Last weekend we had a successful anti-fur demonstration outside Julian Gold (one of the few places in Austin that still sell fur). We were small in number, but we made an impact nonetheless. The store managers were agitated and confrontational -- they wanted us to leave because we were upsetting their customers (nice to get feedback that tells us we're doing a good job, right?). The most notable part of the event for me was when a woman pulled up in her shiny SUV to engage us. She asked, "How do you feel about abortion?" It seemed like an easy enough question to answer, but after countless similar experiences I am finally learning what I believe to be the best response -- don't answer the question!
I have talked to many other activists and this type of situation appears to be very common. People don't like to be reminded of their role in allowing and/or causing suffering, so they look for a way to re-direct the conversation and convince themselves that you are the one that is misguided.
It is easy to fall into this trap -- it's happened to me many times. The abortion question has come up before, although it takes many other forms too. Sometimes they ask how I feel about homelessness, the plight of farmers, starvation in Africa, etc. These are all questions for which I have opinions. That's the problem -- the focus of discussion shifts and before you know it we have spent our time debating Roe vs. Wade (or whatever the questioner threw into the mix) and the topic of animal suffering is forgotten. It's tragic -- a huge missed opportunity.
In the case of the SUV-driving, abortion-opposing woman I met this weekend, it was clear that what she really wanted to express was, "You people care more about animals than people. You should spend your time helping people instead of wasting it on this anti-fur demo."
Of course, her logic is flawed. It suggests that anybody who acts on behalf of (or in opposition to) any one thing must by definition care only about that one thing at the expense of all else.
Therefore, the best approach is not to take the bait and get sucked into a debate on abortion, but rather to take the opportunity to try to get her to think about what we are really there to do.
I might suggest something like this:
"I get asked that a lot. People that don't understand us often get the mistaken impression that we only care about animals and not people. The truth is that we oppose exploitation, oppression, and suffering in all its forms -- and that includes both people and animals. Even if you feel like human suffering matters more to you than animal suffering, surely you don't think that animal suffering doesn't matter at all, do you? Besides, I'm sure there is more than one cause that matters to you, isn't there? You wouldn't want someone to suggest that because you care about one cause, it's impossible for you to have a voice in any other causes, would you? As it turns out, today we are trying to help raise awareness about how much suffering is caused by the fur trade. Here is some information..."
In reality, I rarely manage to wrap things up that neatly, but you get the idea. Politely acknowledge what somebody is really getting at, then turn the focus immediately back to the topic at hand.
More and more, I am starting to understand that my job is not to convince people about what they should do. My goals are much simpler. I consider it a success if I can get somebody to just think about the issue for any length of time without derailing onto something else.
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Errol, that was a very powerful post! I am going to print this out for my volunteers to read. You need to write your own animal welfare/activism book. It would be nothing short of amazing!
great post! this has happened to me a few times as well, as well as the "are you wearing leather shoes?" question. all of these are from people who are only trying to distract animal rights activists from their mission, which they know very little about. i experienced this too while protesting for environmental issues, when some SUV drivers (why are they ALWAYS SUV DRIVERS??) say, "Get a job!" Activism is underrated in this country but that's another issue entirely. I like your alternative response to the abortion person - however, I can't help but think it can be easier to say, "This isn't an abortion protest, this is a fur protest. Julian Gold supports the torture of animals by selling fur. Here's a flier." And move on. These people aren't really interested in hearing about our animal rights philosophy and the connection with every other good cause. They just want to derail so I don't even want to give them the time of day. 1 minute max. What do others think?
man, if only I could hold my temper long enough sometimes to get your same point across. I'm bad about not biting my tongue and letting someone get me off track.
but along the same lines of your rebuttal,here's another thought: hasn't it been proven psychologically and scientifically that humans who are unable, or lack the desire, to show compassion to animals (a 'lower' life form) are also unwilling to show that same compassion towards people? a child who enjoys tormenting pets often grows up to be incredibly disturbed, in several cases taking the life of another human at some point.
to anyone who accuses me of caring more about animals than people: at least i care about those less fortunate and less powerful than me, and want to work towards making their existence better!
thanks, errol, for this important blog. very succint and well written. :) This has happened to me before also over my many years as an activist. i learned what the person asking the question is really trying to do and i've learned to stay-on-message but it's sometimes difficult to do this. however, if we are to make our positive impression with passersby it is imperative to be polite and steer the conversation gently back to our issue. it's another chance for us to be more and more selfless as activists when the pull is to be just as rude as she was to us.
by the way, she was driving a giant SUV by herself. wonder if she ever stops to think about how much global warming carbon gases she's spewing into the atmoshere?
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