And while it might be annoying to hear them at first, they're actually a sign that you're successfully ruffling some feathers (should vegans still be using this idiom?) and upsetting the badly-in-need-of-upsetting status quo.
- radical
- fringe
- extremist
- lunatic or nutjob
- pushing an agenda
- or even plain old 'agenda'
- lies or propaganda
- terrorist or terrorism
- anti-human or anti-humanism
- and human exceptionalism (a term worthy of its own future upcoming post)
Yep, those words mean you've hit a nerve, made folk uncomfortable, defensive or angry, and are messing with their version of what's normal, natural and acceptable. These may include individuals around you, people online, industry representatives, members of scientific and medical communities with vested interests in continuing animal use, and anyone whose livelihood is threatened by what you stand for. But know that when you or your work is described by any of the words in the list above, you're making headway.
On the other hand, don't spend too much time with those bandying around the more inflammatory terms on the list, because that would be like trying to persuade ardent Trump supporters that the Donald really is NOT interested in helping anyone but the already wealthy, or that Hillary Clinton is not the devil incarnate herself. Good luck, snort. (Okay, sarcasm doesn't really help either, and neither does shaming.)
No, spend your time with those who are still open to facts, who haven't completely closed off the notion that other sentient beings aren't just things or property. Keep up the good work, the good fight, and remember what we're actually fighting for:
No animal wants to suffer. Every animal wants freedom, at the very least to perform its innate needs. We humans might value our own lives in a more intellectualized manner, but we all share a desire to live. To be with others that we care about. To be with family. To run, if we are built to run, to leap, if we leap, to swim, if we are meant to swim. A desire not to be slaughtered by a merciless hand. --Jo-Anne McArthur WE ANIMALS p200
