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 Forum index » Activists » Educational Outreach and Activism
How to reach out...
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Yukarangz
Rookie Animal Activist
Rookie Animal Activist

Joined: 17 Jul 2009
Posts: 149
  How to reach out...
to people who just don't want to know.
I have a problem in my community. It seems to be very closed-minded about alternative diets, particularly with regards to veganism. Every time my diet comes up in conversation, everyone says 'I don't want to know', and there's this awkward silence. It's not just me, either--a friend recently tried to go veggie and was fairly persecuted by people who have known her for years. By trained staff who should know better. Vegan options are rapidly disappearing from shelves in response to 'lack of demand', although to be fair fresh stuff is healthier, and I worry that this will create a vicious circle--people don't want the inconvenience of preparing their own food, and this could 'scare them away' from veganism.

I'm a socially inept person to begin with. If someone doesn't want to know, you can't force education on them, but then nothing ever changes. I don't know if I could handle going out into the street to educate, so I tend to door-drop or post leaflets at local noticeboards. It kinda feels like I should be doing more, but how? I want to believe that even small things can make a difference, but I still feel inadequate, somehow.

On the other hand... it was a leaflet I found at my old college that set me on this path. Education IS the primary problem, I think, because when I found out the truth, I went vegetarian and vegan rather quickly, and most people who listen are shocked by the truth and don't want to be a part of it. The other thing is that change is very easy to do, but not very easy to choose to do (apparently) for some people.

So, in your opinion:
Which method(s) of activism reaches the most people and effects the most change? What are the problems with the generic approaches?

PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 6:20 pm
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Diana
Rookie Animal Activist
Rookie Animal Activist


Joined: 05 Nov 2005
Posts: 246
 Re: How to reach out...
to people who just don't want to know.
Yukarangz wrote:

I'm a socially inept person to begin with. If someone doesn't want to know, you can't force education on them, but then nothing ever changes. I don't know if I could handle going out into the street to educate, so I tend to door-drop or post leaflets at local noticeboards. It kinda feels like I should be doing more, but how? I want to believe that even small things can make a difference, but I still feel inadequate, somehow.

On the other hand... it was a leaflet I found at my old college that set me on this path.


A drop in the ocean is not to be scoffed at. You never know whose heart you will touch by just putting up a leaflet.

And the person who may scoff at you now or who doesn't want to know, will remember what you said in a few years down the road. You're planting seeds. Some will fall on the wayside, some won't. One cannot ever objectively know the impact of the work we do.

If people around you don't want to know... don't insist though. There's no point. It will just make your life miserable and that is not life's purpose. (Or it could be, but it's a shame to make one's life miserable on purpose!!!).

Hey, you're a vegan and that is one HELLUVA statement.

The other day, some people I was eating with asked me why I didn't eat dairy products because they were puzzled (as many people are) because the "cows are not killed". Instead of starting off immediately with a long animal rights speech which may have put them off, I said "OMG... you don't want to know. It's really too sinister and unpleasant. It'll put you off your food". This really piqued their interest and they said "tell us". So I continued in the same vein: "I don't think this is a topic for a dinner table. It's really really pretty disgusting". They couldn't resist and continued to insist.... and so I gladly told them ALL. Some of the people looked extremely uncomfortable after I'd told them. I don't think any of them went vegetarian, let alone vegan, that day. But who knows? Maybe what I said will help one person realise what they are doing to the animals and change.
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"In relation to them, all people are Nazis; for the animals it is an eternal Treblinka."

PostPosted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 9:41 pm
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panthera
Animal Guardian Angel


Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Posts: 3468
Location: Chicago, IL
 Re: How to reach out...
to people who just don't want to know.
Diana wrote:
They couldn't resist and continued to insist.... and so I gladly told them ALL.


Brilliant! Nice to see you Diana, you've been missed.

Yukarangz, that's a troubling thought, that the lack of vegan foods will make it seem harder, and fewer people will try veganism, shrinking the market even more. I hope it doesn't happen.

I've always heard that leafletting is the most efficient way of educating people. I try to do some every once in a while, but I am always nervous before, during, and after. But afterwards, I'm usually pumped about the conversations that I had, and the fact that I did something positive. Leafletting combined with free food samples is a good combination.

I think that tabling is quite good, too. It's easier in that you know that people have enough time & interest to approach the table, at least. And you have time to have more in-depth conversations. And you can provide more resources, if they want them. And it's easier to give out food if you have a table/booth.

These days, social networking sites sound like good opportunities. I don't have any accounts, but I've heard of people who link to AR videos/blogs/etc. and hear from friends that they were affected. It seems like something that is available at anytime, but can be easily ignored by anyone, so you're not in much danger of offending anyone.

And Yukarangz, your writing is a good way to get people thinking about non-human animals, like in your writing about tigers, etc. It's not just people giving speeches and making essays and writing in blogs. Creative projects can touch people very differently.
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PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 3:32 am
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EcoTribalVegan
Banned

Joined: 02 Oct 2007
Posts: 354
Location: Hamilton
 Our University's Animal Rights group (Brock Animal Rights Club) does tabling with samples. Seem to get through to a few people. At least make them think. I mean we get the occasional idiot who yells something like "I had dead pig for breakfast!" But that just makes their side look less intelligent.

PostPosted: Tue Nov 17, 2009 4:49 pm
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Yukarangz
Rookie Animal Activist
Rookie Animal Activist

Joined: 17 Jul 2009
Posts: 149
 Thanks for the encouraging words. It's really picked me up. I'll try to do more in the time I have, and build my confidence so that talking to people isn't such an issue. Smile You're right--everything has to start somewhere. If I keep planting seeds, one day someone will listen!

PostPosted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 8:26 pm
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panthera
Animal Guardian Angel


Joined: 30 Aug 2006
Posts: 3468
Location: Chicago, IL
Yukarangz wrote:
If I keep planting seeds, one day someone will listen!


Maybe they already have. Perhaps there's another Yukarangz out there, saying that it was leaflet found on a bulletin board or at the door that set them on this path. Smile
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Animals are not property.
ARCO's Abolitionists

PostPosted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 2:46 am
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