Cuz you know, it's classy, clever and cool to attach the word "new" to a term to make it a pejorative. Um, no, it's actually old and tired, but hey, small things amuse me. All kidding aside though, I DO struggle with what to call myself. I'm abolitionist, but have no problem supporting reform measures that reduce suffering. And for that I may have earned the openly mocked "new welfarist" label by some, but tough.
So why am I bringing this up now? The beginnings of this post has been sitting untouched in my drafts folder since February of 2012, and I suppose I just wanted to finally get it off my chest. And because this time of year tends to make me a little Grinchy before the spirit of the season eventually manages to infiltrate my system, I thought I'd deal with it so I can hopefully move on to a more positive state of mind. And clean up the coal before the new year begins. ;)
I've been vegan for a fairly long time now (8 years next summer is pretty long, no?), but did you know that I almost gave up on being vegan practically right after adopting the label? As soon as I decided to go vegan I looked up the concept online so I could join the group of loving, joyous, peaceful and supportive folk that vegans obviously were. [Okay, I'll give you a minute here to guffaw at my naïveté.] You can imagine my shock then when I discovered that the animal rights movement was more divisive than any other movement I'd thus far encountered, and in comparison made being a feminist look like a walk in the park.
One of my first online searches landed me in a forum (it may have been Examiner) where I soon noticed this one person being even more obnoxious than the rest. What also annoyed me was that unlike everyone else who just went by their first name, this individual kept including their educational and work credentials every time they said something. Who is this jerk, I thought, and why are they so damn status-conscious? Sorry, but that kind of crap doesn't impress me, and I hoped they would just go away already. Oops, as I learned soon enough, this was the leader (leader!) of an influential branch of the movement, and I was almost ready to throw in the towel. Because if this jackass (or, to be more fair, person with jackassy ways) was supposed to be someone to admire and learn from, well, the movement could count me out.
I was genuinely bummed for a while, but then figured that there had to be other vegans whose philosophy and approach more closely resembled my own, and of course, there were. Veganism is about compassion and other animals more than the petty (and sometimes not-so-petty) differences between vegans, and it wasn't long before I found my own kind of people so to speak.
That first person who rudely awakened me to the reality of the vegan movement never did go away, and I encountered them again years later in a completely fruitless one-on-one online discussion that cemented my dislike of this person even more. It also made me question their professional skills because surely a lawyer would know that parroting the same stock phrases over and over does not an argument make? Zero listening skills, debatable debating skills, complete arrogance, and the most linear black-and-white thinking I've ever seen. Not exactly a recipe for inspiring change methinks.
That opinion hasn't changed. And while I'm sure that this individual started out with the best of intentions and still truly believes that their approach and strategy is the best one where other animals are concerned, we have to call a spade a spade. Or in this case, a bully. Not a label I use too often, but from my own personal and work experience, I tend to recognize bullying behaviours almost instantly.
Okay, at this point you're probably thinking that I'm not being nice right now either, and you're likely right, but I also believe that vegans have a responsibility not only for our message, but for our messengers as well. And allowing even one of those messengers to be controlling, to delete comments that even slightly deviate from their own opinion, to ban group or forum members outright for not strictly toeing their philosophical line, and to deny any legitimacy to other approaches is well, unacceptable. What's worse is that this kind of behaviour would be rightly recognized as abusive were it to happen in a personal relationship, so why do we condone it when it happens in a political movement?
It's not right, and we shouldn't.
These days I tend to describe myself as abolitionist in theory and ideals, and pragmatic in approach. In short, a pragmatic abolitionist. Call me new welfarist if you will, but I define myself as an abolitionist because I want to see the abolition of animal use. I just don't see it happening as quickly as certain absolutist abolitionists do, and definitely not by just chanting the world is vegan if you want it over and over. It will, in my opinion (and those of others), require many strategies (both abolitionist AND reform), many approaches, and the inclusion of people who aren't even vegan.
Until that time, we need to be nicer to each other, and to those we are trying to reach. We need to lead by example (myself included), both online and out in the real world that we're trying to change. Because if compassion for others isn't shown, why the hell should non-vegans think compassionately about other species?
In sum, I can't really call myself a new or old anything if I don't at least try to live up to the ideals of what veganism really means. So I pledge, right now, to become a better person in the new year, and to try and become the kind of vegan I admire. Anyone with me? :)
Always makes me smile how often you and I are on the same page. I have a blog post-in-progress (that I'm hoping to sell for a wider audience, actually) and the subject is precisely the divisive tactics and philosophy you're speaking of...possibly from the very same individual. I love your phrase "pragmatic abolitionist." May I use it with attribution?
Hi Friend,
I am always with you. I have no tolerance of bullies, people who know it all, people who pontificate, who think to highly of themselves and love too much the sound of their own voices and words. There are plenty of these people in all segments of society, in associations, in movements and so on.I abhor invective and diatribe and exit from any conversations and idea swapping in which it is the menu du jour. There is a better, kinder way to get our message across.
I try not to use any of the labels swirling around the vegan movement. I will say that the only solution is dissolution and that I will never sacrifice one for the whole.
Great post. Thank you and take care.
Anne
Thanks for sharing this. It really is so important that the vegans with the most high profile platforms and loudest voices not turn ANYONE (vegan or non) off in such a serious way. They of course have every right to voice their opinions and ideas, but they also have a responsibility toward the other living beings that, supposedly, they are vegan because of. There are so many times that I purposely ignore something because I don't want it to get more attention, for example, the most recent I can think of: there was some blogger (don't remember her name) who got a huge amount of attention in the US online news because she came out with a "how my vegan diet almost killed me" crap. It was crazy because she was eating less calories than some anorexics, and I don't know any vegans who do that, but nevertheless she got a lot of attention for it so I wanted not to get her more with even a comment, etc. ... I'm sure there are some vegans who truly do feel as though their heart is in the right place and they so desperately want all animals to stop suffering that they don't even tolerate measures to alleviate suffering...which is not vegan at all. They are then taking away each individuals rights and individuality. Humanity causes unimaginable suffering for every other living species on the planet and I desperately want that to stop, but if I can help even one while others don't get help, you better believe I'll help the one I can. And if there's anything that can make the suffering of anyone less than what it is even if things don't become perfect, that is the right thing to do. It's not going to happen overnight that humanity straightens up our act, if we ever do, but every single being suffering due to our actions is an individual and deserves help of any kind in any way we can give it. And I don't think I'm wrong about that, but I know plenty of others who don't agree.
Great post! Glad you had time to finally write this one. :)
Shucks HGV...I already admire you because you seem like a pretty good vegan person to me. Happy New Year! :-)