Dealin’ with the haterz!
Hey everyone! When you get into raw foods you may or (hopefully) may not have to deal with the occasional ribbing, goofs or skiewed looks. There are a bunch of ways to deal with this, but here are some of my faves!
I’ve dealt with people thinking I was a bit odd since my pre-teen days. Growing up I had a passion for insects and arachnids (you should’ve seen my collection of lil’ friends!) and as a teen I dug up our former garage site and turned it into an organic garden. My peers thought my hobbies were a lil’ bit beyond normal! So I learned early on how to be an oddball and still have a social life! So becoming a raw food nerd wasn’t gonna be all that weird….I mean heck pet tarantulas and centipedes…an odd diet was gonna be a cake walk…err a raw cake walk.
One of the best ways to deal with the goofing and ribbing is to laugh it off! It’s very easy to take our hobbies too seriously and get really offended when people jokingly point out the oddness of a totally uncooked veggy laden diet. I would advise being understanding of people thinking this strange…it may have seemed strange for us back before we got into it! If people give you those “wtf” responses when they see your foods…you could say “Surprisingly it tastes good…if it didn’t I couldn’t be doing this.” This will not only make you a lil’ more relatable, but it might inspire them to try it someday!
For those really annoying p.i.t.a. types I recomend taking their diatary criticism with a grain of salt! I mean someone chowing on junky eats and baggin’ on your decision to drink green smoothies shouldn’t impress you all that much! Always consider the source!
My best advice is to keep it postive in these situations, don’t diss other’s food choices, and be accepting of the fact that other’s may think that the raw diet is a lil’ odd. Some of the ribbing (maybe not all of it…but some!) could stem from diet envy! Heck back in my junky food days, when I would see someone chowing down on healthy stuff and lovin’ it, I was freakin’ impressed! Someone frustrated with their diet may be hating on your veggy loving butt! So again be understanding and don’t let your diet ostracize you!
Peace, love and many happy encounters with raw food enthusiasts and others! :0)
This entry was posted on June 5, 2010 by Rawdawg Rory. It was filed under Just for fun!, Keeping it raw and healthy, Uncategorized, Videos, What started all of this? and was tagged with geeked fu, haters, health food, healthy, raw dog rory, raw food, raw living, rawdawg rory, socializing.
Thanks RDog! I’ve been a vegan for several years before considering the raw food thing & I am pretty much used to the ribbing at this point. I only have one cousin that is relentless – if we are at a family bbq or restaurant he’ll gather some leaves, or throw an acorn and ask me, “Wanna snack?” I think it hilarious, and don’t read much into it as he teases everyone about any & everything! Plus, I’ve gotten very good with my come back over the years. So yes, laughing along with the crowd is the way to go – if you take life too serious you will miss the joy in your unique way of living. Plus, everyone always wants some of my food, so in the end I get most of my friends & family to add more greens into their diet & to make green smoothies.
June 5, 2010 at 7:39 am
this is so helpful! just a few days ago i was at a loss when an old friend criticized my new habits. after the third joke about me living off “delicious iceberg lettuce” i just got frustrated.
thank you for your positive attitude!!!
-rebekah
August 4, 2010 at 4:10 am