No, I won't shut up!

People want me to let them eat in peace.I am disinclined to afford them that luxury as long as what they eat is the product ofthe abuse, torture and misery of others.

I was a vegetarian for two years and have been a vegan for seven. I have never been afraid to tell people I am vegan.  However, I have been afraid to say anything when people have made jokes about veganism or the animals I wish to protect. Some of the humor was benign. "Oh, I've got dinner ready for you. I just mowed the lawn" (Which I do find funny). To the less benign, "PETA stands for People Eating Tasty Animals" (Which I do NOT find funny).

In the past I kept silent.

Why do we keep silent?  Why did I keep silent?  Here are some reasons.  All of which were apropos to me:

The Militant Vegan

Either we do this to ourselves or others do it for us.  In the end I blame society.  My friends and acquaintances would talk about the militant, on a high horse, in-your-face vegan. The one they never met but were hoping I wouldn't become.  The media doesn't help. Quite often any mention of a "vegan" will be negative and involve someone who is about as socially appealing as wearing a nazi uniform to the mall.   As a result, we keep quiet because we don't want to fall into this stereotype. 

The fact is, this sort of stereotyping is done to keep people quite.  Sometimes it is intentional, such as what would come from the meat, dairy and egg industry.  Sometimes it is unintentional, like what would come from family and (true) friends.  But most of the time this is a defense mechanism.  It is a way for people to stop you from making them feel bad.  If they can create a distasteful enough stereotype then perhaps you will want to stay as far away from it as possible.  You will act in a way that keeps them feeling safe and comfortable.  It is psychological manipulation. Period.

Don't listen to it! You know who you are.  If you feel like maybe you look like the stereotype, then get out a piece of paper and write down the ways you are. I think you will find that you really aren't like it at all.  Sure, you are forceful. A lot is at stake.  Sure, you are committed.  Why should anyone listen to you if you are not?  But you are also loving.  You love the animals you want to save and you love the people whom you want to save from what they are doing to the animals (Even if you get mad as hell at what they are doing).  In the end, you care.  After all, isn't that what veganism really means?

One of the crowd

Sometimes we laugh along with the jokes or ignore the meat-centric comments because we don't want to lose friends or alienate family. Being a part of the tribe is an important survival trait that is built into everyone.  Don't be ashamed of it.  Rather, control it.  Standing up for what we believe in, especially if it is against friends and family, can be really difficult.  For some of us, it will be the most difficult thing we have ever done.  But we can do it.  Millions of others have done it and so can we.

If you find you don't care at all what people think or feel, you may have lost what it means to be vegan (and human).  We cannot allow ourselves to trade apathy, hate, carelessness and aggression towards one group, for that of another. Believe it or not both humans and animals are the victims here.  I know it doesn't always seem like it and there are some humans who are not victims but truly violent, hateful, careless beings.  But all in all, I believe most humans have been brainwashed by society to do what they do and it is our job to reverse that conditioning.  That is going to take some risk on our part by standing up for what we believe, even if it loses our friends and family.

Overload

Let's face it.  There is a lot of killing going on today.  World wide there are approximately 3,000 animals killed every second.  That knowledge can (and should) bring anyone down.  Sometimes we are taken so low that we wonder, "What's the use in saying anything?", and so we just keep quiet.

The truth is, we are in this for the long haul.  The world we want to see is never going to happen in our generation.  In a "I can have it now" society, this can be a very big pill to swallow.  But swallow it we must.  We are doing this for future generations of nonhumans and humans as well as the few, the very few, animals we can save right now.  We are going to need patience and a certain amount of tunnel vision.

In most contexts "tunnel vision" is a bad thing.  But when it comes to changing the world, it is an asset.  We need to focus on what we can change in our sphere of influence.  For some that means doing undercover work on a factory farm.  For others it means showing up for protests and marches. For some this means writing about the subject.  But it doesn't stop there.  Some of the most important changes are going to happen on a very personal level.  The mom that raises her children vegan.  The dad who takes a stand for animals even though all of his friends are animal-eaters.  The co-worker who puts together a vegan lunch to feed all of his or her coworkers.  The vegan friend who sits down with a non-vegan friend to watch Earthlings together.  All of these things are making a difference.

To boil things down to the simplest of elements, you going vegan started world change.  You became a part of something much, much bigger than you.  You are saving animals right now! So stop worrying about the rest of the world and focus a bit closer to home.  Make change where you have the power to make change.


Stale knowledge

When I first became vegetarian I had a vague idea why I was doing it.  Then I watched some videos about the farm industry and became vegan.  But then, over the years, that knowledge began to fade.  It became stale.  It was just a faded, vague picture of something sitting in the back of my mind.  So stale was this knowledge that I went back to being a vegetarian for about a year.  But then I watched some more videos and was appalled afresh.  I renewed my commitment to being a vegan and this time dropped any pretense for why I was doing it.  This time it was purely for ethical reasons.

As anyone in any profession can tell you, knowledge becomes stale and fades over time. A doctor cannot expect to remain a good doctor if she doesn't constantly renew her knowledge of her field.  A computer programmer will find himself quickly obsolete if he doesn't keep up with the latest technological advances in his field. And you cannot expect to remain fired up indefinitely if you don't add fuel to that fire on occasion.   Maybe this means watching or rewatching videos on the horrors of factory farming.  Maybe this involves reading articles about the vegan movement or news about the farming industry.  Maybe this means reading or rereading a book about animals and animal welfare.  Whatever helps you get fired up, do it.  Don't let the fires die.  Lives depend on it.

Conclusion

Those are just a few things that came to mind.  I am sure you have experienced others.  But whatever might be holding you back from speaking your mind, figure out how to climb over, around or through it and say what needs saying and do what needs doing.  Maybe people will get mad.  Maybe you will lose friends.  But your conscience will be clear.  Just remember: whatever you do, do it with love.  Love for the animals, love for people, love for yourself.