Animal rights vegan activist and parent, JoAnn Farb, has written a
compelling
article, including her own experience relating to why some ethical vegans
are
not comfortable with their ethics in the company of people who are not or
are
not yet vegan. Why, she asks, do “some vegans join the oppressive class and
throw vegan *activists* under the bus”? Should we make a point of “not
pushing our
values,” or is this more about social anxiety than a gesture of civility?

*JoAnn Farb is a former microbiologist, national speaker, and publisher of
the*
*FEAST Lawrence Newsletter. She uses big picture holistic thinking to
connect*
*social justice with environmental sustainability and health. She is
working on*
*her third book, “GLUTEN – The Science that Explains the REAL Reason Paleo
is So*
*Popular.” She and her husband live in Kansas and have two grown life-long
vegan*
*daughters.*

Website: JoAnnFarb.com

Article: Why I am NOT an Apologetic Vegan
<http://joannfarb.weebly.com/blog/not-an-apologetic-vegan>

_______________________________

Why I am NOT an Apologetic Vegan

By JoAnn Farb
July 26, 2018

“I am not THAT kind of vegan”

This is a statement that I have heard a few times recently.

As veganism has become more popular, it has triggered pushback. When I began
doing vegan activism in the 1990s, vegans weren’t seen as a threat to animal
agriculture or to people’s coveted family or religious traditions. Grocery
stores, hospitals, and local TV news welcomed me and repeatedly provided
venues
for me to criticize animal exploitation while encouraging people to give
veganism a try. Some were inspired or motivated to change as a result of
this.
Those who didn’t “get” my message or disagreed, ignored me and moved on.
Since
vegans were so rare, this message was a curiosity not a threat.

But now, almost everyone in America knows there are millions of vegans.
Veganism
is a viable lifestyle AND growing in popularity! Vegans are setting athletic
records, running successful companies, and birthing and raising healthy
vegan
families. This changes everything. Conscious of it or not, those who are
not yet
vegan live with the continuous discomfort that they are participating in
*unnecessary* violence against other beings. Unlike the 1990s, now simply
saying,
“I am vegan” reminds non-vegans that they are not living consistent with
one of
their own values – in fact a widely held value. Most of us agree: *It is
wrong to*
*unnecessarily harm animals.* Just BEING vegan around some people feels to
them
like they are being attacked, because it’s reminding them of this painful
fact.

But those who DO embrace veganism struggle with a different discord –
feeling
like an outcast from their tribe, family, or social group. Any choice that
sets
us apart from our group can expose us to “change back.” Pressure.

In order to help you understand why saying “*I am not that kind of vegan*”
is
problematic, I will share with you what happened to me as a child.

I grew up next door to the best grade school in one of the top rated school
districts in the entire country. Most all of us who went to that school had
parents who grew up poor during the depression. The combination of
affordable
higher education along with an expanding job market is what allowed my
parents
and other parents in their neighborhood to do so well economically that they
seem rich when compared to how they grew up.

The children in my neighborhood wore the trendiest clothes and enjoyed the
latest, greatest toys and gadgets provided in mind-numbing abundance at
least
twice each year. Their pantries were stocked with an array of seductive junk
food.

But that was not how it was at my house.

My parents were frugal, and didn’t even try to keep up with the neighbors.
That
made fitting in hard for me. But I had an even bigger obstacle socially: I
was
one of the only two fat kids in my entire grade. Though my parents weren’t
really status conscious, they were fat-phobic and tried hard to make me lose
weight. Sugary treats were kept under lock and key at my house, though I had
access to cheese wheels, meat and eggs. I remember being ecstatic when I
learned
to fry hamburgers in butter on the stove, and make omelets that oozed with
melted cheese.

Grade school was hell for me. I was taunted for being fat and for not
dressing
fashionably. “Highwaters!” my classmates shrieked as they pointed at my
too-short jeans before running away. Everyone knew I was part of a small
group
of outcasts. We were the “untouchables” of our grade. Included with me was
the
other heavy girl, a thin shy girl with terrible acne, a white-haired, poorly
coordinated boy, and a scary boy who hit and never followed directions. Just
above us in the hierarchy were a handful of students who although not as
openly
shunned were still avoided. The hierarchy was made visible and reinforced
through the act of picking teammates or partners for activities.

You might think those lower down in this hierarchy, experiencing this
injustice
would be the first to challenge it or at least not do the very same thing to
others. But in fact the opposite happened. The more oppressed one of us
felt,
the more intensely we distanced ourselves from anyone with low status. We
feared
more oppression if associated with any of the other victims.

My observations are consistent with what’s been documented in other cases of
oppressed groups. Time and again, those concerned with their own inclusion
contribute to the victimization of others – be it the class system of India,
oppressed US minorities trying to better their own lot (and being called
“uppity” by others likewise oppressed), or some women struggling for
position in
male dominated arenas.

One common way this pressure can be managed is to distance ourselves from
those
the dominant group find *most* problematic. Supporting the oppressor’s
perspective
– even just in a tiny way, can ease some of the pressure by aligning us, at
least in part, with those who hold the power. In other words, some vegans
join
the oppressive class and throw vegan *activists* under the bus, to help
insulate
themselves from the “change back” pressure of the dominant paradigm.

This is what is happening when you hear someone say, “I’m not THAT kind of
vegan.” Though this may make it easier for the person expressing this
sentiment
to comfortably mingle with and feel more accepted by those who are still
enabling the oppression, it works against our cause. We NEED people willing
to
speak out about injustice. When vegans say to others, “I am not THAT kind of
vegan,” it is a clear expression of judgment against people speaking out. It
isolates activists. It makes other vegans contemplating speaking up feel
shamed
into silence. It supports and empowers the oppressive mindset. If *our*
people –
that is, those choosing to abstain from intentional violence against other
beings – think we are wrong for daring to raise awareness of violence
against
animals, that plays right into and reinforces the oppressive paradigm. It
also
provides additional justification for non-vegans to disregard veganism
altogether.

Can you think of a single example of progress made on any social justice
issue
that was NOT the result of someone trying to push their values? That is why
I
continue to speak out and raise awareness however I can.

I will not apologize for speaking up when I see injustice, and the more
people
who join me in this, the better I believe our world will be.

—
United Poultry Concerns is a nonprofit organization that promotes
the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl.
Don’t just switch from beef to chicken. Go Vegan.
http://www.UPC-online.org/ http://www.twitter.com/upcnews
http://www.facebook.com/UnitedPoultryConcerns

View this article online
<http://upc-online.org/alerts/180731_why_i_am_not_an_apologetic_vegan.html>