Furthering Oneself from the Culture of Meat: Good or Bad?

I keep asking myself if it's a bad thing that I'm losing my connection more and more to the culture of meat-eating. On the one hand, that's a good thing. It's a great thing! But by losing my tie with this huge part of our culture (current culture, I should add) am I separating myself too much from omnivores? That is to say, from a campaigning standpoint, am I losing my ability to connect to meat-eaters ? Am I losing my ability to effectively rework the culture of meat, but removing myself from it? Culture is moldable, after all, and just requires a good bit of time and energy to change. Here's the equation for you right-brained people (also I'm bored, and procrastinating on homework)

TIME + starting a VeganDialogue + vegan cupcakes + SUSTAINED PATIENCE

= Vegan Revolution !

So I ask myself, am I still able to effectively relate to the people I'm talking to?

It's true there are always the lines like ---

• "I used to love meat!"
• "This tastes just like meat, try it."
• "I know that veganism sounds kind of extreme but... "

all of which help the non-vegan in question from feeling judged. Also to keep her/him from completely tuning me out, and everything that I have to say, for fear that I've just lost it.

Making Non-Veg Alliances? This has consequently led me to consider developing slightly odd ties/alliances with my friends who are vegetarian or omnivore and get their insight as to how best campaign. For instance, I could show them a series of pamphlets, videos, presentation methods and they could respond with their feedback. Especially when it comes to vegan food, I sometimes question how people really find Isa's cupcakes of heaven (As for me, I don't remember what milk tastes like.. though I was mildly lactose intolerant for most of my childhood anyway. As are many people.) AND! If you ask someone about this business, they may *MAY* actually listen to what you have to say for once.

---%---

But as I was thinking about how far I'm separating myself from the culture of meat, I have to pat myself on the back. Once you've seen all the pain, suffering, and madness that goes on in the meat industry, you just kind of want to run out into the street and scream at the top of your lungs "DIE YOU MOTHERFUCKING AGRI-INDUSTRY OF HELL!" And sometime it really hurts. It really fucking hurts at first to see so much and feel so disempowered. To see a mother bellowing for her calf in just 8 oz. of milk. A putrid, ammonium-wreaking, file-cabinet-sized hen facility in every little egg. And a serving of meat? Tail-burning, beak-clipping, ineffective stun-guns, "kosher" lies, scalding tanks.

Sometimes it hurts, but when you realize how much of an impact you can have, everything kind of looks up. I've been a vegan activist for not too long, and I can already see the impact I've made on my friends and family. And as W.E.B. DuBois once said,

One thing alone I charge you. As you live, believe in life! Always human beings will live and progress to greater, broader and fuller life. The only possible death is to lose belief in this truth simply because the great end comes slowly, because time is long.

Time sure as hell is long. But it's important to keep that in mind. Because change is a-happening.