On the nose

The hurtfulness of value judgement comes when we demand to be listened to, if we think the rightness of our cause gives us the right to make demands. Do we reckon we’ll be excused our pushy-ness because most people admire the stand we’re taking. We may believe people secretly want to be like us. WRONG!!
For most people, “our cause” is way off target. There are other more important things to consider. Of course from our viewpoint ‘they’ are wrong, but they’re right too, according to their perception; if we do have something to say are they telling us to polish up our act?
All vegans want change, big change, animal liberation change, and as soon as possible. We’re reluctant to believe what we’re up against and think we can push over a few walls, and that will be that. We refuse to accept there are huge forces against us (over food) swaying people’s minds. Swift change may not be imminent. In regard to animal rights, we ourselves might have changed but most others haven’t. It may be that ‘enlightenment’ won’t happen any time soon. For those vegans who think that way it’s depressing.
Let’s be frank, many vegans and most omnivores think a vegan revolution is unlikely. If so a vegan’s life amongst the omnivores might be agony; being ignored by the majority is bad enough but having to be always dodging the smell of animals being cremated drives some of us nuts. That’s why we say, “To hell with it, let’s just make war on the carnivore”.
But this devil-may-care approach, even a ‘pushy’ approach, is just a bit obvious today. Diet is changing anyway, plant-based foods are the ‘safe foods’ and probably most adults agree in theory that that’s true. We probably have a much bigger audience of potential listeners than we realise, if not quite as full-on as we’d like. Omnivores might be warming to the idea, even interested in what we’ve got to say, even attracted … but whoa … that doesn’t mean they want to join the “vegan club”. For most who are curious it isn’t yet a fully fledged conviction. The gulf between the mindless omnivore and the enlightened vegan is huge. How big the middle ground is, no one knows. But it’s likely that, at present, nothing concrete is happening. Most omnivores would prefer we weren’t around to pester them. They avoid us (maybe sub-consciously).
Vegans may be ‘on the nose’ to omnivores. But things are changing and we should be seen as forerunners, optimists and resource people. We should be sitting on the sunny side of the hill rather than the dark side, being the access point for an attractive lifestyle and an attractive attitude base. Ultimately attraction draws people in to see what’s on offer and to hear what’s being said. On the sunny side of the hill we may be a bit separate but never more that necessary.
Vegans may have two aims, to draw people to our view and to keep well out of their way at the same time, mainly for our own comfort – it’s a good idea to stay down wind of their lunchtime cremations, at all times with them but not too close to them!