Lierre Keith left a comment on Monday’s post. Since not everyone reads all the comments, I’ve pasted it below:
Tom, your post made me laugh, and that’s a very good thing right now. And I want to thank all of you for your support and outrage on my behalf. It helps to counterbalance the people who are celebrating that I was assaulted.
The people who assaulted me were definitely vegans–they shouted “Go vegan!” and “Don’t eat meat!” as they hit me. The irony for me was that the attack came at the exact moment in my speech when I was saying, “You shouldn’t eat factory-farmed meat. Anyone with a pulse, let alone a conscience, should agree.”
But they aren’t going to stop me from speaking. I will just be doing it with security from now on. I’ve also been flooded with literally hundreds of emails of support from people all around the world, more than I can answer. That really helps. And the silver lining in the cayenne cloud is that my book went from 4500 on amazon to 1503 yesterday. As one of my friends said, “You know those stupid little f*cks have just sold the entire 4th printing for you?” If they wanted to shut me up, they’ve had the opposite effect on every level.
Thanks, Lierre, and heal up soon — Tom
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Karma…
I am dying to read the book now that all of this foolishness has happened. I had it on my wish list before and this was simply a catalyst to get me to finally order it.
Good for you Lierre, and happy healing!
“You know those stupid little f*cks have just sold the entire 4th printing for you?”
The True Believers have a proud history of shooting themselves in the foot – why should this be any different?
That’s the way it always works. The more you piss people off, the more popular you become, and the stronger your supporters in your defense. Challenge and support exist in equilibrium. That’s why when some guy in front of you berating a clerk makes you step up and say, “what’s with that douchebag?” once the guy is out of earshot.
As for factory farmed meat, I do have a pulse. No conscience whatsover though. In fact, that’s why I hated Lierre’s book. Turning dinner into a moral issue is a much bigger problem than factory farming as far as I’m concerned, and was shocked to see that Keith made that mistake as a vegan to her own detriment and was now exploring Deja Vu on the other side of the spectrum.
Just eat the food. If you really want to help the planet out, pursue a vegan diet or a very low carbohydrate diet to increase your chances of becoming infertile.
“If they wanted to shut me up, they’ve had the opposite effect on every level.”
That’s exactely what I thought when I read about it. I hope you will be fine soon and I send you my best wishes from Germany!
Sudda
Karma…
I am dying to read the book now that all of this foolishness has happened. I had it on my wish list before and this was simply a catalyst to get me to finally order it.
Good for you Lierre, and happy healing!
You’re fallng for the hype.
“You know those stupid little f*cks have just sold the entire 4th printing for you?”
The True Believers have a proud history of shooting themselves in the foot – why should this be any different?
Sorry she had to suffer, but she’s coming back strong. Their little antics will backfire. Reminds me:
That which does not kill us makes us stronger. … Friedrich Nietzsche
That’s the way it always works. The more you piss people off, the more popular you become, and the stronger your supporters in your defense. Challenge and support exist in equilibrium. That’s why when some guy in front of you berating a clerk makes you step up and say, “what’s with that douchebag?” once the guy is out of earshot.
As for factory farmed meat, I do have a pulse. No conscience whatsover though. In fact, that’s why I hated Lierre’s book. Turning dinner into a moral issue is a much bigger problem than factory farming as far as I’m concerned, and was shocked to see that Keith made that mistake as a vegan to her own detriment and was now exploring Deja Vu on the other side of the spectrum.
Just eat the food. If you really want to help the planet out, pursue a vegan diet or a very low carbohydrate diet to increase your chances of becoming infertile.
“If they wanted to shut me up, they’ve had the opposite effect on every level.”
That’s exactely what I thought when I read about it. I hope you will be fine soon and I send you my best wishes from Germany!
Sudda
Matt Stone Said
“If you really want to help the planet out, pursue a vegan diet or a very low carbohydrate diet to increase your chances of becoming infertile.”
What in the world would make you think a very low carb diet would make you infertile? Au contraire, IMO. Have you anything to back this up, or are you just being a douchebag?
Although I don’t find the assault itself amusing, I was amused that they chose as their toxic agent an extract from a supposedly edible plant.
Perhaps a steak over the eyes, or a milk bath might help to soothe the tissue inflamed by this toxic vegetable product. But what does it do over time to your stomach?
I presume we’re talking about a grass-fed steak. Great idea.
Got me to buy it!
Lierre, it’s good to hear that you are recovering, both in spirit and body, and I’m so glad to hear of the rise in your Amazon sales. I bought your book after Dr. Eades posted his positive comments, and I just want to say well done! Get some really big, mean bouncer types on your security team.. Hopefully, the next time, the cowards will get the sprouts kicked out of them. 🙂
Sorry she had to suffer, but she’s coming back strong. Their little antics will backfire. Reminds me:
That which does not kill us makes us stronger. … Friedrich Nietzsche
Matt Stone Said
“If you really want to help the planet out, pursue a vegan diet or a very low carbohydrate diet to increase your chances of becoming infertile.”
What in the world would make you think a very low carb diet would make you infertile? Au contraire, IMO. Have you anything to back this up, or are you just being a douchebag?
Although I don’t find the assault itself amusing, I was amused that they chose as their toxic agent an extract from a supposedly edible plant.
Perhaps a steak over the eyes, or a milk bath might help to soothe the tissue inflamed by this toxic vegetable product. But what does it do over time to your stomach?
I presume we’re talking about a grass-fed steak. Great idea.
That really helps. And the silver lining in the cayenne cloud is that my book went from 4500 on amazon to 1503 yesterday. As one of my friends said, “You know those stupid little f*cks have just sold the entire 4th printing for you?” If they wanted to shut me up, they’ve had the opposite effect on every level.
Well as they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity. 🙂
Just bought the book myself, I’m excited to see what she’s got to say that would piss people off this much!
Also, Tom, I really enjoy your blog. I just stumbled on it about a month ago and I really enjoy your insightful post. I keep sending your post to friends and family. Keep up the good work!!
Thanks. I don’t plan on shutting up anytime soon.
Got me to buy it!
Lierre, it’s good to hear that you are recovering, both in spirit and body, and I’m so glad to hear of the rise in your Amazon sales. I bought your book after Dr. Eades posted his positive comments, and I just want to say well done! Get some really big, mean bouncer types on your security team.. Hopefully, the next time, the cowards will get the sprouts kicked out of them. 🙂
That really helps. And the silver lining in the cayenne cloud is that my book went from 4500 on amazon to 1503 yesterday. As one of my friends said, “You know those stupid little f*cks have just sold the entire 4th printing for you?” If they wanted to shut me up, they’ve had the opposite effect on every level.
Well as they say, there is no such thing as bad publicity. 🙂
@matt stone
I think you meant “High carb” diet decreases fertility.
You are all in for a rude surprise when you actually read the book.
In short, she is what’s known as “anti-civ” and if you google her “In the Wake” interview you’ll find that she believes it’s cool for saboteurs to disable the electrical grid which would undoubtedly lead to many deaths.
You have no idea how wicked she is. Have fun!
Hey Lierre,
I’m glad to hear you’re recovering well from the attack. I’ve been following some discussions on the event and I’m curious, not having read your book, about why it seems so many folks who have read your book come across as anti-vegan rather than anti-agriculture which is what I thought your work was about? I’m confused as to what the point of being angry and insulting toward vegans is? I understand being mad at the people (not yet identified as vegans) that pied you, but you’re certainly smart enough and compassionate enough to know that not all vegans support that act, right? I was interested in reading your book, but the impression I’ve gotten from the discussions is that it really is about attacking and belittling vegans which seems so odd since you were one and you know the motivation (empathy for voiceless sentient beings). And if you were truly damaged by the diet, why wouldn’t you and your readers be more open and welcoming to vegans who you clearly believe need to hear this information? It just doesn’t make any sense. I’m trying hard to understand, but a little help would really be appreciated. Thanks!
So confused: why don’t you just sit down and actually READ the book before you start venting opinions about it? The very fact that Lierre WAS a vegan and suffered for it makes her an expert on the stuff. And while you may not agree with everything in the book (one usually doesn’t with any book) there is some very sound stuff in it.
Mezzo, thanks for the response. Apparently, I’m not allowed to ask questions before I read. Thanks, very helpful. And I don’t really think I was venting, but again, thanks for being helpful to someone just asking questions, not attacking anyone.
Be nice, you two. I don’t want any pies tossed around here.
@Wanda
No, he (Matt Stone) means low carb. Through some “horror stories” he lists on his blog from people following supposedly “low carb” diets he’s concluded that any diet that radically limits any macronutrient is harmful. I’ve read those horror stories, and the actual foods eaten are either a) not really low carb; b) not listed or defined sufficiently to determine what the diet is; or c) severely lacking in saturated/animal fat producing symptoms that are completely consistent with rabbit starvation. He knoweth not of what he speaketh. He does not back up his claims with biochemistry or physiology, only anecdotes.
If carbohydrates were necessary for reproduction, there would be no Inuits. (Hey, maybe that sharing-the-wife tradition was all about increasing the odds …)
Keep going Lierre!
You’ve got all my support! 🙂
Matt, every single thing you do is a moral issue. Just because you want to ignore that fact doesn’t make it not a fact. Everything you do has a consequence in the real world. Every. single. thing.
I have to ignore Keith’s admonition to avoid factory-farmed food because I’m not the one paying for the groceries, and if I were I’d be lucky to get any meat at all, because I’ve never been a high earner. But I’m not ignoring that part because I don’t care, I’m doing it because almost any kind of meat is better than none. I know that from personal experience. Nothing I can do but suck it up and deal until my situation improves.
And yet I’m still handing over money (or someone else is, in my name–my little girl’s dad is the one with the paycheck these days, and we live with him, so…) to the big agribusinesses that abuse animals and pollute the environment. Ask the good people of North Carolina how it’s going with all those hog farms. Unless it’s a hog farmer you wind up asking, you’re not likely to get a charitable answer. When you can’t even go fishing on the river without breaking out in nasty rashes from all the hog farm runoff, you KNOW something is wrong.
So confused: The dubious representations of human beings who pied Ms. Keith yelled slogans like “go vegan!”, so I doubt they were carnivores.
Sending well wishes your way. It’s unfathomable that anyone could justify assult to further their own cause. You have already shown in your book that vegans are not the most logical group. But this was appalling. And anyone who could condone such an act…..
Thank you for writing such an important book, and I hope the message you’re trying to spread grows like wildfire. As it needs to. Your friend is right. The terrible actions by some thugs will only go to serve your cause in the end. Take that wind right out of their sails.
mezzovoice says:
The very fact that Lierre WAS a vegan and suffered for it makes her an expert on the stuff.
No, it does not and I do not mean that as a slam.
Going to school, studying a subject, getting a degree in it, working in a related field and researching a subject in a professional capacity makes a person an expert.
Keith is a writer with a liberal arts background. She has written on a number of technical, medical and scientific related subjects in her book that she does not have an education in. People who have the education Keith lacks in those subjects disagree with her on many things.
It is not a popular opinion on a medium such as the internet where people limit their exposure to mostly what they agree with, but education, research and experience matter. A lot.
Even positive reviews on Amazon have pointed out factual errors she has made. That should be the epitaph of non-fiction book.
A few people are still fans of her book despite the factual errors, because the book tells them what they want to hear. I don’t mean that as slam, many human beings react like that sooner or later about something.
BTW, I do not approve of the pie throwing incident.
That really helps. And the silver lining in the cayenne cloud is that my book went from 4500 on amazon to 1503 yesterday.
About 4 weeks later it is back down to # 4,439.
4 years after being published “The China Study” by Dr. T. Colin Campbell is ranked about #115 on Amazon.
That is the difference being a research scientist with a formal education and 70 grant years of peer reviewed research funding makes versus being a writer with a liberal arts background.
The message of “The China Study” is that disease goes down the more people eat a predominantly plant based diet.
Yes, I’m aware of the premise. I guess that explains why the Masai and the Plains Indians and all the other primal hunting societies were so riddled with cancer, heat disease and diabetes. But man, when those Indians got on reservations and started living on corn and wheat, they just became the picture of health, didn’t they?
From a scientific standpoint, The China Study is garbage, no matter how well it sells. If you think receiving a university degree magically turns a researcher into an unbiased observer on a quest for the truth, you have a LOT of learning to do. Researchers manipulate their findings all the time. That’s how we ended up with the Lipid Hypothesis.
http://www.westonaprice.org/The-China-Study-by-T.-Colin-Campbell.html
http://jonnybowdenblog.com/why-i-am-not-a-vegetarian/
http://www.cholesterol-and-health.com/Campbell-Masterjohn.html
I REGAINED my fertility, which was supposed to be a lost cause, when I started eating a low-carb, meat heavy diet.
Low-carb, meat rich helped me bring two beautiful and healthy baby girls to term with absolutely no adverse effects to my health.
Matt is woefully misinformed. He should read “The Diabetes Diet” by Richard K. Bernstein and “Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution” by the same author.
It’s funny but when You read comments by vegetarians and vegans they seem to be well researched and well educated. All I see here is aggression and hatred. Lierre Keith is not a well respected ‘author’. The book contains many convenient unthruths about the vegan/vegetarian lifestyle which will appeal to ardent meat eaters, and those involved in the meat industry. Lierre Keith is an anarchist feminist who just likes kicking up a stink! The meat and dairy industry is destroying the planet and we need to consume less meat. That’s a fact!
Yes, I’ve enjoyed the calm, reasoned comments from the vegans … very much like the calm, reasoned way those guys pushed a pepper-pie into Lierre’s face.
Dear Dana,
You wrote:
I have to ignore Keith’s admonition to avoid factory-farmed food because I’m not the one paying for the groceries, and if I were I’d be lucky to get any meat at all, because I’ve never been a high earner.
***
Actually if you know someone with a freezer you can make a few calls to local butchers and buy half a cow or half a pig at a time from a local free range farmer. That’s what I do. The animal is happier to the last day, the meat is better and better for you, you are supporting local farmers instead of agricorporations, and it ends up cheaper per pound than buying it in the grocery store. At least that’s the case where I live in northern California. The only two downsides: you need to know someone with a freezer; and you need to pay for the half an animal at once. But if you can do that you’ll save money and it’s nicer for everyone involved. And better tasting.
Dear Dana,
You wrote:
I have to ignore Keith’s admonition to avoid factory-farmed food because I’m not the one paying for the groceries, and if I were I’d be lucky to get any meat at all, because I’ve never been a high earner.
***
Actually if you know someone with a freezer you can make a few calls to local butchers and buy half a cow or half a pig at a time from a local free range farmer. That’s what I do. The animal is happier to the last day, the meat is better and better for you, you are supporting local farmers instead of agricorporations, and it ends up cheaper per pound than buying it in the grocery store. At least that’s the case where I live in northern California. The only two downsides: you need to know someone with a freezer; and you need to pay for the half an animal at once. But if you can do that you’ll save money and it’s nicer for everyone involved. And better tasting.
Today, I went to the beach front with my children.
I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said
“You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put
the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off
topic but I had to tell someone!
Today, I went to the beach front with my children.
I found a sea shell and gave it to my 4 year old daughter and said
“You can hear the ocean if you put this to your ear.” She put
the shell to her ear and screamed. There was a hermit crab inside and it pinched her ear.
She never wants to go back! LoL I know this is completely off
topic but I had to tell someone!
She claims that weeks later her eyes were puffy and bkurred. No medical records attest to any of this. A photo was taken of her after she’d washed her hair. No trace of red eyes or puffiness. Just wet hair. Why was her first reaction, “Call the police!” but never “Call a doctor.”? It’s all hype and bullshit.
If you want to read her book, Lierre says she will send you the book for FREE because she wants to get the information out there. Not that anything in her book hasn’t already been.published! D’oh! Go on. Email her with your address and say that you’d love to read the book but really can’t afford it.
She claims that weeks later her eyes were puffy and bkurred. No medical records attest to any of this. A photo was taken of her after she’d washed her hair. No trace of red eyes or puffiness. Just wet hair. Why was her first reaction, “Call the police!” but never “Call a doctor.”? It’s all hype and bullshit.
Riiiight. She planned the whole thing as a publicity stunt.
Keep showing up, gang. You make yourselves look ridiculous with these “she did it to herself” arguments, so go for it.
If you want to read her book, Lierre says she will send you the book for FREE because she wants to get the information out there. Not that anything in her book hasn’t already been.published! D’oh! Go on. Email her with your address and say that you’d love to read the book but really can’t afford it.