can catch an eight-year old monkey-eating child in a net, you can put her to work in a slave factory making products for US consumption. This is progress. Cannibalism is no longer embraced on paper by any government actively participating in globalization through the World Bank, but beyond that, the rules of consumption are still quite limited, and WE are responsible for our own consumption and the practices of supported cultures, but we are too focused on micro-issues like menus to see the global trends-- now THAT's funny! Don't take this observation too seriously; It is merely intended to point to unfortunate reality that is under your nose. Anyway, am I to assume people in Nashville drive all the way to Knoxiousville just to eat, or is it just to experience our "upwind valley effect" exhaust-fume and TVA-discharge induced high that we get from our extremely poor quality breathing air that is so advertised by EPA? As EPA says on their website, quality of air is quality of life!
--- On Thu, 1/8/09, Viveca Park <vivecapark@...> wrote:
From: Viveca Park <vivecapark@...>
Subject: Re: [Vegetarian Society of East TN] Re: VSET Social on Wed. Jan 14th
To: Vegetarian_Society_of_East_TN@yahoogroups.com, "Laura Broderick" <laurabroderick@...>
Date: Thursday, January 8, 2009, 10:54 PM
Sorry about that. I have to take the blame for posting the menu to the website. It was sent to me with information to post on the website for the dinner social. I wasn't thinking and posted the entire menu.
I have since modified it and (hopefully) removed all traces of meat products.
Viveca
webmaster
----- Original Message -----
From: Bruce Costain <mailto:jainway@...>
To: Laura Broderick <mailto:laurabroderick@...> ; Vegetarian_Society_ of_East_TN@ yahoogroups. com <mailto:Vegetarian_Society_of_East_TN@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 9:55 PM
Subject: [Vegetarian Society of East TN] Re: VSET Social on Wed. Jan 14th
Dear Colleagues in Non-harming and Health,
Please explain why a vegetarian society would list menu items that involve animal flesh? I can be flexible and understand folks having a social in a place that has both veg and non veg dishes but can't understand the advertisement of things that are counter to what a vegetarian society represents.
Am I missing something here?
Bruce Costain
Nashville, TN
.