There are no words for this betrayal. Look how far I’ve sunk; how far Emacs has sunk me.

Here’s the code (source 1, 2):

(setq-default cursor-type 'box)
;; variable width font in text buffers ...
(dolist (hook '(erc-mode-hook
        LaTeX-mode-hook
        org-mode-hook
        markdown-mode-hook
    gnus-article-mode-hook))
  (progn (add-hook hook (lambda () (variable-pitch-mode t)))
     (add-hook hook (lambda () (setq cursor-type 'bar)))))

;; ... but not in Org tables
(set-face-attribute 'org-table nil :inherit 'fixed-pitch)

I’m using the face Bitstream Vera Serif (would like to know just how this differs from my beloved Bitstream Charter).

(custom-set-faces
 '(variable-pitch ((t (:family "Bitstream Vera Serif")))))