As I got ready for the day, it crossed my mind that I was a little crazy to be spending one of my rare days off being so busy with vegan activism. Then I considered two things.
1.) I'm happiest when I'm doing vegan activism (among other things I love doing).
2.) The animals never get a day off.
So I spent a large portion of the day putting these together.
They are envelopes on which I painted "You're invited to Veganism". Inside there's a card that says, "What's with the invite? VEGANISM is a celebration of all life. Learn more-->" On the inside of the card I put a vegan "business" card. Also inside the envelope I put a PAN handout which had all kinds of interesting information. So I put about 45 of these together, threw together a new vegan shirt, and then I walked to the library with Wayne Pacelle was scheduled to talk about his new book The Bond: Our Kinship with Animals, Our Call to Defend Them.
I was volunteering at the library on this night. My jobs were to make sure no one sat in the first two rows because those seats were reserved with people who were associates of Wayne and to handle the microphone during the Q & A session at the end of the talk. Wayne talked a lot about very specific travesties happening to animals. Things like dog fighting, seal clubbing, horse meat, etc. I don't like any of these things but the thing is, all animal use is unnecessary and I don't like any of it. I don't see a point in talking to people about these very limited topics. No, actually, I do see a point. I understand that if you have a large percent of the population agreeing with something that is very easy to agree with, chances are, you'll be able to get some money out of this large population. So, I get it. But the talk just aggravated me so much! All those people there, clearly, deeply interested in animal rights, and no mention of veganism! What the hell?! If you gave people a chance, they could get it! But no, you spend the last seven-minutes of a 45-minute lecture talking about Asian shark fin soup.
There were various questions. One that sticks out to me is a woman who was very passionately asking about stray cats.
"...they're behind every school, in every alley, in every barn, in nearly every place in the world. What is HSUS doing for them?"
Wayne talked about various problems but the answer was lackluster and it was clear that the woman was not satisfied with the answer.
Originally, I had planned to ask a question kindly suggested by a friend of mine. But Asian shark fin soup had me so irritated that I switched gears. I'll never know for sure if I made the right decision but watching everyone shake their heads in disgust as Wayne described the shark killing process really made my blood boil.
I was the last person to ask a question and I asked, "You mentioned Asian shark fin soup and I'm wondering, what is the difference between shark fin soup and any other non-vegan food. It's all unnecessary and it's all cruel. We don't need animal products to survive. All the animals used for food are treated equally cruelly and it's all not needed, so what's the difference because between shark fin soup and anything else that's not vegan."
Wayne replied, "I think what you're saying is we can live healthy without animal products so why not be vegetarian --"
"Vegan." I said.
"Vegan." He repeated. "Well, it is true that we don't need animal products to live but for me I separate what is more cruel and what is more wasteful and to me, cutting fins off of sharks and throwing them back in the ocean just that. But I understand the point you're making."
That was nearly as good of an answer as I could have expected.
After the talk, I walked up the lobby with everyone else. As a volunteer, during the book signings my assignment is to help people get their books personalized. That involves writing their names on a post-it note, sticking the post-it on the book jacket, and folding the jacket on the title page. As I did this, I gave anyone who wanted one an envelope. I was pleasantly surprised that some people were already vegan! How lovely!
While all this was going on, there was a vegan cake also in the lobby. This cake was made by Vegan Treats, a heaven-sent bakery whose tasty slices leave me daydreaming for more nearly every day.
The owner was standing by the cake which shaped like a dog with a well-wishing, edible sign. The cake was free for anyone at the event or even hanging out at the library. There were also other Vegan Treat employees and an Animal Planet camera crew working on a special about Vegan Treats! How exciting!
Once I was finished with my post-it job and handing out my info, I started a conversation with one of the Vegan Treat workers. I was given a piece of cake though soon I gave the piece to a library-goer who was curious about what was going on. I gave him the cake with an enthusiastic explanation that this cake was vegan meaning it was made with no animal products.
"So there's no milk, eggs, butter, or any other animal products in this!" I told him. He was intrigued and once he took a bite he was thrilled! I helped myself to another piece of course!
Then, I got in line to get my book signed. While in line, I spoke with the woman who had voiced her concern about feral cats. She told me that she was very upset about how little Wayne addressed the problem with cats. I told her that Gary Francione works with feral cats in New Jersey. She was hopeful and interested. I gave her an envelope and encouraged her to check out the abolition website and she could contact Gary through the site or the connected forum. This seemed to help her frustration. I was surprised and happy to learn that she was vegan!
Once I got the the front of the line, I talked to Wayne as he signed my book. He thanked me for my question and said that he could tell I was very passionate about animal rights. This is how he signed my book.
And this is how I fixed it.
I also gave Wayne one of my envelopes.
I left the building unsure if anyone's mind was completely changed but glad that I had come. On my walk home I realized, had I not been there, the word "vegan" would never have been mentioned. I was proud of myself. "It's a sad state for animal rights," I thought, "but at least I was there."
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