A handwritten plea from a vegan neighbor urging a resident to close their window while cooking meat to prevent the ‘nauseating’ odor from permeating has ignited a contentious debate regarding the reasonableness of the request. The note, adorned with labels like ‘Please take seriously’ and ‘Important message’, surfaced on social media courtesy of Sarah, a Burns Beach resident in Perth’s northern coastal suburb.
“Dear Neighbor,” the note commences.
One opposing viewpoint asserted that vegans were deceiving themselves.
“Disregard the letter; there’s no such thing as a true vegan,” they claimed. “All vegetable farming has a massive impact on the land and kills thousands of small mammals and birds.”
However, not everyone deemed the request unreasonable.
“I find this to be a genuinely polite letter, and it’s true that the smell of meat can be overpowering,” one person commented. “It would be nice to see some respect for your neighbors, rather than attempting to publicly shame them for upholding strong ethical values.”
“Yeah, no,” was one succinct response. “Most people are outright nasty to those who don’t eat animals.”
Another respondent stated, “No one has the right to dictate how you live in your own home!”
“Be vegan. Eat meat. Each to their own!” another reply declared. “No one has the right to impose their beliefs on others or expect to control their actions. If she doesn’t like it, she can close her own window. It’s that simple.”
Another individual affirmed that the letter was “undoubtedly polite” and suggested that the recipient “could simply close their windows, don’t you think?”
While the majority of respondents criticized the letter for its perceived audacity, a few considered it a reasonable request.
However, this was swiftly countered with the remark: “Not polite at all, but rather self-entitled and rude.”
Some commenters proposed that Sarah should take matters into her own hands.
“I’d cook bacon and steak every day, then position a fan behind it to direct the smell out the window!” one suggested.
“Write back expressing your offense and sadness at their remarks about your cooking, and politely request that they relocate to another room, expressing gratitude for their understanding,” another advised.
“Please, get a smoker and slow-cook meat all day,” was another humorous suggestion.
