SIGN:
IMPACT:
After just 1 hour of sitting,
- 100+ people saw the sign and did not acknowledge it/me.
- 3 people did not even want to see the sign or acknowledge me, even after saying hello.
- 2 people scoffed at me, and were unwilling to have a friendly conversation or share their opinion.
- 4 people were quick to tell me of the accomplishments of their friends and/or family who are vegan, but not them.
- 3 people were already vegan and resonated with my sign. 1 heterosexual appearing couple who said “that’s right!” to my sign, and 1 person (Kat) who is “alkaline vegan” for the health benefits.
- 3 people had a conversation with me!
- I showed 1 person the truth (the fact that the egg industry macerate baby chickens alive if they are born male) and they ended up scanning the QR code.
- Another person told me of their progress in eating more plant-based meat alternatives and scanned the QR code, claiming they “are always interested in new perspectives,” but had no questions even when prompted.
- The last person was a little girl who asked me “why are the dog and the cow the same?” To which I replied, “they are! they feel in the exact same ways, and yet we eat one and own another, does that make any sense?!” (Of course, a simplification for the child, which led to an unfruitful discussion in which her “love of bacon” seemed to reign supreme. At least the seed has been planted. She is the future.
SELF ANALYSIS:
I sat down right outside The Fuzzy Pineapple’s Food Festival for 1 hour with a sign that read “I love food too, but not violence. Try Vegan!” I tried to hone the message to be relevant of where I was, and sat down on the sidewalk next to a booth that offered vegan baked goods. I used the words “try” this time because I wanted the impact to be immediate. I’m proud of the conversations I did have, as I was able to both remain calm and explain things without losing sight of my previous carnism and tried to meet them where they were at. I proved to myself that I am able to do this, so perhaps in the next advocating I do, I’ll put on the poster that conversations are welcome. I think I’m almost ready to go on Landis by myself. I think it will be there where I can better build a community.