This is a speech by Lauren Gazzola at an animal rights conference advocating for provocative animals rights protests as a means of stimulating public debate. She emphasizes that such protests are intended to act directly on society itself, rather than attempting to convert individuals in an unchanged society.
"I think we need to recognize that whether we look good or bad is determined by social norms. And those are really useful guides when what we want to do is conform to those norms. But they are really crummy guides when what we want to do is change those norms. I want to argue that we should look bad. When we soften our message, tamp down our protest, speak up less strongly for animals in order to [not] look bad, we sacrifice our efficacy."
"I think on the contrary we should do more of the things that make us look bad. I think that the only way out of looking bad is through it. If these actions don't make sense our job is not to stop doing them, it is to make them make sense. The way to successfully challenge social norms is to normalize the challenge to them."
"I think we want to look bad in a very particular way. We want to look bad because we are speaking up strongly for animals. We want to look bad because people are telling us to 'relax, this is not important', and we are responding by saying that it is. If we are told that what we are doing is inconvenient, impolite, inappropriate, laughable, ridiculous, because this issue is not important, because it not an emergency, that is the kind of looking bad we should not shy away from."
"Even condemnation of what we're doing is helpful. Every time we compel someone to say that animal rights is not important, that is an opportunity for us to say that it is. We need mobilization, and we need people to take sides. Right now you don't need to have a position on animal rights. Compare that to an issue like marriage equality. Do you know anybody who doesn't have a position on that? We need to force people to take sides."
"I think we need to recognize that whether we look good or bad is determined by social norms. And those are really useful guides when what we want to do is conform to those norms. But they are really crummy guides when what we want to do is change those norms. I want to argue that we should look bad. When we soften our message, tamp down our protest, speak up less strongly for animals in order to [not] look bad, we sacrifice our efficacy."
"I think on the contrary we should do more of the things that make us look bad. I think that the only way out of looking bad is through it. If these actions don't make sense our job is not to stop doing them, it is to make them make sense. The way to successfully challenge social norms is to normalize the challenge to them."
"I think we want to look bad in a very particular way. We want to look bad because we are speaking up strongly for animals. We want to look bad because people are telling us to 'relax, this is not important', and we are responding by saying that it is. If we are told that what we are doing is inconvenient, impolite, inappropriate, laughable, ridiculous, because this issue is not important, because it not an emergency, that is the kind of looking bad we should not shy away from."
"Even condemnation of what we're doing is helpful. Every time we compel someone to say that animal rights is not important, that is an opportunity for us to say that it is. We need mobilization, and we need people to take sides. Right now you don't need to have a position on animal rights. Compare that to an issue like marriage equality. Do you know anybody who doesn't have a position on that? We need to force people to take sides."