Overcoming Obstacles In The AR Movement
Grumpy Vegan recently said:
“Political victories are won by a mixture of hard, painstaking work that can be undone in moments by stupid publicity stunts or being caught in flagrante.”
Stupid publicity stunts… who does that sound like? Could the grump be talking about PETA or some other well known animal rights organization that performs “stupid publicity stunts”? Or possibly he is talking about specific individuals.
We all make mistakes. We are all stupid sometimes. Stupid publicity stunts will never go away, never. And vegans, being an intelligent, eclectic, eccentric, exhuberant bunch, will continue to do odd and silly things that occasionally wreak minor havoc. It’s unavoidable.
So, how do we deal with “stupid publicity stunts”?
I’m not sure. That’s where you come in, dear reader. Have you any thoughts on the subject?
Grumpy continues:
“It can be won by being at the right place at the right time and knowing the right person to talk to. Above all, it is about relationships and perseverance toward building a groundswell of support. It is not an impossible task but one that takes time and perseverance.”
Certainly relationships are important. The relationships we have with each other as vegans and the relationships we have with omnivores, too, are important to the movement. But the grump is right that good, old fashioned perseverance is the strongest weapon we’ve got.
I agree that perseverance is important to getting past all the prejudice and misunderstandings. We are a diverse group and we should not expect everyone in the group - and after all, some of us are not going to take lightly to being considered a part of any group - to conform to certain standards. We therefore need to make room for a wide range of expression.
I personally believe there is room for both PETA and the HSUS, for animal welfare as well as animal rights organizations, for organizations that use shock and those that use love. Some people see the light in a flash and others are very slow to grasp that there is some sense in the animal rights movement. Some people never reach a point where they can give up meat, for example, yet these same people can be invaluable in saving animals in an emergency or volunteering at an animal shelter. Or giving money to animal organizations. To me the individual animals matter.
I don’t react well to intimidating tactics and what I feel are condescending statements. But some people react positively, may find that at last they have found a group that echoes their own feelings. Sometimes it is hard not to be angry.
I have heard complaints about certain members of the “women’s movement” as well - that some women undermine the whole movement by their individual actions. No they don’t. They are human and are finding their own way, and so are we, those of us who believe in animal rights.