Boasting about being vegan

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Vegans often want to make a big deal out of the fact that they’re ‘vegan’. It’s worn like a badge of honour. Sadly the motive for doing this is mixed - on the one hand I might want to appear brave and ridicule-proof. On the other hand I might be fishing for admiration, for being vegan.

            Boasting might be a big problem. Like bullying, no one likes it. In my opinion, being vegan isn’t about being ‘who I am’, it’s about examining my own values, and then feeling confident enough to talk about them, if and when the occasion arises. It’s as if animal advocates have this vast untapped subject, and we like talking about it, especially if we can break through the taboo surrounding these matters. It’s significant when this happens, since very often this is a subject which the omnivore might not have had challenged before.

            We obviously like to reach people about this ‘animal thing’, and we will eventually reach many people. But we may not do our cause much good if we try to use Animal Rights as a platform for bragging about our ‘advanced thinking’. So, how do we make contact with people when we get onto this subject? Whew! That’s the BIG one.

            How do omnivores see us (whether as vegans or generally as representatives for Animal Rights)? They’re either hostile or blasé. If the subject arises, as it might do, first reactions are very noticeable. In the mind of the omnivore what they definitely are NOT is vegan; on this matter they are clear where they stand. They accept the status quo, supporting the animal industries, enjoying all foods and having no ethical constraints about what foods they eat. However, in the back of their minds they may NOT accept how things are and yet, despite the notorious cruelty of animal farming, they might prefer not to talk about it. And no one will voluntarily get onto the subject, until some interfering vegan brings it up.

Say I meet someone who seems aware of social-justice issues and who knows why I’m vegan. That might be enough for them to never want to eat food with me, for it only needs a short time for what they eat to be noticeable. If I am watching you eat a ham sandwich I’m already aware of what core attitudes you hold, from the food you’re eating.

I might try to convert you to a vegan diet. But it might be better at first, to by-pass food and instead emphasise the attractiveness of vegan thinking and the ethic of ‘working for the greater good’. If I can get some sort of agreement about general ethical responsibility I then might feel better about getting into specifics. Obviously I can’t talk to people if they don’t want to engage with me. But if they are willing, then I owe it to them to be concise: tell them clearly how I think and what vegan principle is. If they are interested I’ll go further. To say that:

Being vegan is about Society’s need to liberate animals and to not-tolerate the imprisoning of animals. I’ll suggest that ‘vegan’ will never catch on until the horror of enslaving animals is understood, and initially that might need some careful explanation.   

If I get this far then I need to try to find out if a person is anti or just-not-yet-ready (and there’s no way of knowing this, initially). My rule is that if I’m not sure, then making premature value judgements about a person is dangerous and unfair. I’d rather give everyone the benefit of the doubt, and give them every chance to step up to the plate.

The first stage of my careful explanation, my first point about a vegetarian or vegan diet, is to point out that it ISN’T just about one’s stomach or about how we appear in the mirror. It’s more about the difference between vegan and the sort of vegetarian who eats animal produce. The reason behind the vegan ethic, of not using animals at all for anything, usually has to be clarified, after which I try to encourage thinking about these matters for oneself; at present almost every omnivore is a long way from wanting to think about it.

Veganism is not widely understood and vegans are generally seen as social-pariahs, but our ‘outsiderdom’ might have to get worse before it can get better. We’ve a long way to go yet before the masses are even approaching the issues or considering the attractions of their dinners being meatless and their sandwiches being cheese-less. We are still only at the very beginning of a global Animal Rights Consciousness.