There is one thing that every vegan will agree on, regardless of who’s theory they follow.
And that is their desire to be an effective activist or promoter of veganism.
How one becomes effective is open to much debate.
There is one who believes that the only way to be effective is to betray your beliefs. Pandering to the ego or acceptance by the person you are talking to.
When the pendulum swings the other way, there is one who believes that his word is all that there is.
Finding The Middle Ground
For the rest of us who live and socialise in the real world, things are a little different.
The effective activist should be able to understand that everyone is different.
They have different likes, wants, and desires.
They are even motivated by different things.
This means that you need to develop different techniques, and approaches.
Work On Yourself First
Before you make any steps towards making the world a better place for the animals, you need to be your first project.
Become aware of the best language and words to use when talking to people.
Develop a support network to help you unwind and support you when things get challenging.
Learn the common questions and counter arguments until you can respond to them in your sleep.
Decide what sort of ‘activist’ you are going to be, and perfect it.
Keep in mind that you are no use to the animals if you aren’t working at your best.
Understand People’s Motivations.
The next thing is to work out people.
When it boils down to it, there are only two things that motivate people.
Pain and Pleasure.
We move away from pain, and towards pleasure.
Nothing more, nothing less.
The trick is to frame your vegan discussions along one of those points.
Not Every Swing Will Be A Home Run
The next thing you need to do is become aware that not everyone will go vegan the first time you talk to them.
Unless it is an impulse buy, most people need many exposures to something before they will buy.
Veganism is no different.
In fact, it could be more complex.
All you can do is present the best position you can, without selling yourself or the animals out.
What Next?
This is the first in a series of articles relating to vegan activism.
To keep those strategic vegans happy, some will focus on being effective. While the rest of them will be about efficiency, and tactics.