I was watching TV (gasp!) the other day (over two months ago now) and came across the show ‘Trading Spouses,’ a series in which two families swap moms and live the chaos as it unfolds. Why did this catch my eye? Well, they just happened to be swapping a Cajun mom from the Louisiana bayou and a vegan mom from the coast of California. This will be old news for those of you with cable…I think the episode is from 2004.

A quick synopsis from the network:

An animal-rights activist from San Diego trades places with a Cajun swamp tour owner from Louisiana.

Diana Tregle operates a swamp tour in Thibodeaux, Louisiana. She lives with her husband, Lloyd “Diego” Loupe, and her eight-year-old son, Zamariah “ZZ” Loupe. The family lives with a menagerie of snakes and alligators. Diana worries about the mother she’s swapping families with, because she knows Zamariah can be a handful.

Meanwhile, in San Diego, California, Barbara Gates, a mother, homemaker, and animal-rights activist, keeps a vegan household. She and her family try to abstain from hurting any animals. She lives with her husband Jim, and their children: ten-year-old son, Jack; and daughter Lucy, age eight.

Vegan Barbara Gates samples some Louisiana alligator; and in San Diego Diana Tregle cooks Cajun gumbo vegan-style for the Gates’ friends and family.

In Louisiana Barbara Gates decides to help ZZ with his homework.

Meanwhile the Gates family decides to take Diana Tregle snorkeling. They hope she’ll change her mind about eating animals. Instead, the sight of fish make her hungry.

So I’ll give fair warning that I’ll most likely end up ranting here. If you’re not into that, leave. Leave now and return at a later date. I will get it out of my system and the air will be clear shortly. ;)

A number of things struck me as I watched:

• Diana (Cajun) was far more open-minded and willing to learn about different lifestyles than Barbara (Vegan) I suppose this shouldn’t have surprised me though. I guess I was hoping that veganism was more her code of ethics than her ‘cool Californian’ diet. I don’t think intolerance is an acceptable trait – especially for someone who claims to be open-minded and respectful of all life.
• The get together that Diana (Cajun) was invited to by Barbara’s vegan friends reinforced some unfortunate vegan/vegetarian stereotypes: 1) Veggies are immediately defensive. 2) Veggies would rather make a point than make a difference. 3) Veggies are unwilling to learn/understand more. I was especially disappointed by this segment of the show. It didn’t seem like any of the women even wanted to hear about the Cajun lifestyle. I think now is a good time for a quote:
  

  Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you’d have preferred to talk.
  Doug Larson

• Barbara (vegan) shows an animal cruelty video during a get together at the Loupe’s. Seriously? I understand the importance of awareness and the occasional necessity of watching/sharing these types of documentaries, but when you’re trying to share your lifestyle choices with such a drastically different culture, I think a less extreme introduction would plant a better seed.
• Barbara (vegan) ate alligator while she was with the Loupes and was immediately concerned about what her family would think/say about it. At first I thought, “I’m all for being a strict vegetarian, but fear of one’s own family is a bit ridiculous.” I came to realize at the end of the show, that Barbara is very controlling of her family and their lifestyle. Perhaps she was fearful of mutiny? If my cheap impression of psychoanalyst doesn’t impress, you might be interested to know that when she told her husband and kids about the meat eating incident she became immediately aggravated by their shock/upset and defensive towards their questions.
• I could go on, but I’d rather get this posted (it’s been a draft for far too long.)

I do understand that this one woman is not the spokeswoman for veganism/vegetarianism, but we all need to be aware that individuals from any minority tend to be seen as a just that, a spokesperson. If you choose to live a certain lifestyle, you can (and should?) expect to be judged, questioned and gawked at.

Draw Your Own Conclusion:
‘Vegan Villain’ Speaks Out!
Vegan Represent Forums
Fans of Reality TV Interview with the Loupe Family

Filed under: Veggie's Shop by DariceJoy
Tags: Vegetarianism