(no subject)

[serene]

Believe me when I say that Dr. John McDougall was, when I first encountered him more than twenty years ago, a reasonable voice for low-fat vegan eating as a way to treat heart disease. I'm not a sucker, and he was not a crazy insane zealot the way he's become.

He's gone WAY too fucking far.

Comments

[jenhowell.livejournal.com]

I don't know - I'm sorry that you find it offensive, and sorry that your friend finds it offensive and my comment offensive, but I just see it differently.

It's not just the vegan issue, either. I just don't necessarily feel as strongly about talking about, manipulating dead people in this way, especially when they were celebrities.

It's not that no one close to me has ever died. My mom died when I was 20 and it had a big impact on me. I just don't think Russert himself can be hurt by these words or ideas. It's possible that those close to him could be hurt by them and that's unfortunate, but there's really no getting around being hurt when someone dies in any case, and when someone has been in the public eye, their image becomes fair game, for better or for worse.

I am sorry that you and your friend find it offensive, but ordinary vegans are attacked every day in the media and we're still alive to care about it.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

What about Russert's family? What about the notion of consent? Ordinary vegans may be attacked as a group, but if someone does an "interview" with you and uses your photo, you'd have the right to sue them, and rightly so. This is appalling to me, but I'm done talking about it with you, because you're a person I respect and like, and I don't think we're going to change each other's minds.

[serenejournal.livejournal.com]

(Also, because I'm angry, with McDougall and with you, and I don't think that's the best place for me to come from for discussions like this.)

[jenhowell.livejournal.com]

I think you underestimate your ability to change people's minds. You and your friend both do make good points.

If you feel like you'd rather not talk about it, however, I respect that.

- Jen