Do people consider you strange?

Off-topic talk on music, art, literature, games and forum games.
User avatar
ChipDipSM
Newbie
Posts: 45
Joined: Wed Apr 29, 2015 7:52 pm
Diet: Vegan

Re: Do people consider you strange?

Post by ChipDipSM »

brimstoneSalad wrote:It's unsanitary. When people get saliva on their fingers, they inevitably spread it to the things they touch, usually unknowingly. Also, it introduces a number of pathogens into your own body in the process.

There's a pretty good reason people find it gross.
That's a very valid reason that I tend to overlook. As you pointed out, it's something I do without thinking about it, a lot of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it.
brimstoneSalad wrote:Buy a large silicone teething ring, or some other baby chewing toy. Cut it so the cross-section is lollipop shaped, put a little hole in it, and jam a lollipop stick into it.
Optionally, you can buy some food grade silicone caulk from an aquarium supply store or online, with which to make Oogoo (with food coloring), and put it in a mold of appropriate size (probably a smooth cap of some kind), with the stick poking out of it (cut a hole or slit in the side so it comes out right).
Nobody will know you aren't chewing on a piece of candy, and you won't get saliva on your fingers. You'll just be that guy who always has a sucker. Carry some real suckers around that look the same to share.

That way, you'll be quirky (weird in a good way), but not gross.

If you don't know how to make it, I'll help you with detailed instructions. It's pretty easy.
It can be sterilized in boiling water by microwaving.
That would be very appreciated.
UNLESS someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not. -The Lorax
User avatar
brimstoneSalad
neither stone nor salad
Posts: 10273
Joined: Wed May 28, 2014 9:20 am
Diet: Vegan

Re: Do people consider you strange?

Post by brimstoneSalad »

ChipDipSM wrote: That's a very valid reason that I tend to overlook. As you pointed out, it's something I do without thinking about it, a lot of the time I don't even realize I'm doing it.
Definitely, and that makes it really hard to stop doing it.
ChipDipSM wrote:That would be very appreciated.
Here's a good instructable on Oogoo: http://www.instructables.com/id/How-To- ... ubstitute/

It's just corn starch + silicone caulk.

Corn starch is safe (as is food coloring that you can use to get your desired color), but caulk is not always safe. Some have toxic components, so you need some that's specifically food-safe.

http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Food-Grade- ... B005XP5HO6
This should do the trick.
If you don't want to order online, sometimes you may find it in aquarium stores, where it's used to seal the glass around tanks (toxic chemicals being bad for the fish).

It smells strong at first, due to the acetic acid (vinegar) it's dissolved in. That will evaporate. Don't worry, the fumes aren't harmful, it's just really strong vinegar.

Make it in really tiny batches.
To color, add your food coloring to the starch and mix it in (pulverize it until it's all even and dry and powdery). Only after that's evenly mixed, mix it with the silicone. If you try to add to the silicone without adding to the starch first to dry it, the silicone will repel the water based food coloring.

Now for your mold:

Find the top of some container that's about the right size to press it into. When it sets up (a couple hours at most), you should be able to peel it out.

For a stick, I would use a toothpick, and cover it in white Oogoo.

Lay down a bit of cling wrap or a plastic bag. Put some white Oogoo on it. Fold over the plastic, and smash it really flat. You can use a rolling pin, or a can, or anything smooth and round.
Wait a minute and peel off the plastic. You should be able to cut it with a knife, and wrap it around your toothpick in a thin layer. Wrap some plastic around it and roll it in your fingers to smooth it out and make it even. Make sure the tips are covered.

Once that hardens enough to touch without messing it up, you can cut a notch in a plastic lid and put the tip inside the lid, and the rest outside, then pack the lid full with colored Oogoo.

If you want something stronger than a toothpick, you could go to a hardware store and buy a steel pin or thin nail of the appropriate length. That could cause problems in the microwave, though, so you'd want to boil on the stove, or boil the water in the microwave first, then add it in after you take the water out of the microwave.
User avatar
Jebus
Master of the Forum
Posts: 2379
Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2014 2:08 pm
Diet: Vegan

Re: Do people consider you strange?

Post by Jebus »

maxeemindee wrote:I have never heard such a stereotype that vegans are weird.
Have a look at any non-vegan forum and see what people write when the topic of veganism comes up.
maxeemindee wrote:I actually think that it might be hurtful to call his habits unnecessary and strange. If you consider your self a rational person then you should at least realize that your words could be hurtful instead of helpful.
I doubt anyone here is that sensitive about anything they read on the Internet. Even so, hurtful often is helpful, which is one of the reasons I am strongly against the fat acceptance movement
maxeemindee wrote:Why do you think that it is important that people should try to eliminate supposedly strange habits?
I don't really care if non-vegans try to eliminate their strange habits as these hurt only themselves. However, if you are a vegan and you consider yourself an ambassador of the vegan movement, than you must realize that most non-vegans don't encounter many vegans in their daily life. Hence, every such encounter is an important opportunity to promote veganism. The reason why I wouldn't chew my thumb, pace back and forth, roll over on my back and suck my own cock etc. during such an encounter is similar to why I wouldn't do so during an important job interview.
maxeemindee wrote:If you consider yourself rational, you should realize that people should not have to change their benign habits such as pacing or chewing pencils for any reason at all. I would also like to address your other stereotype once more because it is similar to this one, vegans should not have to fit into society's standards of "healthy looking", especially if they are in good health. Please feel free to address any weaknesses in my argument.
Do you understand the following connection?: Non-vegan is impressed by vegan person s/he meets - Non-vegan decides to try out veganism because of this impression- Thousands of fewer animals will suffer because of this change in behavior.

For certain, not every non-vegan will be less impressed by a vegan just because s/he chews his/her thumb but I'm pretty sure most would. Also, not every non-vegan will become vegan because they were impressed by a vegan person they met but I'm sure a few would. Given what's at stake I would consider it selfish to not try to eliminate unnecessary, potentially harmful habits just because someone thinks they should be able to act or look like whatever they feel like without having to give in to "societal pressure."
How to become vegan in 4.5 hours:
1.Watch Forks over Knives (Health)
2.Watch Cowspiracy (Environment)
3. Watch Earthlings (Ethics)
Congratulations, unless you are a complete idiot you are now a vegan.
Dream Sphere
Senior Member
Posts: 356
Joined: Wed Aug 27, 2014 7:52 pm
Diet: Vegan
Location: Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada

Re: Do people consider you strange?

Post by Dream Sphere »

I've figured people have found me somewhat strange due to my various quirks regarding my anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder, which at least are in much better control now than they had been at some points in the past for me. So, I'm unsure how often people have found me strange in recent times as the occurrences of people explicitly expressing such thoughts or feelings has diminished significantly.

In the past I used to get comments about my lack of speaking, which had been brought on by social anxiety. However, while I didn't speak a lot in some situations, (most often around groups of strangers or people who were barely acquaintances,) even in the past when I had less of a grip over being able to manage my anxiety at certain points I would still be able to take part in and enjoy social experiences by expressing myself in a very open, unworried way sometimes.

Also, there were some OCD 'rituals' I would sometimes feel compelled to do in public, (which involved cleaning myself excessively) which brought on some comments from others expressing curiosity in my odd behavior. I likewise hadn't learned how to manage it very well over a decade ago, but have learned to deal with it much better, so that I don't give in to compulsions anymore, and the occasional feelings of 'needing' to do something unnecessary to 'clean' myself haven't been nearly as intense as they used to be when I was reinforcing the behavior and thoughts by giving in to the compulsions. So, I haven't gotten any comments around that in awhile either.

I've occasionally been called odd for not caring a lot about my fashion. I just mostly wear jeans and different coloured t-shirts day-to-day. I really just don't have a desire to change it up much, except on an occasional basis where I'll wear a suit for a special occasion or something else where a change of attire is reasonably necessary.


One quite bothersome expression of seeing 'oddness' in me I've heard from a couple people, (luckily very rarely,) which I at least don't attribute so much to me, and much more-so to them, is when they, who are Carnists had brought up a bit of a debate with me regarding my Veganism, and they of course also know of my mental health issues, which then resulted in them trying to suggest that I shouldn't be on a Vegan diet since they believed it wouldn't be fulfilling my dietary needs for good cognitive functioning, and how it was 'odd' that I would think Veganism would be 'safe' to commit to. How genuine they are, and how much of it's about them mostly coping for their own cognitive dissonance I've remained uncertain of. In those couple arguments, I reminded them how I was a complete Carnist for my whole life before, and a number of years after my mental health issues had first become noticeable. Also, how my mental health has progressively gotten better, in correlation to the time frame since I've gone Vegan, interestingly even more so when I became interested in eating a healthier Vegan diet instead of the heavily junk-foody one I had been eating prior. However, I'm not claiming it specifically, directly helped with my mental health issues. I've found a lot of things generally improving in my life around the same time frame as going Vegan, but which caused what or is influencing which I'm uncertain of. Fortunately once I told them about how from all the knowledge I've gained on the subject of my mental struggles, (which they should have already known or recognized...) that my mental health issues primarily stem from genetics which is fairly apparent since a large portion of my family members have also been diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, or other related stuff and whom still remain Carnists. It had stopped them pestering me, at least in the way they had seemingly been looking for me to admit being wrong in being Vegan in regards to my mental health issues, to appease their belief in Carnism being acceptable by also letting them ignore their own insecurities. There's still occasional tension between one of them and me around Veganism/Carnism, but they at least haven't brought up my mental health or other health around it again.
User avatar
Neptual
Senior Member
Posts: 451
Joined: Fri May 16, 2014 5:47 pm
Diet: Vegan
Location: New York

Re: Do people consider you strange?

Post by Neptual »

No, so far I've spent my first year in Switzerland they take animal welfare very seriously.

Read more about it here: http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-sw ... al-welfare
She's beautiful...
Post Reply