Going over the top

The way we persuade people without trying to snare them or inflict guilt on them is to simply get them thinking. If we try to tell others how they should think, what views are correct, etc, we might seem aggressive. And that puts people off. It’s like when we’re on the receiving end of an “agree with me or you’ll feel my disapproval” threat – it’s a premonition we get that a cruelty is about to happen to us. For some animal activists, this subject is so heavily charged, emotionally, that it provides them with the excuse to "go over the top". They’re passionate but one gets the impression that each verbal blow has been rehearsed. It’s seen as evangelising. The listener premeditates ‘their message’ and slams the door before giving them the chance to make their first point.
Animal activists who try and fail with these tactics "queer the pitch" for others who come after them. So is there a less direct way to talk about animal issues without causing grief, but not so indirect that we don’t say what we mean, or so gentle that we can be easily brushed off? How can we be gentle AND dynamic at the same time? . . . Maybe by the use of mischief (see tomorrow’s blog)?