Every day we have 24 hours to speak up for other animals. 24 hours of pure opportunity to be the voice for those who are not heard by the masses. How are you spending them?
I was scrolling through my posts and I discovered that I talk a lot about being an animal rights activist, but I rarely give you any ideas on what to actually do. I completely understand that not everyone knows what to do and how to actually help them, and not everyone is extroverted and wants to protest on the streets.
I understand that because I am like that.
I am super socially anxious and introverted, so when I am in public and among masses of people, I pull out a trick or two from my acting days and I become someone who knows how to handle the people.
Many people assume that activism is about going out and being loud, which is what we are taught about them, the activists. But being an activist just means being active in a movement. Doing something.
No matter what your personality is like, there are things that you do best and that no one can copy or do better. The sooner you find what that special X factor is the sooner you will be an activist you want to be.
Here are five animal rights activism ideas for you, in case you are an introvert but still want to be active.
- Start writing. This is probably the easiest option and lately the most useful one. I started blogging because writing has always been something that came naturally to me and I think I am pretty good at it. Now, before you say that you are not a writer and you totally wouldn’t be able to write anything, let me remind you that it’s not so much about being good at it as it is about having the message that is good at touching people. Trust me, I’ve seen a great number of bloggers who are just, well, bad at writing, yet I still read their stuff because it was interesting and I simply liked it.
- Start writing emails. Again, writing, but this time it’s all about short, sweet and loving emails that you can send to different stores and shops. Does your local bakery sell amazing vegan cupcakes? Write a beautiful email where you thank them and encourage them to try vegan cookies next. Does the store near you sell a great variety of plant-based kinds of milk? Again, email them a thank you note and tell them how grateful you are for this beautiful gesture.
- Donate money. Seriously, you can’t get more anonymous as an activist than that. Perhaps you are not able to donate a thousand Euros every month, but you can start with 20€. Those twenty Euros may seem like a small amount and you may not think that they can do much, but you can actually get about 11 packs of dog food for that amount.
- Lend a helping hand to your local vegan organizations – or any organization that helps other animals. Are you good at creating websites? Are you an amazing chef? Can you promote an event like no one else? What behind the scenes actions can you take while helping those who love to go out and be in public? How can you be the supporting bone behind their events and campaigns? It is seriously that easy to be an animal rights activist. Every event needs a planner and every website needs a designer. That could be you.
- Use social media to spread the message! Hands down, social media in this day and age is the best form of activism we have. It certainly is the most effective due to its power to reach millions of people in a matter of hours. Gone are the days when you could live in peace and quiet, while quickly searching for something on the Internet. Now we are bombarded with information and you can make that information be useful and true (you know – proven by science). It’s the core of all movements and if you know how to use it well, you can create a damn huge change in the lives of all animals. Look at Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, who with one post reaches thousands of people.  My account may be small, but with every single post where I mention veganism and animal rights, I am standing up them.
Did you find any great animal rights activism ideas? I really tried to find five good ones that I myself can vouch for that work.
Do not be discouraged when you start and you don’t see any results. Do not give up just because your store won’t add a new line of vegan kinds of milk after one email, or if you will only have that one flavour of vegan cupcakes at the bakery after you clearly showed interest in more options. Do not give up if after 6 months of blogging you still only have five regular readers, who are probably already vegan.
The world won’t change right away.
It will take time to grow and expand. It will take time to encourage others to live more according to their values. It will take time before people realize that other animals are equal to them. It will take time for stores to add more and more vegan products.
Just because change doesn’t happen overnight, doesn’t mean that you just give up.
Let me know in the comment which one of my five animal rights activism ideas you found most attractive, and which ones you will try.
If you have a minute, please hop over on Instagram and follow me there.
Tanja