Dealing with negative vegan facebook friends

Vegans can be angry too! (Public domain photo)

Up to this point, I've been primarily addressing vegans in my posts. This blog is, after all, about vegan connectivity. In this post, however, I'd like to talk about negative vegans on Facbook, as they relate to both vegan and non-vegan friends.

I personally post a lot on the subject of veganism. Not all of my Facebook friends appreciate that. Some feel I go overboard. Some disagree strongly. Some even spend a lot of time posting negative comments on my memes, status updates or articles.

Now, I don't want to lose any of my friends, vegan or otherwise. That's why I advise those who are bothered by my vegan posts to simply hide my news feed and communicate with me via personal messaging as an alternative.

If you're a non-vegan, who's tired of the vegan posts made by one of your Facebook friends, I strongly suggest hiding their news feed to save your friendship. There is, of course, the option of simply scrolling past, as we do with those “bacon” posts. However, if you can't stop yourself from being negative, why not just go ahead and hide that news feed?

You'll be happier. Your friend will be happier. It's a win-win solution.

What if you're vegan and your vegan friend is much too negative? Well, you can do the very same thing. Your friend is on the same path as you. They simply have not made the connection between the negativity they project and the feedback they get. They don't realize that being a negative vegan is just as bad as being a negative non-vegan.

Maybe they'll come around in time. Who knows? So, rather than banishing them from your friends list, it's important for you to make a connection with their journey. Maybe you were once an angry vegan too. Many of us feel angry when we first begin learning about the atrocities of the meat and dairy industry. As time goes by, we realize that projecting all that anger is unproductive. Only then do we start walking a peaceful road.

So give your newly vegan friends a break. Hide their news feeds until they make that connection. Make an effort to go to their profile pages and comment on their more positive posts. Help them find their way peacefully down the vegan highway. Life is a journey. We each have to make that trip in our own time and in our own way.

Next up: Finding vegan connections on Twitter