Tag Archives: Ideals

The World’s Worst Vegetarian (or: “Dabid and Food”)

Penguin Dome! Posted on by

I have a confession to make: I am a vegetarian. You may have guessed that already based off my whack-job theory of how to save penguins that this blog is titled for, but if not, there it is.

When I was about 7 years old, my brain made the connection between “chicken” the animal and the “chicken” humans eat and realized what was going on. From literally that moment of horrific epiphany onward, I’ve never eaten another animal in my life.

Maybe it was the fact that I raised myself holding cartoon animals as role models and internalizing their lessons about life and morals, or maybe it’s just that most of my friends growing up were stuffed animals, but the idea of eating some other creature remotely like myself instantly traumatized me.

I try to always tell the truth whenever possible, but I learned early on not to be upfront about disclosing being a vegetarian, because that tends to be a loaded word that rubs people the wrong way. For whatever reason, it’s my experience that when I tell someone I don’t eat meat, they want me to justify myself and explain my values. And, well, I just don’t like to argue about something personal like values.

I’ve had some success in the past telling people who press me on it that eating animals violates my sense of justice, but I think it’s actually more that the notion of it just makes me really sad.

When television presents anthropomorphic pigs and ducks and rabbits to a kid as exemplar bringers of life lessons, it’s hard to conceive of them as lower beings meant to be killed and consumed for unnecessary purposes.

My brother-in-law used to profess how much he loved ducks, so it’s a deep incongruity to me that he’s able to go into restaurants and enjoy eating one. This is the sort of thing about being human I don’t think I’ll ever comprehend.

I try not to tell people I’m a vegetarian unless I have to. I’m not “ashamed” of it exactly, but my impression is that oftentimes people seem to think that they’re being judged or looked down upon when they find out someone else (ie me) is a vegetarian.

Even so, I don’t really get where that belief comes from. I’ve never in my life told anyone they were wrong for eating meat or that they shouldn’t, and I like to think I’m about as non-threatening presence as exists.

But still, there seems to be a palpable shift in others’ aura or attitudes whenever my sordid status as a non-meat-eater for 30+ years comes to light.

If I’m not trying to force my dietary views on others, I don’t get why they want to argue or push their perspectives on me. I can cook up a Boca Burger without feeling superior to anyone else—I wish everyone could accept that without thinking I want to debate them on their viewpoints or the merits of eating meat.

At some point, I think it permeated the public consciousness that every vegetarian was like a fractionally small group of militant PETA nutjobs, and because people are easily swayed to hate those who are different, this was easy and convenient to accept. But thinking every non-meat-eater is a holier-than-thou psycho is akin to thinking every person who identifies as a Republican is a MAGA hat-wearing white supremacist. It’s just not realistic.

It’s implausible to me why anyone would think not eating meat would make me feel “better” than anyone else. Having these feelings that make me a vegetarian aren’t easy and it isn’t fun. It’s a burden. Another barrier that separates me from other people.

It’s not being able to split a pizza with my best friend, not being able to eat at a club or work event if what’s provided isn’t suitable, and being “that person” acquaintances ask where it’s appropriate to go to eat at because of my “dietary restrictions”.

As far as my actual diet goes, I’ve been called “the worst vegetarian on Earth” by multiple people over the years, which I think is sort of weird since I never professed to eat healthily or nutritiously— I just said that I didn’t eat animals.

Growing up, I’d happily subsist on candy, macaroni and cheese, potato chips, crackers and anything similarly full of cheese, starch or sugar I could get my hands on.

As long as I kept my mouth shut and was cheap to feed my parents didn’t really care, and “healthy” was much less of a concern to me than foods having an offensive flavor or texture (like onions).

Once I went off to college and had better access to a variety of foods, my diet minimally evolved.

So what do I actually eat as an adult? As a general rule, if an entree is not something you’d find on a kids’ menu (or the veggie equivalent), I won’t eat it. So thumbs up to grilled cheese, fries, veggie burgers (with just ketchup and no other junk on them) and cheese pizza, but thumbs down to salads, pizzas with “toppings”, wraps, vegetable sandwiches, chili, etc. Baked goods and desserts are workable as well. (I also have a profound weakness for “limited edition” junk foods and sodas, but that’s neither here nor there.)

So, in conclusion: No, I don’t eat animals, nor do I eat healthily. Yes, being vegetarian sucks, but it’s what I’m wired to be nonetheless. And no, I don’t want to talk about it any further. So leave me alone to eat a ludicrous amount of Skittles and continue cheering for the roadrunner to elude the coyote and live another day.

The Hero That Saves Everyone (or: “Dabid’s Ideals: I”)

Penguin Dome! Posted on by

There have been several ideas and principles that I’ve picked up from media—usually video games or anime—that have permeated my brain and become core beliefs and permanent parts of my personality. Over the course of this year of entries, I want to make sure that I touch upon what those ideals are and what they mean to me. Because while some people can write these off as being merely elements of stories and fictional concepts, they’re as real and important to me as anything others might glean from their chosen religions or philosophies.

And the first one of these that I want to look at comes from an anime that I don’t especially love, but that had an impact on me nonetheless: Mobile Suit Gundam AGE. Taking place in three time periods over about half a century, Gundam AGE follows the exploits of three generations of a mobile suit pilot’s family over the course of an interplanetary war.

The young hero of the first act of the series is Flit Asuno, a boy who hears a story about a Gundam referred to as “the hero who saves everyone” (which I believe has been translated into “a savior” officially, but I like the translation I heard first infinitely more).

Optimistic and idealistic, Flit wants to emulate the legendary hero and become a savior himself that protects everyone—until experiencing violent loss and learning about the evils of humanity jades him into a cynical military commander, willing to sacrifice the innocent to achieve an end to the war and the utter destruction of his enemies.

Flit’s descent into obsession and hatred dominates his life and the majority of the series (and is a lesson in its own right), but he eventually does navigate his way through his own bitterness, finding a way to become a true savior that saves both sides in the interplanetary war and unites mankind.

This type of fallen savior character is seen throughout popular media, perhaps most notably through the character of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars. Anakin believes he is fated as the Chosen One to destroy the Sith, end the Clone Wars and bring peace and balance to the Force.

Ultimately, Anakin is driven to evil by grief and loss, as the fear of even one more person dear to him dying is more than he can handle. Anakin eventually finds redemption, but like Flit, it’s only after decades of anger, hate and unquantifiable violence. Even the most kind and benevolent of intentions can lead to traveling down a dark path (okay, yes, and also a Dark Side) if one becomes lost in grief, fear and obsession.

On the flip side, we find characters such as Emma in The Promised Neverland and Uzumaki Naruto in Naruto, characters who also experience loss and hardship, but learn to look beyond themselves and aim to save everyone on every side without faltering. These serve as a good reminder that the same goals don’t necessarily have to lead to the same end–that circumstance, individual choice and personal integrity influence an outcome as well.

There are plenty of other examples of this character archetype that I could draw upon from pop culture, but for my purposes, these are enough of an illustration of a concept that I have absorbed and fully bought into: The Hero That Saves Everyone.

Whether it’s some wild rabbits living in our neighborhood, a friend I’m worried is suffering silently or a random person I know on the Internet that I fear is being consumed by sadness or hatred, I have an overwhelming urge to meddle (unasked for) and try to “save” others.

Sometimes this resolve bewilders other people; sometimes it makes me become fixated and frustrated; sometimes this compulsion makes other humans really angry with me. But no matter how much I try to, it’s an ideal that I just can’t seem to get past.

And that brings us to the title of this blog, which happens to be what I consider to be the best idea of my life…