Compassion for People

Vegans tend to disagree with me about a lot of things in regards to talking to people. I used to be one of those who would try and convert everyone because "I was right". I learned over the years that the only way for people to truly see the goodness inherent to Veganism is to be kind and treat them with respect. You won't win over anyone if all you do is tell them why they are wrong (PETA, I am looking at you). I also tend to be compassionate towards anyone trying to do something nice for me. If someone bakes me some cookies and they are not vegan, I will accept them and eat them. To make a big deal about how they didn't make them vegan simply adds stress to the situation and, instead, I take the route of keeping people happy. The more one complains about how non-vegan a situation is, the more it makes the other people stressed out or worried. However, I do place the line at meat. I will NOT eat something with meat in it, but would eat something with dairy (in some cases). Compassion also means that we understand that everyone has a choice; if we want them to rethink that choice, we need to make a strong argument. It is that argument that mostly fails for typical vegans. Most vegans (and MOST people who are passionate about one particular point) get upset or mad at people who disagree; most people tune out someone who is ranting and raving. However, most people will listen to a calm, rational argument for eating less meat. In fact, I have MANY examples of how my type of compassion has helped people decide that they should consume less. I can also point to MANY people who have been turned off to the idea because of past problems with militant vegetarians. All in all, if we as vegans understand that there is MORE to being vegan than not eating animals, we will become better people and show others the better way. Compassion for ALL; even those that eat meat.