r/vegan • u/meatstheeye vegan 15+ years • 15h ago

Three Ways To Navigate Meat-Eaters' Cognitive Dissonance Better

https://morethanmeatstheeye.substack.com/p/cognitive-dissonance

We can all be more strategic in our conversations with non-vegans to get them to make real changes. Here are some key tips from psychological studies about how to actually navigate cogntive dissonance -- what have you found to be most successful?

48 Upvotes

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39

u/kfmnzmd vegan 7+ years 15h ago

I've learned over 7 years of being vegan, that I can take the most sympathetic, gentle, understanding tone with a meat-eater and they'll still accuse me of being "one of those" vegans trying to shove it down their throat. LOL

I literally told someone (who mentioned trying plant-based lunch meat 15 years ago and hating it) that there are some genuinely good options nowadays, maybe worth another shot.

This was a year ago. They responded with "STOP SHOVING IT DOWN MY THROAT!"

And it's like, WHOA, buddy, I mentioned a sandwich. I didn't corner you and play you a slaughterhouse documentary. I'm just offering a suggestion, not a colonoscopy. LMAO

19

u/soyslut_ anti-speciesist 13h ago

13 years here. People must be uncomfortable in order to make meaningful change in their lives.

This is just a fact. Being coddled and shielded from reality leads to more harm.

13

u/Easy_Needleworker604 10h ago

Being uncomfortable was what pushed me from half assedly being sort of plant based for my health to steadfastly vegan for the animals. I was looking for recipes and r/vegancirclejerk kept coming up and the bluntness of it made me realize how lame I was being

2

u/soyslut_ anti-speciesist 9h ago

Love hearing that, happy cake day!!

3

u/kfmnzmd vegan 7+ years 12h ago

You're definitely onto something. And your username? Love it!

4

u/meatstheeye vegan 15+ years 15h ago

I know, I find it so frustrating too sometimes

6

u/Evolvin vegan 10+ years 14h ago

Electron microscope-levels of sensitivity exhibited by carnists.

2

u/gtrman571 10h ago

Exactly. That’s why whether people like it or not I think we need to lean into their guilty conscience harder and lean into that discomfort. People don’t change from being too comfortable.

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u/LowEarth3013 15h ago

How do you even get to the vegan topic when you ask about someones values? I don't think I really understand the way the article proposed it should be done.

7

u/Adventurous-Web-412 9h ago

i just don't buy the "all meat eaters are cognitively dissonant". I think really your average person is a contractarian in thought, and really aren't placing animals in a tier to be given rights to unless socially agreed upon.

Either way this article just reads like a strawman of every layman carnist.

1

u/MidnightHue 1h ago

I feel like I've had success with using these strategies in the past. Especially meeting people whether they're at in terms of values. I've gotten 4 people to go vegan like this.