The starting line

Vegans want to be thought of neither as missionaries nor as too mild mannered to speak up. We want to be taken seriously and have what we say considered constructively. Whatever we say must be on a “suggestion only” basis. There should be an understanding that whatever we vegans say, we still bottom line respect the integrity of the person with whom we’re speaking. Veganism is egalitarian and vegans should have enough self confidence not to need ego boosting. We don’t need to have people agreeing with us but then going home and falling back into their old habits. We should welcome robust debate, encourage disagreement, tolerate the uninformed. We’re not out just to win converts.
O course it would be nice to be in true communication. The trick is surely to tread a delicate balance between informing and staying on an equal footing. A vegan’s job is to guide information across a very rocky, resistant road.
But however smart our approach, however slick our arguments, however nice a person we seem to be to others, we just represent one side of the debate. (Of course, as it happens, we’re on the right side!!)
Since all of us want to be right, does that create an obstacle? It’s a bit off-putting to meet and talk with someone who thinks they’re right all the time … and how right does a vegan feel? Well, in truth, very right. So if vegans are given the chance to show how right we are we should be short and sweet. No need initially to go into great detail, simply establish the launch pad, tell people where we stand so it’s clear – we don’t touch the animals. This is the start of it all. That’s where going vegan starts.