THE VEGETARIAN

It should be easy to be a vegetarian these days. Doctors approve of the dietary choice, it being lower in cholesterol and often higher in fiber and antioxidents--thereby lowering the risk of many cancers. Nutritionists have reworked the Food Pyramid in the past decade, putting fatty meats at the top meaning to choose them sparingly. Many fish now contain high levels of mercury, which nobody wants for some reason. And chickens, besides being really dirty animals, are raised in veritable concentration camps. Why not be a vegetarian.
The fact is that vegetarians are generally shunned or criticized unless they live in little vegetarian towns in Florida or California that us working class vegetarians simply cannot afford. Non-vegetarians come in four distinct classes:
Class 1 Non-veggies are the non vegetarians that simply do not care and it is hard to notice that they are even there. I like them best. They are most likely the majority, but you would never know it from the noise that the other three classes make.
Class 2 Non-vegetarians are obnoxious, but easy to deal with. You can simply hate them or ignore them. They act like eating meat is an American right that should be embraced by all much like our right to bear arms. They eat meat, and if you are not with them, then you are against them. They will always tell you how much they hate PETA. They love to offer you meat and then say "Oops!" like they actually forgot you were a veggie. They will eat meat around you with such gusto that you would think they were having sex with it.
Class 3 Non-vegetarians are the ones that say they are vegetarians, but then they will sometimes eat fish, or chicken, or even beef occasionally. It is like they want to quit eating meat, but all the meat they used to eat was spiked with heroin or crack and now they simply must have it occasionally. They, unfortunately, always fall off the wagon around a Class 2 Non-veg, giving them more fodder for their veggie-hating rants.
Class 4 Non-vegetarians could almost be nice people if they would just keep their mouth shut when they learn that you are a Veggie. Instead, they apologize fervently for offering you a bite of their Blue-fin tuna sushi. They apologize like they accidentally invited you to a Klan rally. They won't stop there. They will lie and tell you that they have been trying to cut down on their own meat intake.
Why is it so hard for people to come to grips with the fact that some people don't believe that it is right to eat animals. Do we threaten their lifestyle that badly. If vegetarians could all get together, I swear we could take over the world. Unfortunately, vegetarians can never unite. Some think it is fine to eat fish and chicken(fake vegetarians), others think that you shouldn't even eat eggs or dairy, and serious vegetarians(vegans) don't even think we should wear wool or leather or eat honey. All are distrustful of each other, which is a shame. Solidarity would do such good for the cause.
Until then, we much be satisfied eating veggie lasagne or pasta primavera whenever someone asks us to go out to dinner. Just order an extra couple drinks and you'll be fine. Luckily, there aren't many meat-based alcoholic beverages.