An outspoken vegan woman from The Netherlands has now been denied a Swiss passport for the second time, and reasoning behind her passport application denial is nothing short of spectacular. The 42-year-old woman has been living in Switzerland since she was 8-years-old, her children already have Swiss citizenship, and she’s fluent in Swiss German. But she just can’t seem to get that passport and the reason stems from her militant veganism.
via The Independent:
In her village within the canton of Aargau, Ms Holten, a vegan, has rubbed locals up the wrong way by giving interviews to the media about her views on animal rights.
“The sound that cowbells make is a hundred decibel. It is comparable to a pneumatic drill. We also would not want such a thing hanging close to our ears.” she reportedly told the media.
“The animals carry around five kilograms around their neck. It causes friction and burns to their skin,” she has said in interviews, according to the Daily Mail.
In Switzerland, local residents have a say in a person’s passport application. Ms Holten’s first attempt at naturalisation was made in 2015, when she was approved by local authorities but rejected by 144 out of 206 residents in a vote.
“I think I was too strident and spoke my mind too often,” Ms Holten told The Local, adding her intention had not been to attack Swiss traditions but that, in the case of the cowbell, her complaints had been motivated by animal welfare. She said Switzerland is her home and a place where she has friends and relatives and work.
To make a long story short: she’s pissed off her neighbors with her outspoken views on veganism and disrespect of local Swiss traditions and in response, the locals voted against her receiving full Swiss citizenship…She was denied the passport because she’s been acting like an obnoxious vegan.
I’m not sure if vegans seeing this story will let the overarching theme here sink in. All they’ll see is some vegan being persecuted for trying to protect animals, when in reality this person’s being punished because they’re a massive pain in the ass to everyone around them.
Imagine trying to nationalize yourself in Spain or Mexico but being the world’s most outspoken critic of bull fights? Or moving to New Zealand and decreeing how farmer should stop banging the sheep. This just isn’t going to fly with the locals. Being a constant pain in the ass is exhausting to everyone around you, and it’s the absolute wrong method of trying to get your way in life….Vegans never seem to understand this.
[h/t The Independent]