"On how he feels about vegetarians: I respect them, just not in our restaurants…"
Ok, there is so much hatred in this line.
I am a vegetarian. I like good food, but most of my friends will most likely differ with regards to what they consider as "good food". But you see, I love those great conversations that can happen only over a dinner table, overlooking a busy bustling street full of new york, or by the window on the ocean front watching the sun move into the sea.
Some of us can not eat non-vegetarian food because we were brought up like that(I grew up in India). Some people think that it takes a lot of discipline and political liberalism to be a vegetarian. Fact is I cannot bring myself to swallow a piece of meat anymore than a regular American can bring herself to eat dog meat or grass hopper fries. I will throw up, it has nothing to do with conscious thought, its faar past that point.
Most of the time, when a bunch of people go to a dinner at a restaurant, I always tag along. I almost never have an opinion as to which place to go to, because I know I wont like the food anyway. But I tag along. And yes, I will ask this chef dude to pick out the meat, not out of dis-respect for what he does, but because I want to be with my friends, because I love conversations and sunsets.
I didn't really feel the hatred that you feel. As a vegetarian as well, I have come to terms with the fact that I will not be able to have the same experience that the people I go out with will have, but it is selfish to believe that people should cater to your needs and beliefs. Vegetarianism is a choice I made and my friends should not have to sacrifice their time or happiness to cater to mine. I just got back from vacation and eating was actually not that enjoyable because almost every restaurant served mainly seafood so I was left to eat various side dishes (most not too healthy). Chang is targeting a certain market and group of people and he said himself that it is NY and there are many other specialty restaurants for people to eat. Enjoy all the things that go along with the meal and experience, and then get your fill after or someone else. To expect that every place cater to your beliefs or lifestyle is selfish and he said he respects vegetarians, what more could you want?
He didn't say he respects vegetarians, he said it as part of a sentence.
Jon Stewart has a nice discussion about such sentences. In particular he analysed one form of statement which made things very clear. The form was "I think your <relationship> is a <expletive>, no disrespect". Just because you tag all your statements with "no disrespect" doesn't mean you are not actively hostile and disrespectful.
Where did I say that people have to cater to my beliefs and lifestyle. I know language has limitations when it comes to communication. But I am really astounded as to how you came to this interpretation of what I said.
Let me write it again: My friends go to this place, I tag along because I want to be with my friends. Chef dude or friends dont have to be offended - because I am not demanding anything, I am saying please please don't mind me, and go ahed and have fun.
> I am saying please please don't mind me, and go ahed and have fun.
You already said you'd make "chef dude" pick out the meat. That requires him to mind you and cater to your lifestyle. He said he won't, that you should eat somewhere else. He's standing behind his food and that should be applauded.
Ok, I am having so much difficulty to get this across, cause I am coming to understand that we come from very different places. So I am gonna keep trying. and then more.
"That requires him to mind you and cater to your lifestyle", when I said that my vegetarianism springs not from conscious thought, you should understand that its no longer a choice for me. Now if this guy stands for his food, I will show you an architect who thinks large obvious parking spaces with blue paint smeared on them makes his beautiful beautiful building look bad. Would you consider going back on disability laws?
Now I am not going to stand and say this is how all vegetarians are. But the fact that I exist and many many more like me, should make you reconsider.
Can't passion for your food, and compassion for a fellow human being co-exist?
If restaurants were required by law to serve vegetarian dishes, you would have a point. But luckily that's not the case. I don't eat sea food, so if friends are going to a sea food restaurant I either opt not to go or make arrangements to eat before or after. It's not a big deal, I am not going to try and have the kitchen whip up something else because I can't deal with their menu.
There are people with serious food allergies, so much so that they will die if they eat certain foods, but restaurants are not required to make available optional dishes for all possible patrons (for you it's veggies, for someone else it's gluten for someone else it's peanuts, etc etc etc). No one can please everyone. If you can't eat the food, just don't go.
"If restaurants were required by law to serve vegetarian dishes, you would have a point."
It wasn't a law to have large obvious blue parking spaces before some one pointed out. Did they not have a point before it became a law? Is anything that is illegal at this point in time pointless?
I'm a vegetarian too, but I'm not really offended at all. It's a business decision to save time and money because we make up such a small percentage of customers.
This is sort of the same way I feel about computer games. I'm a Mac user and almost all games are only for the PC. I really appreciate Blizzard for making games on the Mac, but I completely understand why there's no native TF2, Portals, or Guild Wars for me =/.
That's like going to a play and turning your back to the stage. It's insulting and disrespectful, stick to restaurants that cater to vegetarians or who don't care about the food they cook.
Thats not like going to a play and turning your back, thats like taking your children to an amusement park, and being happy watching them do the fun stuff and enjoy themselves.
My actions can be interpreted as insulting when infact they are not. This is why I am offering an explanation. Thats how people live in harmony: they intend no harm, and they explain when they are mis-understood.
Ok, there is so much hatred in this line.
I am a vegetarian. I like good food, but most of my friends will most likely differ with regards to what they consider as "good food". But you see, I love those great conversations that can happen only over a dinner table, overlooking a busy bustling street full of new york, or by the window on the ocean front watching the sun move into the sea.
Some of us can not eat non-vegetarian food because we were brought up like that(I grew up in India). Some people think that it takes a lot of discipline and political liberalism to be a vegetarian. Fact is I cannot bring myself to swallow a piece of meat anymore than a regular American can bring herself to eat dog meat or grass hopper fries. I will throw up, it has nothing to do with conscious thought, its faar past that point.
Most of the time, when a bunch of people go to a dinner at a restaurant, I always tag along. I almost never have an opinion as to which place to go to, because I know I wont like the food anyway. But I tag along. And yes, I will ask this chef dude to pick out the meat, not out of dis-respect for what he does, but because I want to be with my friends, because I love conversations and sunsets.