Archive for March, 2009
individuality, respect, and more on criticism
Mar 23rd
With so much discussion of criticism on the blog lately, I have been thinking about the “free pass” that some individuals and organizations seek to obtain for their (unintentially or intentionally) oppressive work. A recent post on The Vegan Ideal highlights this concept: a “humorous” video called “Cooking with Trannies” received extensive criticism (from both Dani and commenters on their and other blogs) for its derogatory use of the word “tranny.” In response, people were quick to wave the “But it was scripted by a trans man!” flag, as if a member of an oppressed group could not possibly take an action that would oppress other members of the same group.
This reminded me of an interview I read last year with Ingrid Newkirk of PETA. The interviewer mentioned the extensive criticism of PETA’s use of female nudity in its media and outreach work, and Newkirk responded, “it’s rubbish because the organization is run by a woman” as if because she wasn’t personally offended or oppressed by the actions, no one else identifying as a female could possibly be offended.
I think it’s incredibly important to recognize and respect the different backgrounds from which we all come as activists. Too often, I have found that we’re asked to present a unified front at the expense of our own experiences; “for the good of the animals,” we’re told, we have to ignore other issues or steamroll our own discomfort with an idea or action. I absolutely love the tagline on the Vegans of Color blog: “because we don’t have the luxury of being single-issue.” I appreciate those bloggers’ willingness to view the world — and take actions accordingly — through a lens that attempts to be conscious of the individual experiences of both the people who are doing the talking and the people to whom they are talking. I am trying to let that principle guide all that I do.
I also find the “but I’m a _____” defense to be particularly important when discussing animal oppression. Proponents of animal exploitation will never be able to say, “But I’m a steer, and I am totally fine with being sent to slaughter,” which should make it all that much more obvious to the world that we DON’T know what is “best” for these animals. Since we are never able to obtain their consent, it is never appopriate for human animals to use other animals for our own purposes. Because, frankly, the idea that animals would gladly, smilingly march to their deaths (trigger warning) is appalling and ridiculous.
Putting it out there
Mar 18th
As one who works for social change, I’m often involved with affecting the worldviews of others. I’m involved with spreading ideas, philosophies, and perspectives. (For anti-oppression veganism, I think this means presenting the vegan ideal and challenging its antitheses—exploitation, human supremacy, and speciesism.) Victor has written in another post about opening our minds to everyday forms of activism that all vegans can do. I want to focus now on forms of everyday activism that help to spread the ideas of veganism and anti-oppression in order to affect the worldviews of others.
If we can break down traditional barriers for how we spread ideas through activism—maybe even adopting another name for it, like simply “putting it out there”—then the possibilities for presenting the vegan worldview are endless. Every day, most of us have at least a few different means to spread such a message: If we talk to co-workers, friends, classmates, or family, we can speak up about social or ethical issues when relevant. If we have a bike or car, we can apply stickers to them—same goes for buttons on a bag. If we have access to bulletin boards at work, school, or anywhere else, we can hang fliers. If we use e-mail, we can add a signature to our messages with online links or quotations. If we have Facebook, Myspace, or similar accounts, we can utilize both our profile space and our comments to others, writing about our beliefs as well as posting videos and pictures. If we’re taking classes, we can speak up about relevant issues, bringing a vegan perspective into the picture when it may be otherwise ignored. If we’re buying a friend a gift, we can consider a thought-provoking book or film. If we’re near a college campus or attending one, we can chalk anything we want on the sidewalks (which is, of course, very fun also). And many of us can use other, more specialized means to “put it out there,” depending on our individual opportunities. Even if we’re shy or we have little activism experience—or if we don’t have much money or time to put toward activism—many simple options for getting our message out in the world are available to us right now.
To help bring about a vegan world, we can each work continually to utilize more of these simple options for “putting it out there”—even if we don’t consider ourselves “activists” in the traditional sense. We can inject (or at least tint) these communication opportunities with messages that spread an awareness of (and aversion to) power imbalances, violence, hate, force, exploitation, and use without consent. And we can spread positive alternatives, as well: an appreciation for the Earth and fellow life, a perspective that looks critically at inherited attitudes and practices, an excitement toward creating change in peaceful ways, and a worldview that embraces freedom and respect.
I think that this view of activism, or “putting it out there,” can be a source of continual hope and reassurance for us. Maybe the world is full of oppression right now. Maybe we disagree with much of what happens in the world. But as individuals—“activists” or not—we have every chance to make a difference. We have every waking moment to work at being who we want to be—to embody and radiate the values in which we believe.
The importance of public criticism
Mar 17th
In the previous blog post, I mentioned an animal welfare corporation’s claim that 2.5% of the people receiving their literature will switch to a plant-based diet. They have been making this claim for years despite the actual data showing this estimate to be at least one (and possibly two) orders of magnitude too large. Today, less than two weeks after the blog was posted, the claim has been removed from the corporation’s web site. The change was made sometime during this past week, and given the timing, it’s obvious to me the claim was removed as a reaction to the publication of the numbers on this site.
Although that post was not specifically about that corporation and therefore didn’t mention them by name, their reaction to the blog post shows how important it is to make criticism public. Back in 2006, when I first asked them privately about the discrepancy between the numbers, I was offered a non-answer. Now, under public scrutiny, they made no such attempt to defend the numbers and instead quietly removed the misleading claim within two weeks.
I have been advised in the past to bring up my criticisms privately to the animal welfare corporations; yet these experiences are one clear example of how that advice primarily serves to bury criticism rather than support positive change.
As I mentioned in the last post, when faced with criticism, the leadership of the animal welfare corporations often reacts reflexively by covering up the obvious symptoms of the problem being criticized while leaving unexamined and unaddressed the deeper issues involved. Leaving the underlying causes in place offers, at best, a brief reprieve until the next symptom appears. I believe it’s better to directly and honestly face what ails us, own our mistakes, work to fix them, and move on, wiser for the experience.
The importance of criticism
Mar 5th
Recently, some members raised questions about the role of criticism in vegan activism. I believe continual critical reflection is necessary to build a strong foundation for our beliefs and to improve the effectiveness of our actions.
Critically examining our ideas
If we don’t critically examine our ideas, we will not be responsive to new experiences that contradict our old ideas. We can choose to cling desperately to our ideas even as evidence to the contrary mounts, or we can choose to accept the uncertainty of not knowing and learn from our new experiences.
As I have written about previously, it was precisely the constant challenge of a skeptical public that forced me to understand the insufficiency of suffering as a basis for veganism. Accepting the reality of the repeated failure of my arguments allowed me to ask, “Why aren’t people convinced by the argument? Why can’t I refute their logic? Is there a problem with my logic?” This inquiry helped deepen my understanding of veganism and helped me become a more effective, confident advocate in the process.
My experience showed me that even if we don’t question our beliefs, the public certainly will and they will focus on the weaknesses in our ideas. We may as well proactively address them ourselves before the public forces us to.
Critically examining our actions
If we don’t critically examine our actions, we won’t have any basis for evaluating whether or not our efforts are effective in helping us reach our goals. If we instead rely on guesswork and wishful thinking, it’s easy for us to fool ourselves into believing we are effective when, in fact, we are not. Rather than mistake hard work for progress, we can choose to think honestly about what we do and become more effective advocates by learning from this process.
As an example, the animal welfare corporation I used to work for promotes leafleting as the single most effective action we can take as individuals to inspire people to switch to plant-based diets. They claim that 2.5% of people who receive their booklets will switch to a vegetarian diet. However, critical thinking allows us to look at the actual results of leafleting with their literature (e.g., out of 6,000 people who received booklets at one concert, only one wrote in requesting a vegetarian starter guide) and ask the questions, “Is leafleting really as effective as I was told? Could we do a better job in tracking our total impact? How might leafleting be made more effective? What are the weaknesses to leafleting? When is leafleting effective? When is it not? Are there other forms of activism that may be more effective? Why would this corporation offer an obviously incorrect claim on their web site?”
Facing our fears
My experience of being challenged on anti-suffering veganism was unpleasant. Not only was the atmosphere contentious, but there was the added fear that maybe I was wrong all this time and that all the work I had been doing and sacrifices I had made would not yield the progress I had thought they would.
Having experienced this fear, I understand why the leadership of the animal welfare movement is so scared of challenges. The fear is so strong that they instinctively reject any criticism and often react by personally attacking those bringing up concerns as a way to avoid addressing the criticism. While understandable, this is unfortunate, as it results in an insular community that values the false comfort of self-deception over the continued critical analysis necessary for effective advocacy.
Criticism is valuable because it offers us the choice to face the fears that we might not choose to face on our own. If we opt to consider the criticism, we have the opportunity to test and refine our understanding and thereby develop a stronger, more confident, deeper understanding of the issues. It helps us pierce the bubble of complacency that forms when we listen only to opinions that match our own. And it helps us move from a reactive doing that may be satisfying but not necessarily effective to a thoughtful, considered action more likely to advance our goals.