Advocating to Lurkers: Talking to the Unseen Audience
patsy helping with chores at poplar spring animal sanctuary
The post was a response, in part, to an attitude among some activists that we should be on task and advocating all the time. An attitude that talking to other vegans, “preaching to the choir”, was a waste of time.
According to a blurb on Wikipedia about lurking, I’m not so sure that vegans talking to each other online aren’t, in fact, doing a fair amount of indirect outreach. Lurking on the internet happens when someone registers for a discussion forum, for instance, where members exchange information with each other, but this individual — known as a “lurker” — doesn’t jump in and ask or answer questions, but instead spends a lot of time just reading and soaking in whatever information is offered up. Research shows that “lurkers make up over 90% of online groups”. So when vegans are indulging in the purported waste of time known as talking to each other about veganism (aka preaching to the choir), this means that there’s a really good chance that many others are reading the anecdotes being shared and the tips being traded.
The lurkers are an interesting group, because they are the audience we don’t know anything about. Even if the lurkers weren’t lurking, I find the idea of advocating 100% of the time to be an exhausting thought. (I am an introvert, after all.) And I’m not convinced it is productive, even if it were possible.
We all need to recharge. Sleep is part of that – and how many people, even those who are not activists, do you know who get enough? – but also giving our brains and our bodies some down time during our waking hours. Knitting, biking, photography, synchronized swimming…whatever it is that fires your interest.
The bonus is that by pursuing these other interests, we form genuine connections and friendships that expand our circle of influence. This is a good thing, it gives us a chance to represent.
The power of personal connections comes up a lot when talking to Mary Martin, when she looks back to evaluate the effectiveness of the forms of advocacy she has tried. She compares her earliest efforts (plastering the kitchen as a teenager with pictures of veal calves in crates) to her later efforts (her husband going vegan, among others), and sees that it was the personal relationships allowing her to nurture awareness that had a positive result over time. It can take a long time.
A local friend, Gary Lowenthal (he of the World Wide Vegan Bakesale), has a lot of theories and puts in a lot of outreach time. One thing that comes up often in our conversation is that the process of going vegan is a long process. Even the people who describe their process as going vegan overnight after a conversation or a documentary or a flash of insight, the full process goes back much much further.
Back to the first time as a kid when they realized that animals were killed for the bacon on their plate. Back to their love of a cat or a dog (or any “pet”), and the first questions of “why a pig but not a dog?” Back to the many little experiences throughout our lives, the seeds that are strewn across our intellectual and emotional landscape, which eventually might sprout into compassionate awareness. Most likely this is a cumulative experience, and all the prior seeds strewn across our lives assist the one that finally first sprouts.
Those were a lot of words to say: pursuing our other interests creates opportunities to spread those seeds of compassion, awareness, and potential. Often we are dropping these seeds in other people’s lives, simply by going about our lives, representing, being The Vegan. Our friends and family and coworkers and sometimes the strangers we never meet are, in many respects, the lurkers in our offline lives, lurkers who we might have that personal connection with, giving us a chance to nurture the seeds we drop into their lives.
Mylene’s post resonated so strongly with me partially because it described my own move from vegetarian (after 8 years) to veganism. I was a vegetarian living in a bubble, with no interest in reading about the issues, and no understanding that there were issues beyond the flesh of the animals. I’d just moved and I’d accidentally left my one and only cookbook at my parents place, and so I went online to look up some recipes. I ended up on a vegetarian and vegan message board. I remember my hesitation before clicking on the “Vegan Support” subforum – what did it have to do with me, I wondered. There I read the vaguest possible reference to the death inherent in the dairy and egg industry.
And that, my friends, was that.
Stephanie Ernst
Marji
Kelly G.
Deb
Mary Martin
I tend to be someone who doesn’t spend time in comments sections because of the perception of preaching to the choir and because I have burnout from addressing the same things over and over again, and someone without burnout will likely craft a better response.
When I speak with an individual, I know that I’m tailoring what I say to that person’s needs at the time because I am listening for those needs. And yes, it takes a long time. But it works.
At an event over the weekend I met a man who said he went vegan because of Animal Person, but now he’s not vegan anymore because I basically stopped writing. Of course that’s nonsense. But here’s what else he said, “Your logic is flawless. The argument is perfect. I know I shouldn’t use animals. But that doesn’t mean I’m not gonna eat a steak if I want to or if I think my body needs it.”
Where to begin with that one . . .
What I will say about that is that people going vegan–and new vegans–need the support of others. We need to take newbies and transitional people grocery shopping and clothing and shoe shopping and to restaurants. We need to cook with them and bake with them. They need to see the letters we write and hear about the kinds of things we protest. They need to be at the table when we answer questions and have discussions about veganism or animal rights.
For 20 years I helped people write nonfiction books. My favorite service was the Book Intensive, where I lived with clients for days at a time, essentially teaching them not just how to write, but how to be writers. The people who paid me to ghostwrite a book needed to pay me to write their next book. But the people who took Intensives wrote much of their own books.
The nuts and bolts of what a vegan is and why we’re vegan is one thing. But living as a vegan–putting that into practice–involves a lot of social, interpersonal and other experiential elements that, in my experience, people need to see and hear and be present for, in order to internalize them and make them part of *who they are* rather than part of *what they know.*
Mary wrote: “What I will say about that is that people going vegan–and new vegans–need the support of others. We need to take newbies and transitional people grocery shopping and clothing and shoe shopping and to restaurants. We need to cook with them and bake with them. They need to see the letters we write and hear about the kinds of things we protest. They need to be at the table when we answer questions and have discussions about veganism or animal rights.”
I have been an animal advocate for decades now. I have not been, nor am I now, a flawless advocate. I am not a person of perfect logic. My ability to argue and debate is very limited. I have never had the experience of talking to a non-vegetarian and moving them to say to me that they were moved by me and that they will consider going vegan.
So, a long time ago I decided that my role was to support those good people who had already gone vegan and to make sure that they knew that there was a real community of people who were happy, healthy supportive vegan. So that’s why I run a low-key vegan meetup in my small town.
I’ll share one more thing, just because it was so much fun…a recent meetup I held was a guided vegan tour of our local natural food store. There were four of us, most of them pretty new at being vegan (one three months in, one two years in), and it turned out to be two hours of good conversation talking about vegan products in the store. One had gone vegan mostly for health reasons, so it was really nice to explain about the cruel practices of the dairy and egg industries…just so she would understand more deeply the significance of her dietary choices. I like to think the walk and talk reduced her chances of recidivism by just a little bit.
PS Mary: I LOVED your blog…thank you for a lot of good reads. <3
Thanks, Jeannie!
If anything, my recent conversations (and certainly recent goings on regarding vegans who go back to eating animals) demonstrates that a flawless logical argument is often meaningless. Decision making, though it would seem like it comes from the thinking part of the brain, isn’t as easy as that. Emotions play a role too, and some say a larger role. That’s why visuals are so powerful (though there appears to be a line whereafter people shut down).
The real life, live, in person stuff of veganism, like what you do with your small group, is vital to getting vegans settled and comfortable in their own vegan skin. The most frequently asked question I get is: Can you move in with me for a couple of weeks and show me how to do all of this? (Hence the mention of my Book Intensive.) Nobody serious about veganism, in my opinion, is actually going to take that last step to veganism contingent on my answer to: “What about lions in the wild? Do you want them to stop eating gazelles?” They act like that’s what’s standing in their way, but most often the obstacle is that they simply want to eat animals because their palate is more important than someone else’s life.
“I find the idea of advocating 100% of the time to be an exhausting thought. (I am an introvert, after all.) And I’m not convinced it is productive, even if it were possible.”
Yes! Personally I spend so much time in an office with people who have no interest in becoming vegan despite my best subtle efforts that I often want a place where I can vent to other vegans, be around others who understand my frustration, without worrying how I’m coming across to non-vegans. (Because you know that if you’re rude to omnivores they won’t like you and therefore won’t become vegan, right? Though of course there is plenty of value in being polite and considerate. I am that when tabling, or actively advocating.)
So even if we’re just preaching to the choir, I say I like choral singing and I, for one, am glad to listen. I almost always learn something new, anyway, and that is not a waste of time.
Unfortunately I think that it is in our best interest to consider how we are coming across to non-vegans, unless you are in a closed-to-the-public-and-only-vegans-allowed forum. That’s specific to the griping. Oh, in person with vegan friends works too!
But I wouldn’t say that about all griping, just the stuff we say to blow off steam. The over-the-top stuff, the stuff that isn’t really how we think…
The real frustrations, our passion about the issues, I think it’s good to let people overhear that. I volunteer weekly at an animal sanctuary, and not all the volunteers are vegetarian, let alone vegan. Surprising, but true. But this is where the in-person “lurking” ends up being powerful, I think. Since vegans are the overwhelming majority at the sanctuary, our frankness in discussing the issues reflects that. I don’t think about whether everyone I’m talking to is vegan, or whether the non-veg*n can hear use talk about one issue or another, and I really do think that it has a positive impact on the “lurkers” when they hear our (somewhat) unguarded thoughts.
But yes, excellent point about the fact that we can and do learn from each other. And – as Mary talked about – it’s also support of each other, and that can have a huge impact on people, especially when they are first transitioning.
Though non-vegans working at a sanctuary sounds odd to me, dreaded (*sarcasm*) single issue campaigns, such the movement to abolish greyhound racing, is another great venue for lurker exposure to veganism. I think I know five greyhound people who are vegans. But when we’re with the rest of the people, we can liken dog racing to horse racing, and then other uses, and soon enough we’re talking about how animals other than dogs probably don’t want to be used for human gain. It’s treatment and use, and frankly I think I’ve yet to convert anyone without talking about treatment. And I’d never be discussing veganism for anyone to overhear if it weren’t for the common interest of ending greyhound racing.
The deal with treatment, it engages people’s emotions, and that gives you something to work with. And since emotions might very well be where our logical decisions are born, it does make sense to start from there.
I’ve never understood the hatred of single issue campaigns, not for things like abolishing Greyhound racing. You’re working towards ending the use, I see it only as a positive. Same with the carriage horses. (I do see some people running carriage horse campaigns who have chastised others about single issue campaigns, which I thought was supremely ironic.) And, yes, it definitely gives you a chance to talk to people about other issues, both the people you’re advocating with as well as the people you’re advocating to.
Lately I’ve been thinking about hyper-local changes, and how much power they can have. Bike lanes added to streets…it’s a hyper local issue, and yet their impact spreads.
“I find the idea of advocating 100% of the time to be an exhausting thought. (I am an introvert, after all.) And I’m not convinced it is productive, even if it were possible.”
I’m a young male Vegan living in Invercargill, New Zealand, a rural city of fifty thousand citizens.
I’ve generally found it difficult being Vegan here, I’d never met another Vegan before, and was surrounded by our very large Dairy industry, not to mention “Freezing Workers”, slaughterhouses that export frozen corpses worldwide.
I now see it as a matter of speaking clearly, and simply about Animals. Veganism is easy, its as easy to be Vegan as not! And its the least we can do for other animals.
I have a number of websites and podcasts I direct people to, I find it very useful to visit Twitter each day, search for ” Vegan ” and offer advice to people talking about Veganism, both negative, and positive people. Many will say “…I’m thinking about being Vegan…but its hard?…”, they feel very lonely, and may not have any support. They often are really enthusiastic to get a reply from a stranger offering help!
I recently created a Vegan Society for my area, its fun! I have business cards to give to people interested in learning more in person, although I do most of my activism online.
http://coexistingwithnonhumananimals.blogspot.com/2010/12/invercargill-vegan-society-business.html
I share videos of my Chicken Friends in an attempt to promote respect and understanding for *all* animals!
And I often get back lovely remarks, such as from a Mother, whose four year old Daughter likes to kiss their computer screen when she sees my Chicken Friends! I wrote a blog post about how touched I was :-)
http://coexistingwithnonhumananimals.blogspot.com/2010/12/birdman-of-invercargill.html
If anyone is finding it difficult to talk about Animals, try recommending the Abolitionist Approach website to them, it speaks very clearly for Veganism as the *least* we can do, Professor Gary Francione’s podcasts are useful, and the forum is a great place to learn more!
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/
Best wishes to all of you, and thank you for all you are doing to help Animals!
Spoken like a true extrovert, Jordan! Congrats on all you do.
It sounds like you probably don’t understand what an introvert is, because otherwise I can’t imagine why you quoted that particular line from my post, followed by what is an extrovert’s guide to being busily surrounded by people all the time.
I’ll be brief: being an introvert doesn’t mean that I don’t know how to talk to people or that I’m socially awkward or that I find it difficult to talk to people. You can try following the link to a previous post I wrote about being an introvert, if you’re interested in how it impacts advocacy.
Hi Deb,
I myself am an “introvert”, however will not be quiet on this issue. There is *absolutely* nothing difficult about standing up and being counted.
I’m a very quiet person, I’m very shy. If you feel the same way, perhaps online activism will be easier than public speaking for you?
I always keep in mind, “whats the worst that could happen?” For example, I often speak on a local version of “eBay”, TradeMe, New Zealands biggest website.
Here is a recent thread, about a dog named “Atlas” being set alight, this is spoken of as “Animal Cruelty”, and there is basically a manhunt out for the person responsible. People lose their minds on these issues, of this “Animal Cruelty”, of one Dog, a couple of Cats etc being killed, yet overlook the 56 Billion land animals we kill each year for our pleasure, and profit.
I think all animals lives are *equal*, I’m sure you love your life as much as I love mine, despite the fact you are most likely living on the other side of the world, that we will never meet. We are equal.
Feel free to visit the thread, my name there is “dafing”, a heads up, people *DO* get very nasty to those promoting Veganism, I’ve been called all sorts of things there, by self described “nice people” ;-)
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Community/MessageBoard/Messages.aspx?id=526368&p=3&topic=19&#p10623939
I learnt from Randy Sandberg, of Quotes on Slavery to always be calm, regardless of how out of control others may be. Our message, that Veganism is easy, and the least we can do for other animals is very simple, and honest. We can discuss it easily, and remain calm.
Randy does amazing work, including both anti and pro slavery quotes, such as this Tweet that was sent to me:
http://quotesonslavery.org/too-bad-i-couldnt-watch-it-get-slaughtered-and-hear-it-cry/
He also is the main person responsible for maintaining Professor Gary Franciones website,
http://www.abolitionistapproach.com/
I feel like I must speak out about this issue, rather than letting it continue. I am one young man living in a rural city, I know of few Vegans here. If we dont speak up, who will?
As one person first stands up to be counted, others will rise. I now carry a metal business card case with me while in public, ready to give interested people by card from the Invercargill Vegan Society. I think its going to be very effective!
To any other introverts here, I hope you’ll feel more confident speak out for animals!
Okay Jordan, I too will not be quiet about this! Please read my post!
If you’d like to join in the conversation about the actual topic, wonderful! In the meantime, I’m sure there are lurkers who might just be getting something positive from your little advice.
If you aren’t interested in reading the post, read this line:
And from that you think I’m in need of confidence in speaking out for animals? Or that I said it was difficult? Or that I said I don’t do it at all?
Yes, indeed, I talked about NOT advocating 100% of the time. (100% != 0% in case that was not clear.) Of taking care of ourselves. That has nothing to do with a lack confidence or difficulty or inability to talk to people. What this has to do with is being an advocate who doesn’t burn out after six months. And at the same time it has to do with making connections, real friendships, that might just end up being the next person we’ve influenced to go vegan.
To any advocates out there, please do not let people like Jordan make you feel like shit if you take care of yourself in addition to being an activist.
Thats an all round incredibly written post..