Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm deeply sorry for dragging the mud in here and linking to The Daily Fail, but really......ugh......I haven't even read through the article and since I don't want to end the evening feeling suicidal, I definitely haven't read the comments, but I am aware of the gist....

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/artic ... rning.html

If anyone feels compelled, vegetarian.org.uk have put a letter together and if you want to you can email ITV's This Morning: http://www.vegetarian.org.uk/itv-letter.html

I did, for all the good it'll do. Very depressing though. I'm off to abuse myself with chocolate chip cookies.....

Having to look at his face is child abuse. What an unattractive fellow.

Ridiculous hippies guilty of child abuse?! We are the bad guys? When there are so many kids in this country who can't identify what a tomato or pear is, and don't know that French fries come from potatoes.

Although it was a ridiculous comment, it's possible he was trying to be cheeky and funny.

Trivializing child abuse is never funny.

Also, it's interesting that he thinks babies shouldn't be fed a vegan diet. Is he anti breast milk?

Maybe he thinks that a vegan diet implies no breast milk?

He's nothing but a big ol' croissant.

It's a shame fat didn't help with his brain development. What an idiot.

Sorry to get all PC, but I don't really think it's cool to comment on someone's appearance because you don't like their opinion.

Not to be pedantic but this is what the article quotes him as actually saying. There is a touch more nuance in this than "vegan diets equal child abuse." He seems to be talking about a certain kind of super exclusionary diet. There is some bit about butter and the need for fat in our diets right before this. Presumably, the people he's discussing would not be down with their children eating chocolate chip cookies.

yeesh. What a delightful fellow.

Opinion or not, I don't find him attractive.

Knowing what TPB is like, I can say with 99% certainty that he was just being ignorant and offensive. I don't think he probably even realises that vegans can eat choc chip cookies. He's not a man who's likely to have an in depth appreciation for the subcategories of a vegan diet.

Besides, not eating chocolate chip cookies still comes nowhere near child abuse and as above, it's something that it's never ok to trivialise (child abuse, not choc chip cookies).

I'm sure ol' Prince Father in law is very proud!

Right, and I'm sure that sucks for him but as you are well aware, we try to avoid comments about people's appearance on the PPK.

Mat.

Surely saying you find someone unattractive is no different than saying you find them hawt? (which I am pretty sure goes on a lot on the PPK). Seems a bit big brother to me - it's hardly bullying behaviour, non?

It's just not very relevant for the issue at stake here. His comments sound sucky, regardless of what he looks like.

I agree! Though my comment about chocolate chip cookies probably wasn't very relevant either, but that did not attract quite so much attention :) I just think, if someone's not being an out & out bully, or even mildly so, it's a bit churlish to dole out a stern telling off......wrist slappings often do not make people feel welcome :/

But there we are, just my 2p worth :)

I should add that I'm not trying to be an awkward so & so - I do think it's jolly important to keep perspective though, and to tailor responses carefully where people don't mean to be cruel or unkind, necessarily. One could say that TPB didn't mean to be cruel or unkind, but unfortunately he's known for it, hence my assumptions about his behaviour! I do think it's very important to be on the ball about commenting on the way people look, etc, but if it's to be a zero tolerance approach then really all positive comments should be outlawed too! (But please let's not do that :D)

I don't think anyone said it was bullying just that it was not very PPK. The whole point of modding is not to be Big Brother and police everything but to keep discussion within what we (the mods) consider acceptable here.

We try to create a body positive environment where people are not judged negatively on their appearance. Personally, I avoid saying people are hot too as that can be just as problematic.

Sorry to thread derail. Please PM me if you want to discuss further.

Mat.

I don't think either is completely inappropriate in the right context. But it shouldn't matter when discussing an opinion piece.

okay, well, personally, I find it hurtful and rude when I hear someone called ugly. Also, calling someone ugly totally takes away from anything you might have to say on his opinion because you've resorted to name calling rather than making an argument.

This is not a reasoned argument - it is purely emotional, and people can invoke "child abuse" for anything they don't agree with. I don't really see the point of putting more effort into it than sending a few links to authoritative information on vegan nutrition.

In defense of his appearance, he appears to have a generous amount of forehead, and it is not a flattering camera angle.

How do you argue against what is clearly calculated hyperbole? There IS no argument, besides "That's stupid." He's trolling vegans and trying to whip up some kind of torch-bearing mob frenzy, along with giving people a way to feel superior to vegans without having to actually think about it. It's bad journalism and I'm SURE he is saying it in bad faith himself. If he REALLY thinks it's child abuse, then why isn't he doing everything in his power to stop vegans whereever he sees them? He is a hypocrite; he is false in every way.

Me abusing my child with vegan cream cheeze stuffed French toast, covered in strawberries and with a side of vegan sausage.


In fairness, she was totally asking for it.

That child does look dangerously undernourished cute.

I think Leela wins the thread.