The media are clowns. Give them anything with the word ‘vegan’ in it, and they make a circus act out of it. Vegans are the one group left that they can write and talk as much shite about as they want with impunity. Slagging off anyone else in the same way would get them immediately accused of hate speech and being (fill in the gap)phobic. The lure of being ridiculously entertaining in what they write about Vegans is clearly too much to resist.
The latest vegan scandal – and the media do love a vegan scandal – has The Otago Daily Times expostulating “Vegan Slams Cancer Walk Sausage Sizzle”. Followed by opening paragraph in the ensuing article “A Queenstowner is sizzling with rage that a cancer charity-organised walk gave away potentially cancer-causing sausages at the finish line.”
Not to be outdone, The Daily Mail (Australia) claims “Furious Vegan Flies into a Rage at Charity Sausage Sizzle because ‘processed food causes cancer’ “. And “Vegan lashed out at Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand over sausage sizzle”. And “Bridget Murphy compared eating sausages to smoking cigarettes in her rant”
The thing is, when I spoke to Bridget Murphy, there was no slamming, no raging, no lashing out, no fury, and no ranting that she remembers. Her friends are now teasing her about wanting to see some of that vegan rage she has so far kept hidden from them. It appears that the media might possibly have just – gasp! – made those bits up. Surely not! What would they do that for? Oh yeah, that’s right – because it’s about Vegans. Bridget admits that one exchange briefly got a bit testy between her and the Breast Cancer Foundation’s research and communication manager, Adele Gautier. The exchange happened when Bridget questioned Adele about the wisdom of having a sausage sizzle at a cancer charity event, when the World Health Organisation has identified processed meats as being carcinogenic.
Now, that seems like a reasonable question from a thinking person, Vegan or not. However, surprisingly it wasn’t received very warmly, and was brusquely defended by Adele claiming that the World Health Organisation says a little bit is okay. Quick as a flash, Bridget came back with “What, so we can get a little bit of cancer?” I rather like that response – but Adele didn’t.
Apart from the headlines and opening paragraphs, the articles in all the media publications were written in a reasonable tone. In fact, apart from the headlines and opening paragraphs, the article appears to have been copied and pasted by all the media publications. Which would suggest that no-one from those media publications was actually at the event, only the person who originally wrote and supplied the article. Yet somehow, the media reported that Bridget slammed, raged, lashed out, got furious, and ranted. Clearly, the media are not just clowns, but are clairvoyants, as well (no disrespect to clowns and clairvoyants). Or, maybe when it comes to Vegans, they’re just bullshit artists, pure and simple. Who’da thought?
Interestingly, none of the media had a go at the Breast Cancer Foundation for having carcinogenic food at a cancer charity event. Nope, only the Vegan got a going over, for daring to mention it. Like all organisations that push meat and junk food – or, am I getting confused, and they are one and the same thing? – the Breast Cancer Foundation similarly trots out the ‘balanced diet’ line. Make no mistake, the ‘balanced diet’ line is just cleverly thought up propaganda that enables food that is no good for us to get pushed onto us. There’s nothing wrong with the premise of a balanced diet, but it also is wide open to ‘interpretation’. I have a huge amount of admiration for marketing and advertising execs, because they can mess with our minds like nothing else. I can’t help but admire that kind of evil genius, in a backhanded kind of way.
Back to the media, though. Once again they dog-whistled up the vegan-haters, and like well-trained dogs, the vegan-haters responded. Vegans had a bit of argy-bargy amongst themselves, too, as often happens – lol! Here’s the thing, every bit of sensationalism you read in the media about Vegans has to be taken with a grain of salt. To paraphrase an old saying: how do we know the media are lying about Vegans? Because they’re writing about Vegans.
Vegan slams cancer walk sausage sizzle – Otago Daily Times
https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown/vegan-slams-cancer-walk-sausage-sizzle
Vegan slams cancer walk sausage sizzle – Mountain Scene, Queenstown News
Furious vegan flies into a rage at charity sausage sizzle – Daily Mail Australia
Header pic: Bridget Murphy.
A B'Older Vegan 
Nothing sets off a person more than veganism. One of the perks of being vegan is to witness the measure of indoctrination. It gives us a glimpse at the leviathan we face. And an appreciation for our freedom to think for ourselves. And, it’s fun to piss off people. Early on, I remember when I told my sister I was vegan. Shocked me more than her to watch her countenance fill with this barely suppressed appall. Though it’s hard to grasp the scope of mind control (our own included), I knew then, better than before, that some vile entity had control beyond my comprehension. I’m speaking of the makers of propaganda, of course. And possibly something paranormal, or alien, who knows.
My daughter’s a vegan who recently recovered from leukemia. During her treatment, doctors remarked on how well her recovery progressed. One attributed it to her vegan diet. But my point is relevant to your post. There were no vegan dishes on the hospital menu. When she brought this to one nurse’s attention, he said, you have to realize, this is what the people who are in here eat. Meat. And of course, it sustains the industry. Healthy people, like world peace, are a poor investment.
On the whole, the more you understand, the more you realize, we’re not a very intelligent species, but we are one easily manipulated. Give ’em credit for that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It staggers me that people would rather be sick, or go Paleo (and then get sick), than become Vegan. As you say, the indoctrination of animal-eating has been seared into our very DNA – well, not Vegans’ DNA, obviously. There are a handful of people in the world who can look beyond the hype (of anything) to something else, and I call these people the change-makers of the world. Vegans are amongst these. Speaking of change – have you seem The Game Changers?
I like to write these blogs exposing the media’s bullshit about Vegans, because so many Vegans – and non-Vegans – believe what is written. Then there is always some dissension in the vegan ranks about the ‘bad Vegan’ showing up other other Vegans. I personally don’t give a rat’s arse about that, but I like to encourage people to get a bit discerning about what they do and don’t believe in the media, especially about Vegans.
I’m glad your daughter recovered. I have no doubt that her vegan diet helped. I realise that it’s not a magic bullet, but it sure does seem to help.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I nearly died in 1975 from an illness first diagnosed as the flu, then appendicitis, then peritonitis then shrugs. The underlying disease, Crohn’s, was rare at that time, they recommended eating more beef as a wise preventative strategy. A long story later — a vegan diet, still considered to be folly by most physicians, turned the tide. Conventional wisdom is very often well stuffed with erroneous crap.
Advertisers who lost valuable accounts in the tobacco industry found valuable accounts in Big Meat.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Funny how a vegan diet seems to help most conditions. I’m not saying that it’s a magic bullet, but it certainly seems to help. Except for those whose bodies “just need meat” of course – lol!
LikeLiked by 2 people
— for those whose bodies “just need meat” — reminded me of this advice (ad vice?):
LikeLike