My response to a rant on one of my vegan lists, where the guy goes off on people who start a cookie recipe with a cup of vegan margarine and condemns people who eat fatty foods:

Here's my rant in response, worth what you paid for it. Note on tone: I'm not angry or saying that you shouldn't post what you want. You have your hot buttons and I have mine. That said:

I believe in joy. I believe in letting people find their joy where they find it. I think if people find joy in buttery cookies, they should be allowed to have buttery cookies without me looking over their shoulders and condemning them. I believe that the stress of facing the Diet Police every time you want to eat a fat gram is bad for your health, so I'm not doing anyone any favors when I scrutinize what they eat.

Treats are called that for a reason -- they're not usually things people eat every day, all the time, and not just because they're "bad for you", but because most people don't *want* to eat cookies all the time. If you went on an all-buttery-cookies-all-the-time diet, and you were not allowed anything else, I guarantee you those cookies would get old fast.

You know how we sometimes have posts here where some new vegan is saying "People keep telling me I need meat to get my protein!" and we tell them to just keep eating what they know is right for them, and never mind what other people think? Well, hey, I don't want to be that diet cop in the other direction. Other adults don't need me shaming them into eating what I think is good for them. They're not stupid, and being treated like they are is, I believe, counterproductive.

People who turn themselves into the dietary conscience of other people annoy the living shit out of me. I have been vegetarian for a total of more than half my life, and I've never seen the point in advocating compassion and health, then turning around and beating people about the head and shoulders with shame and condescension.

There. I feel better now.