How being straight edge prepared me for veganism

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I went straight edge early into my adulthood. A subculture that demands casting off a certain number of social norms, all varying interpretations of the label include abstaining from drugs and alcohol. It’s often defined as a philosophy that promotes self-respect, going against the excesses in the punk culture it was bred from. While some choose to include promiscuity and animal rights in their practices, I originally saw it as a very personal movement. It would be many years before I would once again make a black sheep of myself in my family and social circles by choosing to go vegan, something I learned many straight edge participants consider as important as abstinence from intoxicants. Reflecting back on both choices, I can now see how being straight edge prepared me for going vegan. The aggression, curiosity, solidarity, and conflicts I was met with in both transitions are practically the same. So is the desire to live without violence.

I grew up in a family where alcohol was used in celebration, religious ritual, or simply at the end of a long day. A big part of my personal disagreements with its consumption surrounded the expectation and commonly suggested “need” for it, and the way people around me used it as a crutch. So when I would say no thanks as a bottle of wine was being passed around, I was met with a lot of confusion. Many times, people would bargain for me to try it, or do their best to insist that they had somehow deserved it. Still, I was able to see the aggression that came from some was equally matched by curiosity or praise from others. Some argued they could never do that, but that I was doing the right thing. I got a lot of “good for you.” Sound familiar? When I gave up meat, the same things happened. When I passed on whatever meat was placed in front of me, people would go one of two ways; in to argument, or in to reinforcement. So for all the years I had spent saying no to drinks, there was a foreshadowing to what would happen when I said no to meat. And the connection between choosing to be straight edge and choosing veganism would strengthen.

It wasn’t always easy to feel like an outsider socially. As my friends and I grew up, the presence of drugs and experimentation only heightened. I made it through University, the dorm rooms, the parties, the relationships, and was still sure of who I wanted to be, and even more clearly, what I didn’t want to be a part of. That’s when it became easier to stop participating in events where I knew drugs and alcohol would be heavily present. This came at the sacrifice of some people who didn’t see things my way. Veganism has shown me the same barriers. While I started out happy to share a table with someone dining on animal products at the start, I find myself slowly, but surely avoiding it as much as possible. As such, I slowly lose some of the people in my life who aren’t heading the same way. Those who care about me will respect my choices, and I theirs, but it removes a commonality that people consciously or unconsciously rely on. I’ve noticed that being the person who doesn’t want to “party” falls in line with the same responses as being the person who doesn’t want to join in on bacon fandom. It’s never been that I don’t like people who drink or smoke, but the act itself. It’s the same with not hating people who hate meat, but hating the continued choice to do so. Again, living in a way that was destructive to myself and those around me would envelop the veganism I was rooting in the same freedoms for animals.

Since the two are so similar, people often ask if my straight edge stems from ethics. With my veganism being first and foremost for animals, and not for reasons of health or the environment, I’m not put off by this assumption. But truthfully, my discomfort with drugs and alcohol doesn’t come close to my hatred for animal use. In that respect, experiencing life through the lens of being straight edge was a softer step than going vegan. The difference is that one impacts me on a small scale, and the other, has more than just my own needs in question. While someone’s choice to drink or do drugs can affect those around them, it’s primarily a choice that directly affects themselves. Choosing to use animal products always includes the death of an animal, too.

So do I think that vegans need to be straight edge? Not necessarily. But can people in the straight edge community stand to include veganism? Oh, hell yes. While it’s not uncommon to see the two existing side by side, I think people who already understand the obstacles that abstaining from drugs and alcohol presents, will have an easier time making the jump in to veganism. Eating, dressing, and basing your consumerism on veganism is never as difficult as the interactions it asks us to have with people on the other side. And if someone cares deeply for themselves and the people around them, it’s not crazy to think that they should add animals to that.

Being both straight edge and vegan, I have learned to align myself with the things I believe in. The similarities are clear, and the choice not to go along with the masses is always going to be met with misunderstanding. When it comes to living my best life for myself and for others, I see the two as being interchangeable. Living a life of non-violence starts with me, and extends out to all sentient beings.