Direct action v. direct communication

If we want people to change we need to drop our confrontational approach and start up direct communication. We should know by now that people who aren’t vegan are free to remain so. They (know they) have the right not to be confronted. They don’t have to put up with being disapproved of if they haven’t broken any law. As vegans, we need to think how we can talk about animal rights and veganism in a civilised manner.
Talking about Animal Rights, in a non-threatening way, is an art. When at first we find no one wants to listen we think it’s our duty to bleat on regardless. Today, for many reasons, this subject is taboo. In polite company it is de rigueur NOT to speak about “the animals”. That might be infuriating but our response as communicators doesn’t have to be reactive. If someone does eat animal products, then whatever we have to say about animals is inevitably guilt inducing. I heard someone say the other day, in impolite company, never to “trust a fucking bean eater”. It’s easy to laugh at the boldness of this response, but to some it would make them angry.
Making judgements about non-vegans is a communication problem. If, as activists, we use sloganeering and propaganda to hammer home our points, people suspect they’re being judged. Spoken to by someone who seems disgusted at all meat-eaters, and assuming they are incapable of conducting a civilised conversation … about animals. As vegans we might have become so hardened towards carnivores that we have virtually no chance of discussing this subject rationally, without a ruction. Such a huge gulf exists, philosophically, between vegans and non-vegans. And in speaking together there are so many things to get across, ideas, feelings, beliefs. The divergence of views is so great that it’s not obvious how to bridge the gulf. I think there’s a short cut.

I think we can reach ‘them’ by direct communication, by starting with mutual respect, speaking as equals. Then imagewise, if we seem to be delivering a lofty message, we need to show humility. We know how strong our arguments are so we need to keep our feet on the ground. We might need a disposition of the animals we are advocating for. Perhaps we should act in the spirit of their patron saint - aspiring (in Saint Francis’ words) “to be the least in the house of God”.
Communicating this way might feel naked at first like loving your enemy too much. But perhaps it’s more like attracting attention, calling across a valley without sounding impatient or desperate, simply telling it how it is. Eventually each of us must decide whether we are speaking truth or just making a lot of noise. We have a voice so why not use it softly, to make suggestions rather than use it to issue instructions.