One of the main problems I see in the animal rights movement is that, not unlike the women's movement, we're a fractured groups made of a lot of different people with some very different opinions. We do share one thing, and many of us share one desire, but we have very different ideas about how to go about this. We're a little confused about how best to do this, and how best to go about helping advance our goals.
Case in point: Vegan Freaks is a blog with a community forum, catering to us vegans who also happen to be freaks. I came across the community and blog ages ago, but was rather put off by the level of hostility. There are some things I really do like about the VF community. As I've said, I liked parts of it so much I wanted this blog to take on some of the tone. I also like that they provide a place for vegans to go and just be vegans. Much like I love going to Sticky Fingers and being able to order anything off the menu, I like the idea of going onto a blog and not being attacked or having my views mocked. I like the idea of helping people with their transition to veganism. I like the idea of taking out my frustrations on people who will understand.
In short, I like this idea very much.
The problem is that VF can be tricky to get into. That's right, there's an application process. And a lot of people fail it. I understand they why behind it, but for some reason no one seems to see how many intelligent, dedicated people are being turned away or turned off by the 'secret club mentality'. I'm not talking about unwanted omnivores or hunters, but vegans and people who are trying to go vegan.
EDIT: I've been informed by another source that it's actually not that hard to get in to the VF forums. They just (understandably) want to keep their privacy intact. Like I said before, makes sense. And I've totally been there.
If we vegans can't pull together and support each other, if we reject each other because of petty issues, if we're too busy sniping at each other, how on earth are we going help anyone?
The other problem is that while communities like this may provide some much needed rant room, they also provide a breeding ground for the very things vegans are constantly accused of being. Namely:
"self-righteous, holier-than-thou, and elitist".
As a friend once said to me about her vegan roommate and friends, "all they do is sit around telling each other things they already know, saying the same things over and over and over." The short and long of it is that we shouldn't be representing ourselves as some special club that only the best, the most vegan-vegans, can get into. We need our private places, but we should be open to helping people, not scaring them away.
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