But then I remember I didn’t take their children away, hook them up to a machine to extract food from them, or kill them. And that makes me feel like making fun of carnists is not so bad.
But then I remember I didn’t take their children away, hook them up to a machine to extract food from them, or kill them. And that makes me feel like making fun of carnists is not so bad.
I disagree. Shame teaches. So does peer pressure.
If the non-vegan friend stops eating animal products around their vegan friend, that’s a small win. If that makes them think about why the vegan friend is so outspoken about their moral boundaries, that’s a bigger win. If the vegan friend’s public assertion of their moral boundary makes other vegans more willing to speak up in public, that’s also a bigger win.
And if the non-vegan cuts ties with the vegan because they value eating animals more than respecting their friend’s moral boundaries, that’s not a loss for veganism, because the non-vegan will keep eating exactly as many animals as they would have otherwise.
Veganism is an activist movement, not just a lifestyle. And if you’re afraid to speak up for what you believe you’re not being activist.