I consider myself a vegan. I consider myself this because I eat no animal products and wear very few—the occasional wool. I consider myself this because I love animals, even though I don’t consider myself a red-splatting animal activist. I thought veganism was about health and sustaining a balance in this world, for both us and the life we live amongst. All of it.

So when I shared my experiment on the ‘Vegan’ Facebook group with a clenched fist as their group icon, they took to it. They were involved. They shared their honest opinions. They were wholly engaged in this awesome discussion, whether it be for or against. For it being possible or against the idea of this being constructive at all. Regardless, they shared their untampered feelings.

Today they deleted that discussion in its entirety. They removed me from their group. Banning is probably the more appropriate term, since I cannot view the group via my real Facebook account. I noticed this when I went to my world icon to plunder some quotes for today’s entry, but they’re gone. All of them. Except…

“My conscience has been eating at away me the past few days and it has finally gotten the best of me. I need to tell you the truth. The truth about this so-called experiment. I have lied to you. I just need some time to put my words together. I am sorry.”-Peter Filak

They deleted everything except my drama-building six-liner, making it look like this whole experiment was one big lie. Fake. Faded back into the unrealistic.

Atop this post, started by the very person who tried to get me kicked out when they perceived my “lie” as beyond forgivable—like I ate entire living cow from hoof to ear and posted a Youtube video of me smiling while doing so—, was…

“call me crazy…but was a post deleted?”-R.O.

And the responses…

“Yes……”-J.V.K.L.

“the reason?”-R.O.

“was it the one from Peter the waterboy?”-J.V.K.L.

“yes”-R.O.

“because people were frustrated with him”-J.V.K.L.

“and that solved it how?”-R.O.

“because his post was not vegan related at all.”-J.V.K.L.

“neither is the other one.”-R.O.

“This group is about veganism. Not water fasting. He was irritating other members. He was a new member and the first thing out of his mouth was to lie to everyone.”-J.V.K.L.

“did you block him?”-B.G.

“It was the admins decision to remove him, yes”-J.V.K.L.

“why? he lied yes, but did he get a chance to explain himself? out of over 2800 members I doubt he is the only person who’s ever lied. that’s a bit harsh I think”-B.G.

“yes he did get a chance to explain himself and then he lied again.”-R.O.

“oh, ok. I haven’t been on this group in a couple day. I guess I just missed it all”-B.G.

“I don’t think it was harsh at all. First off, as I said we are trying to keep this group focused on animals not water fasting. He was warned and kept up with the water fasting crap.”-J.V.K.L.

“I’m trying to figure out how to block from ipad”-B.B.

“how to block what?”-J.V.K.L.

“How to block this Peter person. He makes no sense – and I don’t want him showing up on my feed”-B.B.

“he is no longer in the group, so you unless you are friends with him, you won’t see anything from him”-J.V.K.L.

“Good! No I’m not friends with him and thank you ”-B.B.

“Thank you for blocking him–it wasn’t vegan and his constant need for affirmation was very strange.”-L.S.H.

“Lori – it was strange. Anyone who values themselves knows the benefits of water. Like I told him before- good Luck to him ( wash my hands)”-B.B.

So the mysterious ‘R.O.’ who tried to get me kicked is now fending for me? And then not? Odd. Vegans are odd. And they argued about me for hours. I now feel for the first vegan, first vegetarian, or first plant-eater ever. Just imagine that individual trying to begin a discussion with the healthiest individuals of that current time period and being thwarted by:

• “Peter the plant eater…”
• “Anyone who values themselves knows the benefits of steak.”

Many things that I find trivial and often way too funny, are the things complained about by vegans. Such as the “where do you get your protein’s?” and the “are you sure that’s healthy’s?” You resent someone for not having a broader perspective and understanding your ways, but then you turn and commit the same act to “Peter the waterboy?” We can’t force our ways on others, but in the same respect, isn’t true that we shouldn’t stunt discussion and jail the someone who is doing something differently? Something that strives for health. Something backed by commitment and evidence.

Sure you may not understand it, but you never will unless you are respectfully ajar. A great example of this is my very own parents. They’ve asked all these very odd questions. They continually poke fun. My Mom makes remarks about whatever she’s cooking by terming it “vegan” when I am around, even though it often isn’t. My Pop says I’ll eat the bark when making dinner reservations. But they’re slightly open and slightly open is not closed. Slightly opened is we’ll watch Forks Over Knives if you buy it for us.

I did buy it for my Mom’s upcoming birthday. They did watch it. I did get these text messages today…

“Watching forks over knives; I think I must change my food choices. You are helping me to see the importance of eating plant-based”-Pop

“My son told me so!”-Pop

“Pop is going to be a vegan chef! ty we enjoyed the movie with yuri…he isnt worried about the meat yet…wait till he gets some patients.”-Mom

“Yes to start in 1 week…trying fish1 time per week and chicken 1 time per month…eliminating most breads etc..and using soy milk to replace dairy…its a start and not very difficult til we get used to meals.”-Mom

“Ty hope to convince friends of same…”-Mom

You see that? They could have kicked their kid to the curb after he read The China Study or stopped wearing deodorant or ceased cooking or even when he cupboarded all his glass water bottles, but they didn’t. They became concerned. They made jokes. They asked obvious questions about things that maybe weren’t that obvious. They tried raw sweet potatoes and even a raw weekend day. They didn’t stick with it, but they remained slightly open.

Will they finally make the permanent change? I don’t know, but I am hopeful, and I can be hopeful because they have not booted me from the discussion. They remained open.

Fist-clenching vegans, I introduced you to my experiment and answered all of your questions. Like a meat-eater listening to a vegan, you booted me and tried to bury something real. Trying to hide behind the unforgivable lie. Even when I explained its purpose…

I termed it a ‘lie’ and maybe that was the wrong word for it. I withheld information. The information, that this experiment really began on May 9 and continues today, not August 26.

I did this so that your opinions and emotions were completely real and untampered. I asked your opinions as if the experiment just begun so that you would perceive this as a real experiment. Something worthwhile. Something worth discussing. In doing this, it allowed me to engage with my readers, friends, family, and fellow members of the vegan and health community on a day to day basis. Each day nudged you into thinking more deeply about this. It allowed for the discussion to continue. It allowed everyone to think beyond their initial gut-reactions. It helped break down what I consider a common sense gone awry.

I did this so that everyone could have the opportunity to baby-step their way to the very conclusion I came to. That, with a healthy lifestyle, we can live solely on fruits and vegetables.

Regardless, my door will always remain open and the mat will always read ‘welcome’.

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