What's A Carnist?
"He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetuate it."
-Martin Luther King Jr.
Vegan Origins
In 1944, Donald Watson coined the word "vegan" to describe himself and a select few other ethical vegetarians who abstained from dairy.[1] In the decades since, and especially in the last five to ten years, this word has come to have a negative connotation. Society thinks of vegans as strange hippies or angry animal rights activists or insipid idealistic children. Vegans have a stigma, and it is very obvious and apparent to any vegan that has ever even mentioned the word to a nonvegan. It's usually met with immediate defensiveness, anger, bullying, or--worst of all--indifference.
Carnist Origins
Several decades later, Melanie Joy created the word "carnism" to describe the "invisible belief system, or ideology, that conditions people to eat certain animals."[2] A carnist is simply a person that partakes in this system. We live in a carnist world, and, though it may be surprising to hear, almost every single vegan was a carnist at one point. The purpose of developing and using this word is to eliminate the idea that people are either vegan or normal. Eventually, as the world becomes more and more vegan, that will become the new normal, and carnists will be the strange ones.
The Stigma
Now, I could say that I don't want it to sound like I'm trying to cast carnists in a negative light, but that would be a lie. I firmly believe that people can change and that we should all be considerate of each other, but that doesn't mean I have to respect the choices a carnist makes with regards to animals. I want carnism to sound like a dirty word, like racist or sexist, because it is similarly wrong. There will come a day--and that day will be much sooner than we think--that people will be afraid to tell others that they're a carnist, much like vegans feel that same fear today. The few carnists that remain may feel ok hurting animals, but that will no longer be socially acceptable; therefore, they will change. Because we are so terrified of being different.
Carnist → Vegan
As long as carnists continue to discriminate against animals, I will continue to use that word. If you're "ethically ok" with killing animals, then you shouldn't be offended by it. Though veganism is associated with a negative stigma, I'm incredibly proud to be one. I love being vegan more than anything else in the world (except maybe my dog, but it's close). If you're a carnist, I urge you to consider why you're still consuming animal products--products of immense suffering to animals, people, and the planet--when there is no need now. If you're a vegan, keep being awesome!
be conscious, be kind, be vegan
Further Reading
"How to Be Vegan When You Don't Have Time to Be Vegan"
"How to Become an Introverted Vegan Activist, Pt. 1"
"How to Become an Introverted Vegan Activist, Pt. 2"