Being well informed

Monday 2nd November

Eventually we all need some details. We can’t accept something until we know some few details about it, details which we’re quite certain about, independently verifiable things. If we know a few things about the things we want to talk about, it’s interesting to others. Particularly, if you’re on the Animal Rights wagon we need to ground ourselves: on ethics, nutrition and environmental issues. If young or new vegans do read up on this they’ll be happier vegans for being able at least to defend our position awhen talking to others about it,. It’s a subject that crops up a lot these days. We’re more likely to be able to speak intelligently about animal rights if we’ve done a bit of homework.
However, let’s not kid ourselves, we have a difficult position to hold here. Not because we may not be right about using animals but because we’re up against a particular type of brick wall. It’s difficult for vegans in this society because we deliver threatening ideas. Hese are the sorts of ideas that may seem improbable. They are not likely to succeed and therefore not worth attaching to. And the preposterous idea of “no more animal products at all” is uncomfortable, to say the least. So, vegans need to appear well informed and very approachable.
This is a complicated subject which can easily tie us up in knots. If we aren’t sure of what we’re saying it makes us go onto the defensive. If we get rattled it’s because we’re trying to avoid looking foolish? And so vegans, who are unable to defend their position or answer a simple enquiry, have got to be able to deal with being ‘put on the spot’ - it’s not easy to admit that we don’t know something which we’re expected to know. But just by admitting that we don’t know or that we can’t solve, we earn credibility for being honest. There’s no fooling anyone out there. If we don’t know something or we get something wrong, and then fall back on emotional and subjective replies (aggro), we lose credibility. Because we mustn’t let the team down (our fellow animal rights mates) or because, personally, we don’t want to appear vulnerable to criticism, we’re likely to use moral confrontation as our sharpest weapon. Certainly the cruelty angle is the strongest suit to play but we hold back, hold back, if we can - just as we would by holding back a trump card. It is, this whole subject, so confronting after all, especially if we attack people with slogans. Meat is murder says in effect “you are a murderer” and whether or not we think that’s true is quite beside the point. It may be so confronting that contact is broken for good and all. Strategically it’s better to withhold slogans until the last resort.
Whatever we feel inside, there’s no reason for it to show through, even if we’re talking with red necked, vegan-hating carnivores. Whatever we feel inside, about the person we’re with, if we can maintain a neutral exterior and listen without reacting, and keep talking calmly, we’ll get the respect and the go-ahead we need.
Once we’re allowed to voice our opinion, we stand a chance to audition before the greatest power in the land - people.