Great article on Veganism microactivism from the Vegan Examiner - PLEASE READ!

[Guest guest]

From Adam Kochanowicz:

http://www.examiner.com/x-4198-Vegan-Examiner~y2009m7d29-Materials-for-the-Vegan-Microactivist?cid=exrss-Vegan-Examiner (If link doesn't work, close spaces).

 

Yesterday, I wrote an article on a term I'm throwing out there called "microactivism" which refers to the vegan outreach we can do with little or no planning, in passing situations, and with a focus on dialogue rather than showiness.

Here's a short list of materials to serve two purposes: educate yourself on animal rights theory and effective vegan dialogue, and supplement that dialogue with cheap, downloadable, printable material.

Educate yourself

Books

For relating with other people, I highly recommend the book Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman. While Goleman is not a vegan nor is his book about animal rights or veganism, Goleman, a psychologist, details the science of empathy, how we communicate non-verbally and share in a social empathic experience.

For animal rights theory, it's essential to understand abolitionism. Too often, the concept of animal welfarism is confused with animal rights. Animal welfarism is a flawed philosophy for animal rights for a number of reasons because the theory does not reject the use of animals. Look up these authors like Joan Dunayer, Gary Francione, Lee Hall, and Bob Torres on Amazon or your library.

Web

There's a wealth of great resources out there but the term "animal rights" is thrown around often meaninglessly. Sometimes such resources prescribe vegetarianism but not veganism. Here's a small list of online resources I find myself constantly recommending to people.

 

 

-Abolitionist Approach

Homepage of Gary L. Francione and detail of the Abolitionist Approach.

 

-ASAP Nova Scotia

Short and sweet details of why we object to the use of animals in various situations of exploitation

 

-NZ Vegan Podcast

Elizabeth Collins is gradually leading the entire country of New Zealand into abolitionism. Listen to her podcast in English and Spanish.