Two forces

In advocating for animal rights there are two things going on at the same time: we are trying to advocate for the animals but we are also trying to come across as an acceptable and rational human being. On one level we need to seem just like the rest, not better than anyone, just part of the group. On another level we want to stand out and have what we are saying taken seriously. Some would say this is an impossible dream, given the subject - Animal Rights is an unpopular cause which will make us unpopular – just face it! We are torn between two forces here - being ineffective but acceptable or saying “to hell with social acceptance, better to be disliked than ignored”. Two forces: either we stand up for what we believe and feel good about it or we compromise to gain the support of others. It’s our choice. But it does rather depend on who we are talking to, observing them and deciding our approach by what we read from them, as we go along.
Some days I just go along silently with whatever happens. I don’t speak out. I keep smiling and everyone likes me. Other days I bite, and I can see how it effects people who did think I was a sweet guy. One day I’m cowardly, the next I’m violent.
We might ask ourselves how to turn attitudes around when we don’t dare to speak up? These days if your voice is too soft no one will hear you let alone listen, let alone pay attention. And it’s not as if we don’t realise how massive a shift is going to have to take place, if we want to see the abolition of animal slavery. We need so much support for that to happen.
But how do you make people love you and then want to listen to you? The eternal question. Be too sweet and they’ll run a mile. Be aloof and they’ll do the same. But there may be half a solution here: that we don’t try to convert friends and family but confine our outspokenness to speaking in public; being outrageous, dramatic and courageous when we’re most exposed, so that the public eye is caught, we take a risk and win respect, just for that. ‘At home’ we abstain. And then we can still retain the acceptance and emotional support of those who know us, which keeps us stable and secure within ourselves. Then we can go out and be more outspoken without needing reassurance. That will hopefully have the effect of stopping us becoming too aggressive in our overall approach, both to friends and strangers, whilst still being effective with our message.