Wow, I'm glad my question was interesting! I love asking questions, people should never give me things like 'ask me about' memes, I will never go away.
It's hard to eat vegetarian in Korean cuisine -- not because it's all or predominantly Korean BBQ, though that's the popular conception (which would be like the Japanese eating hibachi steak every day), but because so much of it is based on a fish broth or some other meat-based stock. Even if it's not directly meat, it's often cooked with or in meat. Also vegetarianism is a very perceived-as-airy-fairy idea for a rather machismo-infused culture. But don't take my oversimplified word for it; that's just my experience.
If you are already excluded from the mainstream in one way, then why would you want to risk excluding yourself from your smaller cultural community as well, and risk having nobody who supports your lifestyle choice?
This is so true of people of ethnic minorities regarding so many subcultural things. Some of it is stuff as simple and painful as "belonging to another subculture, or being perceived to, can be seen as 'acting white' by your friends/family, and you may face racism and well-meaning condescension hanging out with white people in the same subculture." Other times it's not even voluntary -- AFAIK it sucks even harder to be an LGBT ethnic minority of any kind because then it's like, the dominant culture hates you just as much, and cares about you a little less because you're black or an immigrant or whatever, AND your family/culture may be conservative and rejecting. In other terms, it sucks.
Anyway, for the record, I do keep meaning to go veg again -- I know that sounds weaksauce, but between being on medications that impact my nutritional needs and being clueless about cooking, it's been difficult to get back on it. My personal reason for thinking vegetarianism > other diets is that I'm a pacifist by philosophy who considers the taking of life to be inherently morally wrong and acceptable only in true necessity, i.e. to protect other life, and a few years ago I realized that there's no actual magical dividing line between the sentience of humans and the sentience of other creatures.
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sforzinda
no subject
Date: 2011-04-26 07:30 am (UTC)It's hard to eat vegetarian in Korean cuisine -- not because it's all or predominantly Korean BBQ, though that's the popular conception (which would be like the Japanese eating hibachi steak every day), but because so much of it is based on a fish broth or some other meat-based stock. Even if it's not directly meat, it's often cooked with or in meat. Also vegetarianism is a very perceived-as-airy-fairy idea for a rather machismo-infused culture. But don't take my oversimplified word for it; that's just my experience.
If you are already excluded from the mainstream in one way, then why would you want to risk excluding yourself from your smaller cultural community as well, and risk having nobody who supports your lifestyle choice?
This is so true of people of ethnic minorities regarding so many subcultural things. Some of it is stuff as simple and painful as "belonging to another subculture, or being perceived to, can be seen as 'acting white' by your friends/family, and you may face racism and well-meaning condescension hanging out with white people in the same subculture." Other times it's not even voluntary -- AFAIK it sucks even harder to be an LGBT ethnic minority of any kind because then it's like, the dominant culture hates you just as much, and cares about you a little less because you're black or an immigrant or whatever, AND your family/culture may be conservative and rejecting. In other terms, it sucks.
Anyway, for the record, I do keep meaning to go veg again -- I know that sounds weaksauce, but between being on medications that impact my nutritional needs and being clueless about cooking, it's been difficult to get back on it. My personal reason for thinking vegetarianism > other diets is that I'm a pacifist by philosophy who considers the taking of life to be inherently morally wrong and acceptable only in true necessity, i.e. to protect other life, and a few years ago I realized that there's no actual magical dividing line between the sentience of humans and the sentience of other creatures.
In any case, thank you for your thoughtful reply!