Whingeing at meat eaters is not the answer

589: 

At the moment it doesn’t seem that people are ‘interested’ in us. Yawn. The very mention of ‘Animal Rights’ makes most people want to switch off. At a rally, they pass by without even glancing our way. We’re astounded. We wait … and nothing changes. And so it goes on.

Perhaps we can’t think of another way of publicising animal issues when we’re on the back foot. Does our voice become shrill when we talk? Is the tone in our voice to earnest? Perhaps from being shocked by their indifference we don’t notice we’re almost shouting at them, as if we’re saying, “Hey you”, implying they’re asleep.

But of course they are NOT asleep, they just don’t want to be confronted. When they see us holding placards on the street their first thought is to try to get past us. We represent an uncomfortable truth.

Amongst ourselves we talk. We say how we feel. It makes us feel better. But if we talk the same way to omnivores our words explode in our face, which is why whingeing to meat eaters never works.

Their food almost defines who they are. And perhaps their clothing does too (women’s shoes, men’s leather jackets). So, they don’t take kindly to being put on the spot over their choices.

They can sympathise with vegans because they know we have a tough time of it, being excluded from a big part of their world. But it’s usually pity they feel at our stubbornness.

So, here we are, ‘vegans’, trying to talk about the most tabooed subject on earth and not even getting to first base. All I know is that omnivore-bashing isn’t the answer.