By: Ciara

commenter #44:I have not seen one "vitriolic" comment from a meat-eating reader on this article in the 43 comments preceding your post insisting that you are, of course, the better person for not "responding" to them-- but then, how can one "respond" to something that does not exist?I have, however, seen a number of comments in this vein: "hey ragers? lay off, if you don’t like it, don’t eat it. They’re recipes posted in a newspaper- there’s no militia threatening to kill you if you don’t go vegan," as well as your misinformed comment on the "vitriol" of meat-eaters as a group.So let us consult the dictionary: vit·ri·ol /'v?tri?l/ Show Spelled [vi-tree-uhl]noun, verb, -oled, -ol·ing or ( especially British ) -olled, -ol·ling.–noun1. Chemistry . any of certain metallic sulfates of glassy appearance, as copper sulfate or blue vitriol, iron sulfate or green vitriol, zinc sulfate or white vitriol, etc.2. oil of vitriol; sulfuric acid.3. something highly caustic or severe in effect, as criticism.The third entry is obviously the one we are addressing in this case, correct? Assuming that, we must also assume that you've seen some comment criticising your viewpoint that could be considered "highly caustic." so let us define "caustic."caus·tic /'k?st?k/ Show Spelled[kaw-stik]–adjective1. capable of burning, corroding, or destroying living tissue.2.severely critical or sarcastic: a caustic remark.Again, it is the last entry that we are addressing. I have seen no sarcastic or severe comments, and thus, no "caustic" comments-- the end result being that nothing written here could be rightly considered "vitriolic." The closest possible example I can see is a statement that veganism is "aberrant." Let us define "aberrant." ab·er·rant /?'b?r?nt, 'æb?r-/ Show Spelled[uh-ber-uhnt, ab-er-]–adjective1. departing from the right, normal, or usual course.2. deviating from the ordinary, usual, or normal type; exceptional; abnormal.Given that in the current American society's culture, eating meat is the most common choice, followed then by vegetarianism and LAST of all by veganism (which, further supporting my statement, is a word that does not even show up in automatic spell-checking software, as opposed to vegetarianism, which does), one could make a very well-informed, very clear, polite, and completely non-sarcastic argument that veganism is in fact aberrant, aberrant meaning unusual or out of the ordinary. Before you counter that I have used the second and thus less typical use of the word aberrant, omitting the sense of "right vs. wrong" in the first definition, let us recall that you too were using the word "vitriolic" in the same sense.Please, take care before making absurd, unverifiable and obviously judgmental statements in the future, as they do detract from your overall credibility.

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