You're so brave/strong/etc.

I really do not understand why this even comes up. So many times have I told people about my veganism, or heard stories of others doing the same, only for the person to say "You're so strong!" or something along those lines. I understand that this person is just wrapping their head around the idea of veganism, the idea of giving up some convenience for some principles, and that if you've never really been vegan it does seem like a gargantuan choice with lots of struggle, but, really....

it's not.

Are you strong for not enslaving another human being even though it would be easier for you to have someone else do all your work?

Does it take courage and grit for you to not use gender epithets (e.g. slut, skank) even though other people around you may do so?

I don't wake up in the morning biting my lip, thinking about all the challenges I've brought upon myself for being vegan, glad I've got moral steel instead of mere moral fiber.

I just wake up. I wake up and live my life in line with my ethics, square against the things I think are wrong and cruel and shameful, celebrating the things I think are good and true and beneficial for the world. That's all I do. That's what veganism means to me, and it's not hard at all.
It seems hard to non-vegans simply because it doesn't seem ethically necessary to them. It seems difficult to me to, say, never wear the color green because one thinks it's unethical. I can't wrap my head around why wearing green would be morally wrong, so, to me, it seems unnecessary, overly hard, and I think a person committed to not wearing green would indeed need some fortitude. Same thing with being vegan! An omnivore can never truly step into a vegan's pleather shoes (without ceasing to be an omnivore), so the task of consuming absolutely ZERO animal products might seem daunting, but for us it's the exact opposite. It's just what we do. Hell, it would take strength for me to not be vegan! It might be more convenient, sure, but silencing my conscience would take pounds, tons, endless amounts of strength, far far more than being vegan ever would.

So what, do you just like, eat salads?

Almost every vegan I know has gotten this question, and then thoroughly and practically answered it by ordering sesame veggies with the Thai basil vegetables, or the tempura vegetables with the sauteed mushrooms, or the garlic-fried green beans, or the pasta puttanesca, or the...

Well, you get the point.

While some vegans love salads, others absolutely hate them. I'm somewhere in-between: I like salads, but I'm very picky about them. They have to be just so. No sweet stuff except for balsamic vinegar. They must have green leafy vegetables and some sort of allium ground vegetable. They cannot have too much oiliness. And, of course, vegan.

Verdict: Easier to serve me a plate of fruit, nuts, and sea vegetables. For other vegans, it'll be pasta, bruschetta, cole slaw, grilled portabellas, or whatever else that's vegan.

So go easy on yourself and skip the salad - make them something else. A vegetable pot pie will usually work - you can find lots of easy recipes for them on the Internet (which you obviously have if you're reading this). If all else fails, go to the vegan themselves and ask them, what do you like? I guarantee that there will be something that's easy to cook, cheap, and readily available. By ignoring the vast amounts of information at your fingertips, you're practically guaranteeing that the vegan in your life will be difficult to cook for!

"You're so brave!"

Whenever I hear this, really, it makes me want to be violently ill. Is the state of our world really so terrible that no one stands up for what they believe in anymore? But to the point...

Yes. Yes I am.

I am brave to be vegan in the face of a world of humans that tells me, "It's not natural," "You're going to starve," "You're a freak," "What? That's crazy!" "I could never do that," "Oh, I forgot to order the vegan meal for you," "You're a self-righteous fanatic," "You're a terrorist," and, yes, "Oh, you're so brave!" (Usually followed by, "I could never do that...")

Shit yes I'm brave to face off to that from nearly everyone I meet. Shit yes I'm brave to face off against the FBI, CIA, whatever organisation it is that's calling us terrorists these days. Shit yes I'm brave to face off against hunters (note, they're armed).

You know why I'm brave enough to face ridicule, loss of food, even imprisonment?

Because I know...

If I don't do this, someone will get hurt.

Or rather, because I am not doing something, it is:

If I do the opposite (using animals), someone will get hurt.

Yes. So they're "just animals". So what? You're "just" a human to them. Why shouldn't I look at it from their point of view rather than yours? Their lives are infinitely more worthy of existence than yours to their point of view.

In a world where hundreds of millions of animals are slaughtered and abused every day, I can do no less. In a world where millions of animals are force-fed, in a world where millions of animals are starved, in a world where millions of animals are beaten, in a world where millions of animals have their throats slit for no other crime than being born into the wrong body - every day - I can do no less.

So think about why you admire me, and instead of hanging by the sidelines, get in there. Learn. See. Hear. You'll become brave too.

Shit yes I'm brave.

You're so brave!

It's inevitable that this one comes up at some point during the discussion. In fact, I'd say it's one of the most common misperceptions about being or going vegan: that it requires this great amount of will power, or that you're doing something difficult or self-sacrificing. I would like to address this issue, because I find it to be problematic.

1. First and foremost, it's not hard to do. With the amount of food available to me, for the asking, I'd hardly call what I'm doing difficult. In fact, seemingly by magic, food turns up at the grocery store all ready for me to buy. I rarely have to worry about spoiled food (unless I left it in the fridge too long), nor do I have to walk a few kilometres to access my food. It's right there at the nearest store, and Steve has a car that can get us to that store and back. We're not living in my grandfather's time, where there was no refrigeration, and food had to be purchased daily—at the market which is five kilometres away—or the family would starve. Not only did he have a family of seven to feed (himself, wife, five children), he also had to go to his work and cook the food himself as well. I don't live in a developing nation, where such things as regular access to food is a big deal. This is hardly a difficult lifestyle here, folks. Let's keep things in perspective, hmm?
   
2. Secondly, it's not hard to cook the food either. Again, I point to the fact that I live in a country where I have a gadget to do pretty close to anything I want done. I have a food processor to chop, slice and mince my vegetables, leaves, herbs, and beans to exactly the size I want. I have a bread maker to make fresh loaves of bread whenever I want them. The yeast that I use is premeasured into little packages that are perfect for one loaf of bread. I've got both a single burner gas stove, and a four burner electric stove. My oven works very efficiently. My blender can do a number on some oil, acid, and herbs for salad dressings. I have a crock pot, where I can dump dried beans, and come out with cooked at the end of a work day. I never have to babysit the programmable little dream. Again, not that hard, people. I remember my mother spending all that time with her knife, her cutting board, and pots and pans just to get a meal on the table.
   
3. Furthermore, since when is living according to your principles considered hard? When I was a Hindu, nobody thought me "brave" or "heroic" for avoiding cow's flesh; it was simply assumed that since it's my morals, it's normal for me to follow it. Similarly, my Jewish, Muslim, and Christian friends don't get equal praise for following their respective religions; for them, it's merely their way of life. If you can accept a Muslim person's avoiding pig's flesh, why is it so hard to understand that I'm doing the same when I avoid the products of all animals? Sure, Muslims don't need pig's flesh to live, but neither do I need the products of torture to live a fulfilling life. Is there some part of this I'm missing here?
4. Willpower. If you know me, you know very well that I lack it utterly and completely. It's not a question of willpower. It's a question of knowing what I know, and being unable to un-know.
   

What I'm trying to get at with all of this is that I'm not this saint for following what I know to be right. I'm not a martyr, I'm not making huge sacrifices, and what I'm doing is certainly not difficult. I appreciate the sentiment, because it shows that people to recognise that I'm doing something important by holding true to my values. That being said, it's certainly not hard!