Blame the vegans

Last year a study was done that showed that a quarter of Britons are turned off of veganism because of aggressive vegans.  You can read an article about it here.  I don't really want to talk about the motivation behind the study or its veracity (Although I have questions about both).  Rather I want to talk about people's perception of vegans. 

I have no doubt that some people have run into aggressive vegans somewhere.  They do exist.  But I found that the study left out one important piece of information:  How many vegans do you know?
I would have asked the following follow-up questions:

1. Do you know any vegans personally?
2. Are any of them your friends?
3. Have those vegans ever been aggressive?
4. What do you mean by "aggressive"?

Obviously that would have made the study a bit more complex and the open ended nature of number four would have presented problems in collating the information, but still, they are important questions.

For the first seven or eight years of being vegan I also believed that aggressive vegans were turning people off from being vegan.  So I decided to be the nice, non-judgmental, amiable vegan.  I would only speak when spoken too and try my hardest to eat without people catching on (Which is impossible, but I tried anyway).  Would you believe that people still thought I was a pushy, judgmental vegan?!  Friends would send out anti-vegan memes about pushy vegans even though I knew for a fact I was the only vegan they knew! 

My Christianity is analogous to this situation.  If you ask most serious Christians, they can confirm this for you.  It is something we've been going through our whole lives.  Even though I am not a in-your-face, evangelistic, bible thumping nut; even though I keep to myself, wear no stickers or preachy t-shirts; I still get labeled as "religious".   The times I've been labeled a "fanatic" have been when I've been asked questions about my religion and I've answered kindly and honestly.  I've hardly ever initiated the conversations. But that didn't stop the judgement.

Veganism is only different in that there are far fewer of them, so it is less likely that any one person actually knows one personally.  But if they are to see you not eating meat and find out you are vegan; if they are to ask you a question and you explain your position; if they are to start the argument and you defend yourself and the animals well (i.e., you win), then you are an aggressive vegan.  You are an animal rights fanatic.

Like I said, I am sure this isn't always the case.  Jerks abound (on both sides of the fence).  But I am guessing that if someone is saying they are put off by vegan aggression that:

1. They don't actually know a vegan.
2. They only heard about aggressive vegans or seen them lampooned on t.v.
3. They feel guilty for what they do and are looking for a scapegoat. When it comes down to it, they simply like eating meat.

How's that for judgmental?

When it comes down to it, people are going to label you whether you like it or not.  You could be the nicest person on the planet, and if you disagree with someone, you are an intolerant prig. I finally realized two things.  First, being quiet didn't help.  People were going to label me as soon as I said or did anything.  Second, the situation is too serious to be jovial and fun loving about it.  Innocent creatures are being tortured and killed for the pleasure of those who want to eat them for food. 

You see, that fact is people won't buy something that the person selling doesn't actually believe in.  If you act like the situation isn't dire then the people you interact with won't think it worth their time either.  Why should they take the situation seriously if we don't act like it is a serious situation? 

 I am not advocating that we be jerks.  Being a jerk does turn people off.  What I am advocating is talking to people calmly and with respect but with the seriousness and urgency that the situation demands.  True, they may label you an aggressive vegan activist jerk, but they were probably going to do that anyway, so why worry about it?