Living with the unconscious
Home » Blog » Miyuki McGuffie » Living with the unconsciousOther people, eh. Who needs ‘em! Especially when they’re an affront to everything you believe in. Blogger Miyuki McGuffie ponders what the best approach is when you’re surrounded by people who don’t see the world through green-tinted glasses like you do.
Vegan chocolate cupcakes photographed by Kelly Sue via Flickr
When I blogged recently about the impact meat production has on the environment, one commenter replied asking if it was possible to eat meat with less of an impact and, if so, then it might be more effective to talk about those options as opposed to preaching a self-imposed ban. He also said, “I’m always more partial to the 'speak what you are for, not what you are against' approach.”
This got me thinking. What is the best approach when trying to encourage others to think a little more about their habits or to act in an environmentally friendlier way?
A typical tactic is what I would call an easy-does-it method. This method takes into account the fact that people, in general, are independent (read: stubborn) beings who not only dislike being told what to do, but will often resent it. If you tell a person they’re doing the wrong thing, like using their car too often or eating too much meat, depending on how open they are to environmental ideas and how invested they are in the activity you are criticising, they might not be so receptive. An easy-does-it approach would be to gently inform the person about the impact of their actions without passing judgement or implying disapproval.
This is probably the softest approach possible, short of saying and expecting nothing from the people around you. I think this is also the most palatable and diplomatic way of getting your views across. Another component of this method is the encouragement of behaviour that is greener, but not the greenest (like when a vegan praises an omni for cutting down on their meat consumption, or recycling as opposed to making a greater effort to reduce or reuse).
But what do you do when you’re sick of being nice? When your airy-fairy we’re-all-different-and-that’s-what’s-great-about-the-world feelings have been worn down and all you’re left with is the bitter feeling that if only everyone did think the same way as you then, baby, we’d be going places (ie not towards impending doom)?
I find that if the people around you respect you and like you and are considerate enough, they’ll oblige at least some of your environmental wishes purely because it’s you that wants them to. At the restaurant I worked at in Wellington, we had recycling bins ive metres or so out of the kitchen, but the chefs never used them (bar one!). I would always be fishing beer, juice or fizzy bottles out of the rubbish, vocally lamenting over the their carelessness. While the day chefs either didn’t notice or didn’t care, my night shift co-workers were kind enough to start putting their bottles aside for recycling, sometimes even putting them in the bins themselves. These guys don’t particularly care about the environment, but they cared enough about me to not want me rifling through the trash every time they had a drink.
I guess you could call that a method of leading by example, even if the end result is not quite that you’d like (people doing you a favour as opposed to changing their way of thinking). Another way of going about this is to share the environmental love: Made some bomb vegan cookies? Know how to whip up a great vegetarian casserole? Got more veggies in your garden than you can eat? Just bought a Prius? Invite the people close to you to participate in or enjoy the fruits of your environmental activities. I made some vegan cupcakes recently that impressed everyone who tried them, even the staunch un-sweet tooths (and I got two requests for the recipe).
My point is that you don’t always have to play patience, and you can still be encouraging while being disgruntled at the same time. Not that I encourage a bad attitude, but sometimes other people’s ignorance of the issues and effects of their behaviour can get to be a bit much. Some people will never warm to the idea of being green and in those situations, instead of wasting your energy on lectures (however nicely they come across), try going about your business as usual and perhaps you might appeal to them on a personal level (or by bribing them with treats).
Readers, how do you go about trying to encourage those around you to act green? What do you do when you’re fed up with stubborn humans?
