Compassionate Hockey Players and "Militant" Vegans

Published September 16, 2009 @ 01:48PM PT

Canada's Globe and Mail published a story today on Georges Laraque, NHL star and -- yes -- vegan. The piece is mostly positive, but with a few annoying, condescending remarks that the journalist apparently felt obligated to get (and publish) from others in the world of hockey and one quick, three-word commentary from the journalist himself that troubled me. Here's an extract from the good parts:

No dairy, no poultry, no fish, no more leather shoes or animal byproducts, Laraque has been on a strict diet of vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes since June 1.

While he says he was partly motivated to improve his health for the hockey season, Laraque insists the decision was made primarily for political, rather than nutritional, reasons.

Everything changed, Laraque said, after he saw Earthlings, a 2006 documentary that is widely celebrated in animal-rights circles.

“It’s unconscionable what’s happening to animals in this country and the way we treat animals we eat. . . . I realized I had to make some big changes,” Laraque said.

Though Laraque said he will no longer buy leather of any kind, he hasn’t rid his closet or hockey bag of previously purchased leather products because, “that would be a further waste. And this way I don’t forget.”

OK, I may not be a great fan of hockey in general, but I'm quickly becoming a fan of this guy in particular. He goes on to give additional positive perspectives as the article continues, but I'll let you read the rest on your own.

What elicited a deep sigh from me just before the above extract, though, was how the journalist introduced Laraque: "Canadiens forward Georges Laraque, boulevardier, animal-rights activist and perhaps the most feared pugilist in the NHL, is a vegan . . . a militant one."

Really? Militant? Please, someone show me what makes him militant. The very next line was simply "No dairy, no poultry, no fish, no more leather shoes or animal byproducts." And none of this makes him a "militant" vegan; it simply makes him, um, you know, vegan.

This persistent portrayal of all consistent vegans as "militant" or "extremist," not only by the media but in some cases even by other animal advocates or self-defined vegans or vegetarians, is terribly frustrating. I've had the experience myself a few times--the experience of even those who call themselves vegan chastising me as "militant" simply for (politely) refusing their offer of food that I knew contained animal products. Vegan is vegan. And a vegan acting and eating like a vegan isn't "militant"; it's just honest and consistent. The idea behind these kinds of remarks is that in order to be a non-militant vegan, you must periodically be not a vegan at all, and that makes no sense.

Are you a militant if, as someone opposed to racism and sexism, you oppose racism and sexism all the time? Do you have to periodically tell an offensive racist joke or belittle a woman to prove you're not militant? No.

And a vegan shouldn't have to eat the cheese pizza or the cake with eggs in it or participate in any other behavior that goes against the very basics of his or her ethical beliefs just to avoid the militant label. That's ridiculous. And it's offensive.

Veganism isn't by definition "militant." It is by definition compassionate.

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Photo: Montreal Canadiens cupcakes, by Flickr user clevercupcakes, that someone needs to veganize for our pal Georges

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Comments (11)

There ought to just be a "Like" button for entire posts :D

Posted by Michael A. Weber on 09/17/2009 @ 07:36AM PT
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"I've had the experience myself a few times--the experience of even those who call themselves vegan chastising me as "militant" simply for (politely) refusing their offer of food that I knew contained animal products."

I've had similar experiences.

I've also had the opposite: where vegans swear up and down that somehing isn't vegan but they haven't done the real research to verify. They inspire me to do the research and then I learn they were wrong and the thing really is vegan. Very frustrating.

But back to the omnis. When people say "extremist vegan" or "militant vegan" what they really mean is that they don't understand veganism. To them, veganism is irrational and unreasonable.

To make veganism appear more rational and reasonable to the omnis, some vegans appeal to the omnis' sense of rational and reasonable (which is, by definition, NOT vegan). That means occassionally acting in ways that other vegans might deem un-vegan, like picking cheese out of a salad and eating the salad even though there are tiny bits of cheese in it or eating at PF Chang's even though there are trace ammounts of non-vegan stuffs in the "vegetarian" options.

I, personally, won't chastise someone who calls themself a vegan yet eats things that aren't 100% vegan. I also won't call someone who doesn't eat those things "militant" or "extremist." I will, however, complain that animal use in our society is so prevelent that it forces vegans into these two categories and creates a divide between otherwise similar people.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault on 09/17/2009 @ 11:56AM PT
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PS - my husband is a vegan hockey fan who makes tasty cupcakes. I will ask him if he'll veganize that photo by making his own hockey fan cupcakes :)

Posted by Elaine Vigneault on 09/17/2009 @ 12:01PM PT
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My son's college track coach used to insist that he needed meat to win. Son proved him wrong by taking the #1 spot for jr colleges in CA for steeplechase which has got to be w/ 35 hurdles for 2500 meters in less than 9 & 1/2 minutes one of the most difficult stamina courses.

Non-militant Veganism wins again.

Posted by Jade Golden on 09/17/2009 @ 05:04PM PT
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I've had friends & family call me "militant" - it hurts. I'm not sure where people even get this idea that living by a peaceful code of ethics even qualifies someone for this label?

I guess, if militant means that I won't set aside my beliefs for a "taste" of something, then I'm militant. That's like saying I'm a militant non-racist because I don't use slurs.

Posted by Lisa Smolen on 09/18/2009 @ 07:33AM PT
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Ahhh yes. The militant vegan. The extremist vegan. The hardcore vegan.

Right. Because I don't want things to be killed or to suffer just so I can eat their dead bodies and secretions. Totally extreme, huh?

Ridiculous.

What is not ridiculous is this hockey player, way to go for him! I know nothing about hockey, but I know this man just made my day!

Posted by The Voracious Vegan . on 09/18/2009 @ 11:00AM PT
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If vegans are militant, then what are the people participating in the mass slaughter of animals or out scouring the woods with rifles for another living being they can kill and eat?

Posted by Sharla Stone on 09/19/2009 @ 06:11PM PT
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There's an assumption in the label "militance": that those who hold principles and apply them consistently (i.e. extremism) violate some other principle we hold; namely, inconsistency as a principle. That's a strange argument.

Posted by Alex Melonas on 09/20/2009 @ 06:49AM PT
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Thanks for posting this. As a vegan hockey player / fan from Canada, I've been following Georges fairly closely, but did not see this article (probably because I've been on a month long media diet). I've never been called 'militant', just a 'pain in the ass'!

I'm curious to see how the infamous Don Cherry reacts to this in the coming NHL season. For those who don't know, Mr. Cherry has a spot on CBC's hockey night in Canada, and has an uneducated opinion on everything and everyone.

Posted by Tom Samworth on 09/25/2009 @ 11:54AM PT
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"Are you a militant if, as someone opposed to racism and sexism, you oppose racism and sexism all the time? Do you have to periodically tell an offensive racist joke or belittle a woman to prove you're not militant?"

Brilliant.

And yes, I'm just now getting around to reading this, such is my backlog!

Posted by Kelly Garbato on 09/28/2009 @ 07:01PM PT
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Interesting that someone who covers hockey, with its daily fights, calls someone who abstains from avoidable harm to animals as "militant."

I think many people apply derisive labels to vegans as a superficial, perhaps unconscious, defense mechanism: Belittle or devalue those who are doing what you know deep down you ought to and can be doing. If you pretend that vegans or veganism is bad, then in a contrived, superficial, self-serving way, you've excused yourself for not being vegan and justified your omnivorism. This may be a reaction to "vegan envy" or guilt.

We can do our best to let people know that veganism isn't militant, extreme, or difficult; it's a wonderful, peaceful, compassionate way to live, and most anyone in the "developed" world who's in charge of their own food decisions can do it. Veganism helps us live according to widely held basic moral principles. As someone already pointed out, shooting animals dead because you like the taste of their flesh or because you enjoy the stalking and killing is militant; factory farms are extreme.

Posted by Gary Loewenthal on 10/13/2009 @ 09:39PM PT
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Stephanie is an independent animal rights advocate, a vegan, a tree-hugging environmentalist, and a freelance editor and writer. She lives in St. Louis with an aging corgi-lab and an adolescent rescued pit bull.