We all have our opinions and all have issues which we feel strongly about. You wouldn’t want people preaching to you about their issues and those same people don’t want to be preached to about veganism, as their is no exceptionalism about veganism.

If even bringing up the subject is threatening (i.e. causes a vast amount of what has been termed cognitive dissonance) how do we advocate effectively? I fully believe that there is a tight balance between putting information out there and attacking people, and I think starting out by declaring exactly what I mentioned above (that I’m not trying to attack you as a person, and that I am willing and ready to listen to what you have to say) is the best way to go about it.

So how do we educate people while causing the least amount of defensiveness? What about planting the idea and then backing off? It’s a ‘trick’ termed planting by social psychologists and has been shown to be fairly effective in research. Would this method work? What about further educating people about things like cognitive dissonance and the mechanisms of defensiveness?

Jen’s last blog post..I’d completely abase myself, but I’m not that kind of girl.

There is a more in-depth article about this subject written by Gary Francione on http://www.abolitionistapproach.com, entitled Some Thoughts on Vegan Education.

It’s also psychologically difficult to stop doing something you have publicly and happily promoted all your life. You bite into a hamburger and someone says that not only is it bad for you but it’s really really bad for the animals and the environment. It’s easy to get defensive.

I’m admitting publicly that I am back going to Vons grocery to shop for food some of the time simply because it’s convenient, even though I think they are among the evil grocery chains. I won’t go to WalMart but lordy, there I am at Vons and Ralphs. I have a way to go.

My children are sick of hearing this but I’ll mention it again. When I was pregnant with my second child, I had two midwives. I planned a home delivery and wanted to be prepared, so I met with them often and they double-checked me (I also had a regular doc). They were both vegetarians and I was an omnivore. I particularly remember when one of them told me that she realized that what she really liked about chicken was the seasoning, and she could get that with a vegetarian dish. She was trying to find a chink in me, a way to get me to go veg. I resisted. It wasn’t until about four years later that I went veg, and their example had nothing to do with it. I honestly think that if they had not tried to push I might have gotten there sooner.

That said, I agree that people need to know. You don’t need to be the one they dread seeing because every damned time they see you you are all vegan all the time. But that doesn’t mean you can’t take an obvious opportunity to offer information in a nonthreatening way. Just information.

I am amazed and hopeful at the reaction to the ASPCA downed animal video. I have known about these horrible factory farming practices for years so I almost gave up hope that many people actually cared about farm animals. Pictures really are worth thousands and thousands of words. I continue to be hopeful and I continue to be as nonrighteous as I can be. But honestly, I think we all get tarred with that brush regardless. And the best we can do is wear a thick skin – our own.

I think most people take time.. usually lots of it.. between the time they hear their first serious argument for veganism and the time they actually become vegans. It took me 10 whole years.

To some extent, however, I think feeling “offended” by “self-righteous” vegans is just part of the process, though. It’s natural for people resist having their habits questioned… they’re going to get defensive and perhaps nasty. But if they never are questioned, they’ll never change. So someone’s “offended” today could be an important moment along their path to veganism.

Andréa N.’s last blog post..O tal do missô