It’s so absurd I want to test the boundaries of it.

Imagine if in a group of people who reaffirm each other’s biases and lifestyles of using animals for everything.

Someone speaks out and says “I know I’m not vegan and I’m a hypocrite… but vegans have some good points. We should probably be moving away from animal products for the sake of the animals and the environment and even our health.”

The group reaction is positive, accepting, encouraging, agreeable. Some people even admit they’re hypocrites or should try to go vegan.

Then, that same person who originally spoke in favor of veganism, becomes vegan. Next they say to the group “I’m vegan now… best choice I ever made. I don’t regret it, wish I did it sooner, and you feel much better not just health wise but in your conscience and peace of mind… knowing you’re not contributing to all those horrors involving animals and the planet…”

Suddenly because that person is now vegan and no longer in the same “self-aware hypocrite” category as the rest of them, the mood change and the reaction turns negative and they start criticizing the new vegan, making excuses to not be vegan or accusations of imperfection against the vegan, etc etc.

Surely if you point out the inconsistencies someone would realize they’re subject to a psychological complex and mental coping mechanism more than anything.