Interaction & Conversation

1637: 

Edited by CJ Tointon

Most people are afraid of getting tangled up in awkward situations. Veganism can be an awkward situation. Vegans tend to probe attitudes far too deeply for comfort. They question every facet of animal farming which can bring on feelings of guilt. They bail you up to tell you some horrible, uninvited fact about animal cruelty. They expect at least a polite response from you, usually in the form of a question, and when you act only mildly interested (or just polite) they answer with a half hour rave! Their rationale? This subject is far too important to bother about your feelings or their brusqueness. They're almost insisting you listen to what they have to say and sometimes they have to be a bit rude, otherwise you won't listen. And if you have to suffer a bit, well, that's nothing to the suffering animals are put through on farms, in medical laboratories, even sometimes as 'pets'.

I'm a vegan myself and I try not to be too 'forceful' in my dealings with non-vegans; but sometimes I find myself helpless to be anything else. After all, I'm speaking on behalf of those with no voice of their own. But 'helpless' I shouldn't be. My passion, enthusiasm and good arguments (if handled badly) can be very off-putting. The rationale of those 'put-off' is usually - "This person is to be avoided in future". Vegans can regard themselves pretty highly and even draw attention to themselves in order to elicit praise - or start a fight! If we go fishing for compliments or act provocatively, it triggers alarm. The big threat to omnivores comes from the deafening moral rectitude of vegans. Vegans may not see it this way, but it's the way we're seen by others that determines if we're going to be accepted, rejected or (more importantly) if what we're saying is going to be taken seriously.

Scene: A man walks into a room for an evening in polite society. He's finely groomed and wearing an expensive suit…..BUT…..he was in a hurry this evening and didn't have time for a shower. He's 'on the nose' to others; but he's so familiar with his own body 'odour', that he doesn't even notice it.

In much the same way, the "intelligentsia" of the Animal Rights world are unaware when they're 'on the nose'. They fail to see (or don't care) just how self-righteous and brow-beating they can appear to everyone except their devotees. The more famous they are, often the worse they are. They speak with unarguable truth; but they often don't know how to appeal to the less sycophantic.

They use 'political-speak' and wield morality as a blunt instrument to drive home their point. Theirs is a blow-by-blow struggle, ignoring the quality of their interactions with the listener. They 'speechify', often drawing example and self-confidence from their own reformation. 

People either ignore the rights of animals; or boycott products using animals. Because of this divide, talking about 'Animal Rights' is probably harder than talking about any other subject and yet if affects and involves every human on the planet! Each of us has an opinion on the eating or non-eating of 'animals'.

The art of good communication is surely put to its greatest test when a vegan and an omnivore are discussing food and animals and the thorny subject of non-violence. Feelings of mutual respect and acceptance should be established before any challenging information is brought up. The 'Animal Rights' conversation, if not resonating with this present age, will almost certainly be resonating with a future one. The groundwork for this should be laid now. As important as it is to communicate the truth, it is also important to listen without judgment and to learn to speak with some self-deprecation.

Vegans do have things to say - serious things - but (frustratingly) it's usually 'inappropriate' to speak of them. Everybody knows what a vegan will talk about given the opportunity; but each fears the sharp emotions this generates. This subject can't be treated like any other. There's a huge chasm between our respective lifestyles and attitudes.

But an opportunity may arise to put our ethical vegan views forward. Maybe a question is asked? How do we respond? We shouldn't lecture. At best, what we have to say should be delivered swiftly and cleanly. We might never get to ask the really central questions (below) but they do stand as foundations for other questions that (hopefully) might be asked at some stage.  

Are humans more entitled to be free than animals?

How do you feel about talking to me about Animal Rights?