Coping?

[Bokor Yukari]

Just curious how you guys cope with being a minority? I and most of my immediate family and a few friends are vegan, but most of the people I meet day to day aren't and in my workplace they are not only meat eaters but pretty active in making fun of veganism and very dismissive/rude. I'm just wondering how everyone finds their way around dealing with people like this in their day to day lives? I'm not doing so great at it lately and it's causing a lot of issues. stressed  

[WithaSunset]

My Husband and I are the only ones that eat Vegetarian/Vegan in a family of Philipino's and Meat family (seems that's all my family eats). At first, it was difficult, They would make claims about eating Animals and what not and I would fight back with proof that it's pointless to kill and then consume a living being. That didn't really work, so I firmly made my point that this is how I am choosing to live my life, and they can kindly take it and shut up. It took a while, but it adjusted.

I find that firmly stating your opinion without shaming the other party, and then moving on from the teasing tends to land a larger impact. Just don't show that it bothers you. Be firm and confident without letting the heart of our reasons out.  

[WithaSunset]

I usually use facts with them. Such as "the human body only needs around 30 grams of protein a day"

"And every large animal that they consume gets their protein from the plants and grasses their diet relies on. I'm going to the source and taking out the middle man."

OR lines like " You eat all the same vegetables I do. I've seen you eating salads, broccoli, and other such things. I just don't consume animals."

Those are comments if they're being super snarky with me, or they actually have questions about the protein. (Which is a ridiculously common question.) I don't know how many times I've had protein conversations with my mother in law (which my inlaws have switched to vegan in the last couple months)

But the best thing you can do is just stand strong with your morals and actions. Be firm with your responses, and if you have HR contact them and let them know you are being harassed at work.
I also found that not letting them see it bothers me was also a huge deterrent for them. I just shrug, make my comment back to them, and change the topic.

Each person is different, so, I know every reaction is different. I grew up in an argumentative household so I've learned behaviors I don' even know I have. Saying this, I imagine that body language is also apart of deterring your zombie pests.

From a song I listened to as a kid "Love me or Hate me, it's still an obsession"