Initiating discussion

If we vegans insist on being Society’s judges we need to be prepared to weigh all arguments like a judge. We must even listen to the carnivore’s arguments in order to know precisely what they’re thinking, but mainly we listen out of respect for discussion.
By showing how we value the process of discussion our own arguments get a better chance of a hearing. Here, today, we have a free-willed society in which nothing that’s widely practised needs to be discussed, in which everyone can do what they like within the law. That of course means the killers can kill and consumers can consume, and the law protects us and doesn’t protect food animals. Nothing will change until, person by person, the subject is discussed, personal choices are made on principle and the market is reduced by way of consumer backlash and boycott ... when we each of us act for the greater good and not solely for our own comfort.
Those who already do act for the greater good, including vegans, will only be taken seriously if they seem genuine as people. The ‘greater good’ needs human identification - those who do it need to win respect. That respect helps to introduce arguments. Omnivores won’t give us the time of day if they see peace-loving people looking like fanatics. They want ‘educational’ not ‘judgemental’.
Personal identification with the messenger comes before being impressed by what they say. So, we have to stop finger-wagging to shake off our weirdness. Judging someone by dint of the food they’re eating can tell us a lot about them, but it’s not our prerogative to condemn or caste stones.
But “we’re protecting animals” we say. That’s true but not necessarily the whole truth. We might be protecting ourselves even more. We might want to be taken seriously so badly that we project the image of how we want to be seen, rather than how we are. Probably most of us want to be admired for making a stand. And that stand springs from our own desperate need to make progress on Animal Rights. If we don’t want to be seen as righteous we must give up our high moral ground when we speak. It might seems a contradiction to suggest that, but isn’t that why vegans aren’t given the chance to put their case?.
Vegans are trying to reach those who are so far away they can barely hear us, and maybe don’t want to anyway. They can’t face the food regime let alone face us in discussion.
Our righteousness, our healthy body, quick minds and clear conscience are our downfall - we can’t be faulted. Omnivores don’t necessarily disagree with our facts and figures but they find our ‘glow’ off-putting. We aren’t approachable. Indeed when we force our opinion on people we’re seen as invasive ... to put it mildly!