The leftists can defend themselves.

Via a friend’s tip, a few anti-gay bigots are protesting McDonald’s for some reason or other. Sometimes the idiocy – something about exposing McDonald’s sinful bowing before the Homosexual Agenda&#153, I think – is so ridiculous that it just isn’t worth my time to investigate closely. As evidence, consider the statement by the protest’s organizer, Peter LaBarbera, as reported by Good As You:

“The people involved in this boycott of McDonald’s are good family people — not vegans, America-hating leftists, or some other fringe group.”

Wow. I see that LaBarbera has been so busy investigating the Homosexual Agenda&#153 that he doesn’t understand a few things about vegans. One, I have a family, although I’m about as indifferent as I can be to any concern over whether Peter LaBarbera thinks I’m a good family person. Especially if being good means hating people for who they are, as opposed to liking a person who chooses to be an ass.

Two, some vegans might hate America, but those vegans do not hate America because of veganism. But if LaBarbera took a quick (non-gay) stroll around Rolling Doughnut, he’d figure out have all the information necessary to know that I love America and its ideals. Not enough to endorse everything America does, which naturally makes me a pinko, I know. Still, I love it enough that it’s hardly plausible to lump me in with people who hate America. If I want to be embarrassingly stupid, I might suggest that LaBarbera is an America-hating terrorist because his dietary choices match those of Osama bin Laden. But I won’t because I’m not a complete moron.

Three, “fringe” is a very subjective term. I would think that, of course, since if I thought veganism was wrong, I’d change. I don’t because I think I’m right. Many fringe opinions in American history have become the norm. So, fringe doesn’t mean bad. Also, forgive me if I don’t take my ideas from the popularity contest view of what is acceptable rather than a reasoned consideration of principles.

Four, McDonald’s is not exactly vegan-friendly. The french fries aren’t even vegetarian. The key difference, though, is that McDonald’s ignores me because I am not in it’s large, core market. I am on its fringe, but it doesn’t feel compelled to express complete contempt for me. I didn’t think that was noble, but LaBarbera makes me wonder if I set the bar too high.

Post Script: I suspect I belong to at least one other group LaBarbera despises as part of the “anti-American fringe”.