The audience is everybody

If we want a vegan world, then I don’t think it’s effective to limit our audience to certain age groups, racial groups, social classes, political affiliations, or other “demographics.”  I want everyone to hear the vegan message.

For some, veganism will be a natural and easy fit.  I want those people to hear me, so they can join in and make a difference.  For others, veganism will seem radical or impossible.  But I want those people to hear me, too.  These “others” may in fact be most affected by our perspective.  Even if their current lifestyle is the opposite of veganism, they may be on the cusp of a life-changing experience.  And if their lifestyle is the opposite of veganism, that might also mean there’s more to gain from their eventual veganism.  (Think of an avid hunter who goes vegan and surprises everyone around them; suddenly the whole community is a lot more curious about veganism!)   And this all stands in addition to the obvious problem of prejudice (literally prejudging people as “receptive” or “unreceptive” based on factors like gender and race).   My proposition is that we can reach out lovingly and respectfully to anyone who is willing to listen.

Of course, this kind of assertion—“the audience is everybody”—begs for some qualification.

Embracing an audience of everybody doesn’t mean I purposely seek out an audience that I feel will be unreceptive.  It doesn’t mean I completely forget about prioritization and spend hours talking to people who aren’t even listening to me.  And embracing an audience of everybody doesn’t mean that I enter communities as a cultural outsider, declare the righteousness of veganism, and then leave.  No, I think this “touring activist” model may well ignore the importance and value of community-based activism and grassroots, person-to-person outreach.

Embracing an audience of everyone doesn’t mean I promote veganism as a single-issue cause, telling individuals and institutions, “I’m fine with your racism and heterosexism; I just want you to stop oppressing nonhumans!”  No, it just means I don’t let that existing racism and heterosexism turn into an assumption on my part that those people will “never change.”  It simply means I don’t give up on people or shun people.  It means I try to stay open to anybody who will consider the vegan ideal.  So an audience of everyone doesn’t mean I sacrifice my integrity or my idealism: No, it means I take my idealism to the streets and share it with people—anybody who will listen!