The New York Times' willingness to believe that Ron Paul is a Nazi-lover seems like a symptom of a general willingness to believe that people with extreme political views that you disagree with all hang out together in some big club, where they exchange tips on stamping out liberty, and recipes for Molotov cocktails . Memo to the right: the greens do not hang out with the Maoists1. Memo to the left: the Nazis and the anarcho-capitalists hate each other with a passion seldom found outside a faculty compensation committee meeting. It should be rather obvious from listening to Dr. Paul that he's no crypto-fascist. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go research Dennis Kucinich's links to the Shining Path.
1 Though to be fair, this is partly because no one wants to go to dinner with vegans except other vegans.
oh hahaha! Vegans are Maoists! and Liberals are Fascists! HAHAHA OH HAHHAH!
Omg. You were joking.
The Greens are vegans, and I was one.
You're surprised that the NYT would hastily print something inaccurate about Ron Paul that is fed from a murky perception of how things really are?
hmmm.
'Memo to the right: the greens do not hang out with the Maoists.'
Historically, it was New Deal Democrats who sided with Mao himself. George C. Marshall, as Ambassador to China in 1946, actually threatened to cut off Chang Kai Shek from all American support if he continued to destroy Mao's troops.
I agree with this post but -
While I guess most Greens and Maoists don't hang out with each other, but there is at least a minimal connection, if not to real Maoists, and least to socialists, many Greens are somewhat to very socialist. Nazis and anarcho-capitalists are closer to opposites.
"Memo to the right: the greens do not hang out with the Maoists"
Save in France...
"Greens don't hang out with Maoists" - often because they are on different continents (Nepal Vs Berkeley, for example), not because they have a problem with each other.
Greens are typically spoilt Western kids, whereas Maoists are typically starving Asian rural peasants. Yeah, they have different circumstances, but they sure do like each other.
I'll never forget walking around Cambridge. Mass and bumping into loonies selling (!) copies of the "Socialist Worker", complaining about 'exploitation' at the height of the dot-com boom. There were plenty of Greens on my college campus too, each more ignorant than the last, during the popular 'sweatshop' protests of the late 90s. I think the reason they weren't Maoists because it was too tedious to be revolutionary when high, and because of strict New York gun laws.
Greens and Maoists understand and sympathize with each other. But Nazis and anarcho-capitalists are matter and anti-matter.
Frankly, I think you are stretching the un-stretchable.
It might not have been the best analogy, but it's not totally off the beam.
For one she didn't capitalize "greens" so it could just mean environmentalists rather than the Green Party. For another the real hardcore Leftist/Communists I've seen do not like Liberals. I think Al Gore would have about as little in common with the varied Revolutionary Communist groups out there as I do.
Although "greens" would include people who are willing to work with even the most extreme Communists.
As for Paul criticizing Lincoln and Civil Rights Acts makes his Neo-Confederate support understandable, but even then I don't think he is Neo-Confederate. His Neo-Nazi support is meaningless and he has nothing in common with them.
Megan does a refreshingly objective and fair analysis of the Ron Paul phenomenon. I am with her on all accounts. The only thing I would add on Paul's positives is his character.
And of course vegans are green. They walk the talk and the other way around. Not all greens walk the talk.
Dennis Kucinich is such a vegan and his young wife too. One positive side-effect of the vegan diet is that it helps your sex life. In his case the Mao connection holds, unfortunately, true somewhat. If he were a tad less left on the economics side and a tad more electable - I would have considered him as he has a far better understanding of the environment than the pseudo-Grist network.
But going out for dinner has not been a problem for those vegans living in the West for many years. I have lived in Easter and Central Europe, England, the US and have traveled around the continents. The only place where I really struggled was Belgium - even the side dishes were even rotten milk or dead meat.
For those who are uncertain as to what Restaurants to visit with Vegan friends - here some suggestions:
Italian: pasta, pizza, fuccacia, bruscetta, all kinds of raosted vegetables, abergine stakes, etc etc
Spanish/Mexican: great bean burritos and taccos, guacamole, etc. Taco Bell has some great vegan burritos across the US!!!
Thai: Most good Thai places have PAd Thai with tofu instead of shrimp and will also leave the eggs out. Any sweet coconut curry will do as well. Yellow and green... hmm!
Chinese: Since there ain't no milk products in orginal chinese food - just order anything on the menu and exchange the meat with tofu, temphe or seitan.
Japanese: Go for a bento box or some wilk makis and some soups.
Indian: Generally too much milk in Westernized dishes but the original naan is without yogurt for volume. I like all the mango-chutney dishes..
Ethiopian and other African cuisines: Rice, banana and beans.. who would have thought it can be so tasty...
Middle Eastern: Baba Ganush, hummus, lentil, chickpea dishes, falafel, etc etc.
Many big baseball stadiums (MLB) offer soy hot dogs that taste like the real thing etc. So does Buger King and McDonald's in New York and California.
Megan - I thought you lived in DC? Where is the problem. Yes - there might be Belgium, English, French or Russian restaurants where vegans will have to go for the side dishes and a large salad - but come on - these cuisines are actually boring and overrated?
Compared to Austrian cuisine - the French pastries and breads are as limited as biodiversity in the Sahara compared to the rain forest? Apart from that - French are merely proud that everything is rotten? English cuisine - even German humor or Italian heroes during WWII have a better reputation? What is there apart from cranberry souse?
I was involved in a SOX compliance project for a Eastern European company not long ago. Their cantine served the best wild mushroom, rice tofu risotto that I could imagine. Those times that you are referring too are long history? Meat is, not even in Eastern Europe, a luxury anymore and can therefore be more easily ignored. It will take some time for places like Vietnam and Pakistan to follow suite where being fat is still a status symbol - but it is only a question of time and pain and this will change too.
As African-Americans and Hispanics and Mediterranean people are generally lactose-intolerant - you also get soy milk in most coffee-shops?
Hell - you can even be in prison in the US and get some ethical and healthy and tasty foods...
I can see why many people would want to portrait being vegan as complicated.. rational vs rationalization
Let us please stop pretending that being vegan is oh so complicated and anti-social. It is not. Clint Eastwood, Orlando Bloom, Joaquin Phoenix, Prince, Pamella Anderson and many more are doing just fine.
Dennis Kucinich is such a vegan and his young wife too. One positive side-effect of the vegan diet is that it helps your sex life.
Apparently, so does her tongue piercing.
Hugo - is Taco Bell really so cheap as to not use lard in its "refried" beans?
Anthony
Good question. Everybody has heard about the law suit that McDonald's lost when the Indian community in the US sued them for not disclosing that their fries were flavored with cow flour (hooves, vaginas, penises, nipples, pus, etc.)
Taco Bell too removed the chicken flavoring that had been added to the rice due to consumer demands. As was the non-fat dry milk. The seasoned rice is now vegan.
Vegan dishes are Bean Burrito (without cheese), Bean Tostada (without cheese), nachos without cheese, Mexican Rice (without cheese), Seven Layer Burrito (no sour cream or no cheese) and the Guacamole. Vegan sauces are mild, red, hot, fire, Soft Tortillas, Pizza Sauce and Green Sauce. Corn tortillas (hard tacos), burritos tortillas and wheat tortilla (soft tacos) are vegan.
The soft burrito tortillas might still not be vegan, they contain non-fat dry milk (but that might have changed too by now). The hard corn tortillas however are vegan, as are the refried beans. The pinto bean are vegan.
I hope that helps. On a side note - finally there are some vegan cheeses out that do not taste like carton. California Pizza Kitchen and other chains have started experimenting with it and it is only a question of time that...
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