I've achieved a status in life. Not a title or achievement, but a place in time that is my mindset. My attitude. It is obvious to me, which is a good thing I think in that I can actually still assess my own thinking, that I grow (more) irritable easily. There are certain buzzwords, catch phrases or even longer thoughts placed in articles or books that make me furrow my brow, curl my lips downward in a small frown, and utter the "harumph" well known to a grump like myself.
Take, for example, a recent radio broadcast from John Tesch, who hosts a daily broadcast on an Oldies' station. His broadcast is interesting in that he gives little factoids and items that are not necessarily news, but rather tidbits of trivia. During the cast, he noted the percent of the American population that is vegetarian or vegan (which in itself makes me grumpy because these people are not just practicing a lifestyle, but they proselytize as well). Apparently, the population overall is 10% vegetarian or vegan, but when you get below the age of 35, Tesch noted, you get to 15-20% of that demographic is. Consequently, certain phrases in our lexicon which have been around for a period of time are being phased out, deemed insensitive in the animal rights' world. These phrases include: "Bring home the bacon (pay);" "Grab the bull by the horns (take on an issue);" or even, "Horsing around."
I thought as I listened to this and felt my slow burn intensify. My mind said, "How about bullshit?" (Yeah, I said it and spelled it out, get over it.)
It made me wonder, is there a cause or way of life that exists that the followers of which simply just follow it and don't insist on inflicting it on others? If not eating meat is great for you, let the science and such speak to such and eventually maybe people will follow along, or not. It is a choice. Maybe people might consider other "scientific" issues more thoughtfully if the proponents didn't yell so loudly about their enlightenment. So far, though, you can question an issue, and not agree with the proponent and the only joy your disagreement gets you is a barrage of accusations, pronouncements, and even vicious ads that pop up thanks to the surveillance software that's out there picking up on conversations, text messages, posts, thoughts, upcoming thoughts, ideas, and conversations you might have one day.
At my age, I have one advantage, and that's being my age. I can pretend to not hear something, misread it, or have any other combinations of reactions that will deter or deflect any future conversation. People can apologize for me (sorry, you know he's old and grumpy). They can change the topic. Or they can quit speaking and unfriend me (yes, goal accomplished!).
The meat issue certainly explains the new ads that are out there touting new "meatless" products, like sausage, burgers, politics (if meatless means lacking any substance). They are on the airwaves during sport shows, including pro football, which means there is a bit of evangelism going on from this crowd. I wonder if they know the other causes they (given the demographic, it's accurate to guess this) stand for? Meatless requires more product farmed, probably corn and soybeans, which requires more fuel and land plowed. The EPA is currently measuring dust particulates from farming (global warming, another rant for another day), so to produce more product to lower meat consumption (health and global warming advocates combine on this one), we have to produce more carbon and air particles to produce plants meant to lower carbon and dust particles.
The grump doesn't get caught up in all this at a level of knowledge meant for the science minded, we either just like it or not at face value and need no justification. May I just add that the crowd who requires citation or justification by showing evidence is equally annoying as well. There is a certain amount of genius to grumpdom in my humble opinion. There is nothing wrong with having lived a rich and full life to finally achieve a point where we don't have to talk in bland and meaningless phrases, citing research, data, or other such nonsense. I'll see your facts and raise you 20 with my own set of facts and research from opposing journals.
Nope. As for me and my household, we will eat meat (beef, chicken, turkey, sausage, shrimp, and other forms) without apology. I'll watch my own health, you worry about yours. As my dad, the elder grump, would say, "Mind your own damn business."
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