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I am not even sure why I am posting this here. It's not really a subject that is popular, but I just need to get this off my back. For the past decade I have been vegan. For me it was partly for my health and also what I considered ethical reasons. I have always known vegans are going to be seen as weirdos and somewhat annoying by mainstream but I was always fine with that. I also accepted that my lifestyle would be rejected by my conservative friends. It wasn't easy to walk the walk for my beliefs, but I found a way to make peace with it. Also it didn't turn out to be quite as unpleasant an experience as I thought initially going in. Most of the time people were baffled by my eccentric diet. Some even laughed at me, but one way or another most outsiders were at the very least accepting. As long as I didn't push it on them they were fine. What I found surprising was, people around me including my conservative friends were kind to me, and even changed a few of their own habits only because they saw the benefits I was getting. I was glad for them not because they were fulfilling my ideal fantasy but because they were enjoying the same positive benefits. But then over the past few years, maybe the last five years, something changed. Veganism became really popular with the mainstream left. I was never a preachy vegan because I believe strongly in self expression rather than group conformity. But over the last 5 years as I can tell veganism has lost something essential. It's been hijacked, and has become associated with an entire dogma. I don't know if Veganism may not be accepted by everyone, and I was totally fine with that. Now I am seeing this diet being pushed as the Utopian diet. The bastards on the left have taken something. They have stolen what was a free enterprise, lone individuals had worked hard to build bridges only to have their efforts co-opted by Marxists. I can't tell you how frustrating that is. I am not sure how many people here would even understand where I am coming from but the closest analogy I can think of is like seeing the thing you cared most about stolen from you piece by piece. It's hard to explain how the message you believed in was exploited. I am not sure why I am even posting this. I guess I just didn't really know why I have become so put-off by veganism these days. So I have decided to walk away from the vegan movement entirely. I want nothing to do with their message anymore, because it's being used to serve evil. I will still continue the diet, but that's about it. And I say to everyone here. Eat what you want. I care about animals but I care more about your freedom. Because if other humans are enslaved as a result of helping animals than I am not being consistent with my beliefs. I hope I am making sense.