Sorry, folks...

[H3Dakota]

I have made the comment before about not feeling comfortable here (in this group), like I could not express myself honestly. It has only gotten worse over the past month or so. The negativity & animosity in general at DU has just gotten to me as well. Yes, as a vegetarian, I DO feel more singled out than the non-veggie.

I also feel that I'm "not allowed" to share my feelings about THAT, either! Not even here, in a group designed to support vegetarians, vegans & animal rights folks.

I certainly do not want to start a war, to single out people, to perpetuate the exact problem that I have here at DU. If you wish to respond to my msg, but it comes remotely close to breaking ANY of the rules, PM me instead... :)

My intent here is to tell you all how I feel - that even here, in a group for vegetarians, I do not feel that I can express myself honestly. I may post in some of the other groups where I don't see these kinds of things happening, so perhaps I will see some of you there instead.

[Stuckinthebush]

1. I'm curious

What are you afraid of if you are honest in this group? I'll lend you an ear no matter what you say. I might debate you or support you, but if anyone flames you unnecessarily, I'll be there to support your freedom to say what is on your mind.

[H3Dakota]

2. Oh, don't get me wrong...

The members here are pretty great, from what I've seen so far. I just don't feel that I can be open & honest in expressing myself because I've seen too many things get locked, including my own posts.

Outside of this group? Just mentioning that one is a vegetarian pretty much guarantees that someone is going to make some really asinine or outright offensive comments - and nothing gets done about THAT.

I'm just mighty tired of it all. Like I said, I'm pretty darn liberal & I support everyone's right to express their opinions - whether I agree with them or not. I would not be offensive toward them about it, though - and *that* is not anything that I see reciprocated here. :(

[smbolisnch]

3. Dakota.....

I have not been around for the last few weeks, but I hope you can elaborate. PM me if you need to. I hate to see that you feel that way.

We are singled out to some extent as veggies and so this group should be a place that we can all come to find a sort of safe haven from that. There are some amazing people here, and it is really unfortunate that a few are making you uncomfortable. I met one of my favorite people ever here, actually! :P

I know that the overall mood on the site can be sort of heavy at times, but it is a great place and I hope that you decide to stay! :pals:

[Robeson]

4. Please let us know....

My computer has been down for over a month due to a trojan virus that wiped out my hard drive. I'm just now able to get back on. There's plenty of support from us "veggies", so don't go away. If you want to say what the specific problem is, feel free to PM me. Don't let it get you down. We Progressives have to stick together! And if you've been on a thread that's giving us veggies a hard time, let some of us know what the thread is. Some of us don't take sh*t from anyone. ;-)