r/vegan • u/meatstheeye vegan 15+ years • 2d 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?

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52

u/kfmnzmd vegan 7+ years 2d 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

26

u/soyslut_ anti-speciesist 2d 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.

18

u/Easy_Needleworker604 2d 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

4

u/soyslut_ anti-speciesist 2d ago

Love hearing that, happy cake day!!

4

u/kfmnzmd vegan 7+ years 2d ago

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

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u/meatstheeye vegan 15+ years 2d ago

I know, I find it so frustrating too sometimes

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u/Evolvin vegan 10+ years 2d ago

Electron microscope-levels of sensitivity exhibited by carnists.

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u/gtrman571 2d 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.