Walking to the left through an enormous mob that is walking right is not an easy task; you must shove your way through masses of ridiculing faces, feel the burning judgment and questioning from others, and ultimately keep reminding yourself why you are walking left in the first place. In The Simpsons’ “Lisa the Vegetarian”, we get a glimpse of what it is like to have a minority opinion or stance on a popular subject. While most viewers of this episode have said it is about Lisa becoming vegetarian and getting into a feud with her father, when we take a closer look we realize that it is actually about the challenges society presses amongst minority beliefs.

Lisa is daughter to Homer and Marge Simpson, and sister to Bart and Maggie Simpson. The Simpson family takes a family visit to a petting zoo, where Lisa falls in love with animals; particularly a lamb. Later that night at the dinner table, Homer cooked meat for dinner and all Lisa can think of is the poor, innocent animal that it came from. She quickly realized she did not want to be a part of eating defenseless animals and decided to become a vegetarian. Needless to say, her family was shocked and did not see eye to eye or care about her newfound passion for veganism. 

Once Lisa decides to quit eating meat, she begins seeing signs of it everywhere. From having absolutely no meat-free lunch options at school, to passing a dozen fast food meat advertisements on billboards throughout the roads, she quickly began to feel outnumbered and alone. Apart from feeling alone on her beliefs, it seems that we do not realize how often we see advertisements everywhere every day. They are sort of forced down our throat; no matter what direction you turn, what website you are on, what radio channel you are listening to. Advertisements are everywhere, and we typically do not realize this until we are purposefully avoiding a certain product. It is then that we see just how often that item sneaks its way into your everyday viewing. 

Homer has a huge barbecue cookout, which of course, involved lots of meat. Lisa is disgusted by the greed that people show and the inconsideration displayed when it comes to animals. Ignorance seems to be bliss to people who do not know where this meat comes from. A lot of people do not want to know the ugly and disturbing process it takes to get meat like that, so they believe whatever large meat industry companies tell them about how its ‘safe’ and ‘humane’. In reality, they are huge slaughter factories and there is nothing humane about that. Lisa presents an alternate vegan meal to the guests and is instantly mocked and made fun of. As an attempt to sabotage Homer’s obsession with the barbecue, she ruins his pig roast. Homer is outraged and the two get in a huge fight. Lisa flees the house, feeling outnumbered. 

Finally, after running away from home, she stops in a gas station to eat something. She sees a hot dog stand and has a huge mental breakdown. After being questioned, mocked, and ridiculed by so many people for having a different belief than them, she wonders if she is the crazy one and decides to give in and eat a hot dog. After consuming it, the man at the register asked if she liked his tofu dogs. Puzzled, she eventually realized that she was not alone with her beliefs. She found someone else who stood for the same cause she did, and felt much more at ease about the situation. The man then showed her a couple more people with the same beliefs as both of them. After speaking with multiple people who comforted her, she realized that having a minority stance on such a cultural norm is not an easy lifestyle. Although she did not want to conform to society, she ended up giving in because she was tired of feeling oppressed for expressing her opinions. No one should have to feel ashamed or feel like they need to hide what they stand for in fear of being ridiculed by others.

This episode shed light on multiple current issues. First, that no one should ever be made fun of just because of differing opinions on things. There is a way for both sides to stand for what they believe in without infringing on the other person’s right to do the same. Having respect and tolerance for others will never be a bad thing. Second, the presence that media and advertisements have on us is extremely prominent and near impossible to escape. Advertisements are increasingly growing, and they seem to be everywhere. In fact, there are hardly any places you won’t see them. I believe it is important to be aware of your surroundings and try your best not to subconsciously succumb to society’s standard of advertisement persuasion. And last, to know that you are never alone. No one should ever have to feel like their only option is to conform to society; especially when what you are standing for is a great cause. Just because it is not the most popular opinion does not mean it is wrong. Find people with the same passions as you, and stick together and you will never be alone. 

Overall, I believe this episode did an amazing job shedding light on multiple issues we face as a country today. Having respect for one another is a simple key principle yet is so easily challenged.  Lisa showed us that if everyone stands up for what they think is right, do not let the media and advertisements sway your beliefs, and always stay true yourselves, we can make this world a happier and more peaceful place.