How to Become an Introverted Vegan Activist, Pt. 5

Mar 01, 2021

"Everyone has been made for some particular work, and the desire for that work has been put in every heart."
-Rumi

1. Start a Vegan Book Club

Whether it's online or in person, a book club is a great way to explore vegan themes in literature. While the books themselves don't necessarily need to have anything to do with veganism -- for example, I've covered the YA novel Scythe, its sequel Thunderhead, and Shirley Jackson's short story "The Lottery" on the blog -- there are always themes to explore regarding animal rights, environmentalism, or ethics as a whole. Not only does this give us an opportunity to bring non-vegans into the group and expand their understanding of veganism, but it also provides us with an opportunity to expand our own understanding of veganism by exploring morality in a different context.

If you'd prefer to focus on books with clear animal rights themes, or if you'd just like to pepper them in occasionally, here are some fictional pieces to get started: Animal Farm, Tender Is the Flesh, Barn 8, Persimmon Takes on Humanity, and Bones & All. Or, if you want some nonfiction books, here are a few suggestions: Voices for Animal Liberation, Animalkind, Always Too Much and Never Enough, Animal Liberation, and Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel.

2. Start a Vegan Film Club

Just like the prior option, filmed media gives us an incredible opportunity to experience an entirely new world, to, quite literally, see through a different lens. Though there are many different kinds of films, shows, and shorts to consider, I personally prefer the horror genre because nothing else forces you to confront the absolute depravity simmering beneath the mundane surface of humanity, and what humans do to nonhumans is one of the most sinister subjects available.

Obviously, I'd first recommend movies I've reviewed here, both fiction and nonfiction, like the Saw series, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Mother!, The Birds, The Game Changers, and The Animal People. But there are also other movies, which I haven't yet seen, that could be interesting subjects: White God, Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Hunt, The Fly, and Raw. Plus, a film club provides the perfect opportunity to gather together and share yummy vegan snacks!

3. Activism Posters

In Part 4, I discussed how humans are naturally inclined to read when they see words, which is one reason why our roadways are littered with billboards. However, you can bring that tactic down to a smaller level and create and distribute posters. (I'd recommend using the website Canva, where you can design posters for free, and for a fee they'll print and mail them to you if you don't have the ability to do that yourself.) Then, paste or tape them around your neighborhood or pin them to public bulletin boards on your school campus.

4. Halloween/Holiday Costumes

Dressing up for holidays can be a fun (and informative) way to wear your activism. For example, in "Easy Ways to Veganize Thanksgiving," I suggested dressing up for your local Turkey Trot, and in "Easy Ways to Veganize Halloween, Pt. 3," I mentioned various ideas for animal rights-themed costumes.

5. Bike Spoke Cards

This idea comes courtesy of anti-fur activist (and vocal vegan) Rob Banks. By printing two medium-sized images -- identical or not -- and laminating them back to back, you can stick them into the spokes of your bike to spread the vegan message wherever your tires take you.

6. Random Acts of Vegan-ness

Buy a stranger some oat milk, bring in vegan doughnuts for your coworkers, give a homeless person an Impossible Whopper. There are many ways to spread and normalize veganism, and sometimes a simple gesture to a complete stranger can be the starting point.

7. Use Non-Vegan Hashtags

Way back in Part 1, I discussed how introverts can use social media to outreach, and one key element of that is to use hashtags in the hopes that non-vegans will see your posts. Vegans should almost never be the target audience for our activism; it may feel good to get a lot of likes on a post, but if they're all vegans, you're just speaking into an echo chamber. By using non-vegan hashtags -- #meatlover, #cheeseaddict, #fishingislife, #zooday, etc. -- you are at least sending the message to the right people, even if you get fewer likes because of it.

8. Tag Non-Vegan Influencers/Brands on Social Media

This is one of those tips I'm trying to get better about doing because, like the hashtags, you're directly addressing people who participate in animal exploitation. Of course, the bigger the name, the less likely it is that they'll see it (especially if they don't personally run their social media accounts or if it's a large brand). But remember that just because they don't respond doesn't mean you didn't leave an impression.

9. Veganize School Projects

I mentioned in Part 4 that veganizing class presentations is a great way to force an audience to listen to you, but you don't always have to wait for that opportunity (especially because they may be rare) to do something like that. When writing papers, taking exams, doing homework, or even submitting applications, there may be ways to organically bring up animal rights. Particularly as your classes become more advanced, you gain more freedom to choose how to approach coursework, and you therefore have more opportunities to discuss important issues that you ordinarily wouldn't be able to fit in to the conversation.

10. Symbolically Adopt/Foster

While fostering an animal from a shelter or sanctuary is a great way to contribute to that organization and their outreach, it's even better when you talk about it! Share your animal's story, from where they came to how they were rescued, and help open people's eyes to just one of the many individuals negatively affected by speciesism.

11. Vegan Face Masks

Wearing face masks is necessary these days, and it probably will continue to be so for a while, even after the current pandemic. (Because there are surely more to come.) Masks like Anticarnist's "go vegan to prevent future pandemics" one are an apt reminder to all you come across about how we got into this mess.

be conscious, be kind, be vegan