Presentation Matters
I’ve attended more than a few demonstrations holding ratty signs, passing our flyers copied on horrible machines, wearing big pants and band t-shirts, surrounded by people with greasy hair and tattoos on their necks and just generally looking like a bunch of idealistic kids taking up a cause because that’s what idealistic kids do. Did we really think this didn’t harm our efforts?

I spent way too much time early on debating this point, with myself and with other activists. Should we look more like the people who saw us at the demonstration? Or should we look like ourselves? On the one hand, I saw that people were more likely to listen to us if we looked “presentable.” But on the other hand, I didn’t want to be required to conform in order for people to be willing to hear us. I now recognize how asinine the latter view is.

True, we shouldn’t have to look like the people to whom we’re outreaching in order to get them to listen to us. But we do. And we advocate from where we are, not where we wish we were. And where we are these days is in a place where people respond most to the message in the prettiest package. Advocacy is marketing.

Advocacy is also an effort at balancing positives and negatives in order to yield the most net good. Among the opponents I’ve had when arguing the “conformity” side of the debate are those who say we shouldn’t compromise one set of values for another (and this point extends beyond the relatively minor matter of personal expression in our appearance). But some forms of oppression, exploitation, and suffering are simply worse than others. Believing that we can advocate for any cause and never compromise any of our other values is both impractical and unrealistic. Every time we get in a car to drive to a demonstration we decide that the good we’ll do at the demo yields more good than the bad done by driving the car.

I’m going to go a step beyond saying “look presentable” and say “look attractive.” This goes for your personal appearance (at least while representing the animal rights message, which I realize is arguably always) as well as your propaganda. People respond to celebrities, advertisements, and some images more than others because they’re “pretty.” Look pretty. Make your flyers eye-catching. Does this perpetuate unrealistic standards of beauty. Mhmm. Does it place more value on appearance than substance? Yup. But dying in a vivisection lab is worse.

To the extent that we endeavor to convince people of our own message (and no matter how large a contribution is made by direct action campaigns against specific exploitative companies and industries, the fact remains that the job isn’t done until we change the minds and habits of nearly every person on earth), we should endeavor equally to give it to them in the most palatable package. To the extent that we care about other issues along with animal rights, we should deliver those too in a manner that will yield the most benefit to that cause with the least cost to others. But at various times one will have to take precedence over others. Otherwise you can tell an animal slated to die in a slaughterhouse that you won’t comb your hair/ put on make-up/ cover your tattoos because it perpetuates unrealistic standards of beauty.

First, it perpetuates the “other sides” attempt at negating our truth about global warming or coal etc. by saying we typed it on a computer–thus we bought into the system thus we are just baby children rebelling into our parents. Blah Blah Whatever. These arguments are too stupid to validate with a response. When someone pulls that, just ignore it and get back to the facts — it’s a trap.

I think a lot of people new to activism think, “If I can just be serious enough (well dressed/carbon neutral enough), THEN they’ll take me seriously.” Which is kind of true, but do you think that people for the last 100 years fighting for clean energy weren’t serious and well dressed? (I know you don’t Andrew, it’s a rhetorical question). Your “opponents” will always find something stupid to hate you for, that’s their job.

Sages like Wendell Berry put it well — when he said something along the lines of, “We’ve been patient and hard working and following the rules for 30 years–patience isn’t working–it’s time for action”

Of course you should cut your carbon footprint and be nice and reasonable and do good work. But as my email quote says,
It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little.
Sydney Smith

By that I mean, don’t act like you aren’t allowed to stand up and shout and use your voice like crazy to stop global warming, whatever your voice or the place you come from is — because you are right, and the world is burning, and the clothes you wear and the computer you type it on can’t negate that.

Best,

Dana