To my fellow abolitionist advocates:
"Silence, they say, is the voice of complicity.
But silence is impossible.
Silence screams.
Silence is a message,
just as doing nothing is an act."
- Leonard Peltier
No more silence; no more complicity. That being said, we have too much work to do to let ourselves get bogged down in bitterness and sniping, whether our own or that of others which may be directed at any of us.
As advocates, we each know ourselves and our true intentions. Rather than let ourselves be affected by the disparagement of those who stand off to one side with fingers pointing, we should let our work speak for itself. In terms of sussing out with whom we should choose to engage in our work? We should each take start taking the time--moving forward--to learn to know the hearts and minds of our fellow abolitionist advocates, rather than abide by others' opinions and proscriptions and end up shunning one another.
Over 95% of the North American population alone is still non-vegan. Let's stitch up a few tears and get on with building this grassroots educational movement together, yes?
1 comment:
Dear Mylène,
I like these words on silence. Yesterday I met a lady who sold her self-made pieces of soap in an old castle nearby I visited with my little son to watch a knight`s play. When I asked her which ones were plant-based only, outing myself as a vegan, she eagerly pointed out that nearly 80% were. The other 20% were her compromise to meet the demands of non-vegans. Then she declared that she was vegan, too. Much of a surprise! How can you call yourself vegan, when 20% of your business consists of exploiting animals???? Nevertheless, I tried to stay calm and invited her to our local monthly vegan meet-up. Her answer was: "No thanks, I am not into proselytizing." I replied that we are not a religious group. What we aim to is just peaceful vegan education to help abolish the use of animals for human ends. Next time I bump into such non-vegans or vegans with a vow of silence I`ll use the above words on silence. Perhaps that will wake them up. - To foster this wake-up, ethical vegans / abolitionists: Act in concert! Vegan wishes, Micha
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