Sunday 3rd October 2010
I’m an advocate of animal rights (obviously!) but I wouldn’t necessarily tell that to anyone. Why should they know? For them, this subject is as off limits as atheism is for Christians. And anyway, why do I need them to know that about me? I don’t need their approval for being vegan … but it’s likely I do need their approval of me as a person. So, I want them to see me as an open person and likewise, from my point of view, I’d like to be sure how open they are. I’m not after grudging tolerance of closed minds.
If you take your clothes off and lay in the sun, you are open to the sun’s rays (for better or worse). Vegans need to be less interested in people “knowing I’m a vegan” and more interested in them knowing I’m empathetic. On all fronts. Interested in how people feel. As vegans we need to know … about where others are on the spectrum between hostility and affection. How they feel about me. How they feel about this subject.
If you meet an open soul on your travels, ‘the subject’ might arise naturally, and it might be one of many things you talk about. If you meet a person who is adamantly closed-off on this subject, if you’re pushing rocks up hill, the more talk the more antagonism - and much breath wasted.
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