In your own interest, avoid vegans

767: 

Enthusiastic vegans like me, don’t do ourselves or the Animal Rights Movement any favours, by being passionate and then force-feeding facts to people who don’t want them. You can never be sure if it’s necessary anyway. Most people are aware, essentially, of the main ‘animal issues’. However, they often pretend to now less than they do. They choose not to let on. They know enough about farm animals to have reason to stop eating them, but still they eat animal-based foods. So most people know, but choose not to act. If I try to lecture them they get irritated. Their first port-of-call is to accuse me of not knowing what I’m talking about. I say, “Meat will kill you”. And they say, “Oh yes?”.

We vegans have authoritativeness in our voices (... to make us sound more confident perhaps?) Certainly we should know our facts. But who’s listening? I don’t get as far as explaining anything in detail, because I’m not allowed. When YOU don’t want to listen you have the right not to. You don’t have to listen or agree or discuss any subject you don’t want to. But that has the effect of making a person, who wants to talk, feel shut out. What I’m saying is so ridiculous to you, that it doesn’t warrant discussion.

Now, if that triggers frustration, even aggression in me, it’s understandable. But not excusable.

Follow my approach: I’ve gone from enthusiastic to aggressive. So, all you have to do is ignore me. I’ll soon show my true colours. Vegans, non-violence, gentle? Huh! When I get rebuffed, I step over the politeness-boundary. I persuade. You claim your rights and raise your hand, and stop me in my tracks, “I’ve heard it all before”.

You are saying, a) It’s none of your business (shutting me out), b) You don’t know what you’re talking about (shutting me out), c) You are being OTT (over the top), d) You are getting emotional (therefore dangerous).

My approach is failing with you, so I never find out why you won’t talk. You literally stop me speaking. You are uncomfortable hearing about cruelty to animals when you still eat them, and therefore pick up on my behaviour, to avoid the discomfort of me speaking. You accuse me of becoming over emotional, irrational, predictable or even aggressive. You have justification.

It’s amazing to think that all this strategy is worked out in moments, as soon as a person is confronted by a vegan.