tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027293219265233219.post9146494451684191240..comments2023-03-28T03:18:49.584-07:00Comments on The Victoria Vegan Blog: Does Anyone Go Vegan After Being Yelled At?Dave Shishkoffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04719853875299944751noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027293219265233219.post-14007573610106708382014-12-03T07:50:39.263-08:002014-12-03T07:50:39.263-08:00My experience has been the opposite. When people a...My experience has been the opposite. When people are engaged in the exploitative but - to them - enjoyable and socially rewarded act is when they're most defensive and least likely to listen to challenges. For example, the most effective anti-circus action I ever attended was at a popular non-circus event attended by the demographic most likely to go to the circus - families with young children. The difference was almost night and day. At the circus, people are already vested in seeing the circus; they fight off criticism. At the non-circus event, people put up almost no resistance and we conveyed tons more information and had way more productive conversations.<br /><br />FWIW, I find that almost always, my advocacy works best if I offer people alternatives that appeal to them. Offering food is amazingly persuasive. Perhaps this is one reason: People tend to already agree with the core principle of refraining from avoidable harm. But they fear that vegan alternatives to their meat and dairy will be unsatisfying or otherwise deficient, and they cling to their deeply habituated behaviors.Garyhttp://www.veganbakesale.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027293219265233219.post-15032485762595510772014-12-02T22:35:58.031-08:002014-12-02T22:35:58.031-08:00Almira, that is a powerful explanation of the rati...Almira, that is a powerful explanation of the rationale behind nonviolent direct action. Thank you for sharing it!Interested Vegannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027293219265233219.post-87632811520390290262014-11-29T15:24:00.093-08:002014-11-29T15:24:00.093-08:00Excellent comment Almira, Thank you for your wonde...Excellent comment Almira, Thank you for your wonderful work! It is inspiring SO many!! :)sunyanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027293219265233219.post-12926180569115291952014-11-28T08:24:05.517-08:002014-11-28T08:24:05.517-08:00Note: This is Part II of II of my comments.
The r...Note: This is Part II of II of my comments.<br /><br />The reality is that no one knows for sure how we will achieve animal liberation. Taking lessons from previous social justice movements though, we can be quite confident that it will require some degree of confrontational non-violent direct action and a variety of different tactics. No massive social change has ever come from gently leafleting alone. DxE employs a number of tactics and collaborates with various other animal rights and social justice groups. What happened in Victoria was one style of action. Currently, we are getting ready to launch a new campaign that will highlight another style. We also typically leaflet during our disruptions and have noticed that, in these cases, people actually want the leaflets. They want to know what the commotion is about and are willing to have serious and challenging conversations with the leafleters.<br /><br />So what I want to end on is that it all works together. I obviously feel that disruption and non-violent direct action is a critical part of our movement and an appropriate response to the heinous violence faced by so many non-human animals. But if you don’t feel comfortable doing it, that’s fine. We want people to be active, to do something, to get out there and speak for those who have been silenced. Yes, criticism is important. We all have something to learn, we can all become better activists, and there are definitely problematic things happening in our movement. But I feel there is a time and a place for criticism, and constructive dialogue is usually two-sided. I’m glad we had a conversation about this and I’m glad you were willing to have me write this post. I hope all the activists in Victoria, Vancouver, and the rest of the world can work together and push each other to be better. We have a long road ahead of us, and we won’t stop until every animal is free.<br /><br />Almira<br />Almirahttp://directactioneverywhere.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027293219265233219.post-2597079577757925192014-11-28T08:23:09.369-08:002014-11-28T08:23:09.369-08:00Note: This is Part I of II of my comments.
Hi Dav...Note: This is Part I of II of my comments.<br /><br />Hi Dave (and Victoria Vegan readers and CFAX-radio listeners),<br /><br />I’m writing to address some of the concerns raised about myself, Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), and our recent demonstration at pig restaurant in Victoria, BC. <br /><br />Currently, our primary aim at DxE is to create, connect and inspire activists. While I think we can both agree that our ultimate goal is to see an end to the exploitation of non-human animals, we at DxE feel that in order to achieve this we must first create a strong and confident animal rights movement. So while, yes, some people do go vegan after witnessing a disruption (Jude, one of the most active members of the San Francisco East Bay chapter was a customer at a Chipotle during a disruption), the immediate “conversion” of the patrons at pig is not our primary goal. <br /><br />So, how are we doing with respect to creating a strong animal rights movement? In just over a year, DxE has grown to be one of the largest grassroots animal rights networks in the world and the largest in the United States. We span 6 continents, 17+ countries, 70+ cities, and thousands of activists. We focus on creating close-knit local and international communities, not only because it is effective, but also because it combats burnout and isolation – common issues in all types of activism. I believe this sense of community, along with the support to stand up and say what we truly believe without watering down or sugarcoating our message, is what draws people to DxE. <br /><br />But, back to pig. Instead of focusing on the relatively few people inside the restaurant (or any place of violence), we are interested in the broader views of society. In order to create lasting change for animals (not a foie gras ban that gets overturned within a few years), we need to first question and then change strongly held beliefs, norms and practices. This is tough. This is unsettling. And people understandably get upset. But, activism is not about making people comfortable, it is about raising awareness and speaking out against injustice. When we see violence, we will call it out. When we witness oppression, we will raise our voices. When the animals whose bodies are literally being consumed are being ignored, we will bring their perspective to the table. That is why we disrupt. Disruptions demonstrate the seriousness of the issue and our commitment to the cause, and they force people who have historically ignored us to think about the issue and take a side. Harnessing media (both social and mainstream) allows us to spread this message way beyond the dozen customers at pig. <br /><br />That being said, I wouldn’t expect Victorians to automatically agree with me and change their position overnight, and I am therefore not surprised at the negative comments on YouTube, Facebook and other social media sites. I don’t really feel it’s any worse than other highly controversial pieces posted in public space. (And don’t we know to not read the comments). As for the potential increase in pig’s sales, I’m not all too concerned. We have no immediate goals of shutting pig down. Pig is no better or worse than other flesh-serving restaurants and an increase in their sales likely means a decrease somewhere else. If we backed down every time we heard “For every animal you don’t eat, I’m going to eat three”, there would be no animal rights activists left. <br />Almirahttp://directactioneverywhere.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8027293219265233219.post-26836557016617064922014-11-27T18:31:28.635-08:002014-11-27T18:31:28.635-08:00I totally and completely respectfully disagree.The...I totally and completely respectfully disagree.The very,very best time to get someone to think about the violence they are consuming is while they are consuming it.They are being shamed, as so they should be.When we get to a place in society where the oppressors are SHAMED, we will break the chains of the oppressed.These protests are tyhe beginning of the end of Animal enslavement.Only the most digusting and horrible will continue to consume Animals in the New World.Its Happening Now.Watch from the sidelines or be a part of HistorySunya Marcanonoreply@blogger.com