Saturday, September 17, 2011

Being non-judgemental

263:

When I’m talking Animal Rights it’s impossible NOT to show my inner feelings. Try as I might, if judgement’s in my mind it’s going to be in my voice. My words may be carefully chosen, but if I harbour any negative personal feeling it’ll show up in my tone of voice and anyone listening will be thinking “Avoid, avoid”. So, for vegans talking Animal Rights, it’s almost impossible for us to win people’s hearts if we don’t seem to be on their side, to some extent.
If I wear the badge of the ‘animal liberationist’, owing to my general reputation I’m easily recognisable. How do I win people over in order to get them to stay with me long enough to listen to what I have to say? I would suggest by proving to them, first and foremost, that I’m not judgemental, and if necessary make a direct point of saying so (whether they’re likely to believe it or not).
To do that I first have to BE non-judgemental, truly so ... and be convinced of the futility of making moral judgements, whether it’s about the abuse of animals or about anything else I consider to be wrong. Instead I need to see it in much the same way as a doctor sees a disease, without rancour or disrespect but simply as a fault in the system, which needs fixing up. A good doctor won’t disparage the illness but simply look for a remedy to counter the destructive element, and therefore so should I.
They say there’s cancer in everyone’s body and that we’d be wise to stay healthy and keep our immune systems robust to lessen the chances for cancer to take hold. In much the same way we need to keep a healthy resolve ‘to avoid making judgements’ so as not to fall into all the classic trap of being too right for the taste of ordinary people .

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