Connecting, not abusing

To attack the non-vegan is a mistake. We have to set the standard, and somehow the image of a vegan being an attack machine has to be changed. Communication between people of differing viewpoints is a high priority. Attack is easy and gives a sugar-hit to stave off frustration and the feeling of being alone (in a world full of unthinking and uncaring people), but we need to learn how to make connections with people.
Perhaps at the back of any frustrated activist’s mind is a reluctance to get down to the business of learning how to connect with people, who seem to be opposed. A passionate promotion of animal rights might not be the only answer to successfully hitting home. Vegans might eventually get tired of promoting and persuading and trying to educate people who don’t want to listen. It’s often just easier or more exciting to go to a demo and feel you’ve done something. But what good does it do to win a few newspaper headlines one day and for the whole effort to evaporate when people have forgotten the news report the next day? Demonstrations might tweak the conscience but they don’t address the issues deeply enough to touch the hearts of others. And eventually many millions need to be deeply touched if they are to be brought on side. We can’t afford to miss any opportunity to win people over. We only lose potential supporters when we abuse them. Far better to invite them to go food shopping with us.