Wow.

I am really, realy offended by your inaccurate and careless spouting of preconceived notions about me and my "fellow travelers."

You did not even bother to read what I said and yet you feel qualified to tell me why I am a vegetarian and what's wrong with my views.

OK, actually, I admit, know very little about the Hare Krishnas. What I do know about them is not very positive -- they do seem like a cult to me. I have read accounts of people who have left the Hare Krishnas and felt that they had been brainwashed and exploited. But I am willing to be corrected on that.

But as for telling me that I have no right to have an opinion that others might not agree with -- Did you even bother to read my post? I did not say I was -- or that vegetarianism is - perfect. I did not say that vegetarians never got irritated, or espoused controversial views.

It was not inconsistent with my position to call Hare Krishnas a cult, and had you bothered to read my post you would have understood that. I was saying that vegetarianism is consistent with an ATTEMPT -- again, did you catch that? -- ATTEMPT -- to live a less violent and cruel life.

As for kindness to my "fellow travelers" -- Excuse me?

You obviously think there are about 50 vegetarians in this world and we can all be lumped into one little group and we all think the same.

Please trust me when I tell you, YOU COULD NOT BE MORE WRONG.

There are millions of people all over the world who practice vegetarianism for so many different reasons that it would be IMPOSSIBLE for me to agree with all of them on every issue.

Again, since you seem not to be a very careful reader, let me reiterate: I cannot possibly be expected to agree with every living vegetarian on the planet about every issuse.

And no, I am not "religiously" inspired.

You have so many misconspetions that it is really hard to address them all.

As for religious inspiration -- Let me be CLEAR here:

I do not believe in God,

or any religious system,

and don't tell me I do when you know virtually nothing about me.

I was inspired to become a vegetarian by a Moral Philosophy course I took in college. OK? Want proof? Want the phone number of my philosophy professor? Want the titles of the books I read?

Try reading Pater Singer's "Animal Liberation" if you want to understand my motivations for becoming a vegetarian. Otherwise, please, please, don't tell me who I am or why I do what I do -- especially when you don't even bother to read my posts -- the ONLY source of information about me that you have.

Intellectual rigor -- NOT RELIGIOUS BELIEFS -- inspired me to become a vegetarian.

OK, as for cruelty to plants.

Let me reiterate:

question one is,

CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEMS?

and question two is,

AVOIDABLE PAIN?

Remember? When the question of cruelty comes up, you must ask yourself two questions,

First, "Does this creature have the capacity to feel pain?"

Second, "Is this pain avoidable?"

To adddress your (almost certainly sarcastic and mocking) "concerns":

1. PLANTS ALMOST CERTAINLY DO NOT FEEL PAIN AS THEY LACK CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEMS.

2. BUT, FOR THE SAKE OF ARGUMENT, LET US ASSUME THEY FEEL PAIN.

IF THEY DO FEEL PAIN, IT IS NOT POSSIBLE TO AVOID INFLICTING IT ON THEM WITHOUT DYING OURSELVES BECAUSE THERE WOULD BE NOTHING LEFT TO EAT AT ALL.

THEREFORE THE "PAIN" IF ANY TO ANIMALS IS NOT AVOIDABLE WITHOUT DYING OURSELVES.

MY GOAL -- REMEMBER? -- IS TO AVOID INFLICTING UNNECESSARY PAIN WHILE REMAINING ALIVE MYSELF. AS I SAID, I WOULD EAT AN ANIMAL IF THERE WERE NO ALTERNATIVE BUT EATING MEAT OR DYING.

3. IF YOU TRULY WISH TO REDUCE UNNECESSARY DEATHS OF PLANTS, THEN BECOME A VEGETARIAN. PRESENTLY YOU ARE CAUSING THE UNNECESSARY DEATHS OF MILLIONS MORE PLANTS BY EATING MEAT -- FED ON PLANTS -- THAN YOU WOULD BY SIMPLY EATING THE PLANTS THEMSELVES.

If you had read my post you would have understood that.

Good luck to you. I hope that someday you learn the meaning of the phrase "intellectual rigor."