Patrons of Vegan Cafe Are Pelted With Meat in Tbilisi, Georgia

An attack began Sunday evening inside the Kiwi Café (a popular spot for foreigners and Georgians alike) where it was reported that at least a dozen men came in carrying "slabs of meat on skewers" and began "pelting patrons with grilled meat, sausages and fish". The Café  claimed the assailants were anti-vegan extremists due to the atrocities they convicted while wearing sausages around their necks. It has been said that the police were called; however all the attackers fled and no one was officially arrested for their crimes. It is unclear as to whether the incident was a violent prank, a revolt in opposition to veganism, or just a part of a nationalist attack against Western liberalism and the values epitomized by the Café. There has been a growth of nationalists in Georgia who question the recent arrival of Western ideologies, such as gay marriage and gay rights, and it is speculated that this may be the cause of this recent attack. Because Georgia is a very conservative country and the Georgian Orthodox church is very influential, there is much pushback against allowing  foreign influence to partake in their social society. The Kiwi Café, where the meat attacks occurred, "attracts hipsters, gays, and people who are different". And all of these things symbolize the liberal Western values that are being questioned throughout the current Georgian society. 

Hailey Brzoska

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/06/01/world/europe/patrons-of-vegan-cafe-are-pelted-with-meat-in-tbilisi-georgia.html