Self deprecation goes a long way

If we become too serious about even the most serious subjects no one will want to listen. We should do as comedians do. They risk everything by laughing at themselves to get their audience on side. They get the human dynamic working for them before doing anything else. As activists, we should try to be effective by appearing non-pushy. We have to take a few risks (in true comedian spirit), by using self-deprecation.
In the hands of a comedian, whose jokes, shall we say, are being aimed at vegans, we would be targeted as ‘bleeding hearts’, animal lovers, fussy eaters or tree huggers. In that same spirit there should be no reason why we, as vegans, shouldn’t enjoy all this, to show we aren’t afraid of being sent up. If we are confident of our facts and feelings, by laughing at ourselves we show others we have a healthy sense of humour, without which animal rights advocacy doesn’t stand a chance. By letting anyone show our naked side, we show we trust them. At the same time we show we’re not better than anyone else - vegan diet notwithstanding. If we can let others see our clowning side, we’ll be better able to show our serious side too. If we come across as a bit weird - so what? As long as we have a sense of humour plus a clearly non-violent tone in our voice, then our words won’t be too drastically reacted against or too easily dismissed. Our message needs to be sung as difficult-to-listen-to music is played, with panache.