by Hello, everyone.
For the last couple of days I have considered devoting a few hours per week to leaflet for Vegan Outreach. In the past, I had dismissed the idea on the grounds that my comparative advantage lied elsewhere: during the time I would be handling leaflets, I could instead be earning, and donating, more money than it would cost VO to have someone leafleting for the same length of time. Moreover, although I think VO is an admirably cost-effective organization, I happen to believe that Effective Animal Activism has an even higher moral bang for the buck. So the earnings I could have donated to VO would do even more good if donated to EAA, strengthening the case for earning to give.
However, it now seems to me that my dismissal was premature, since it was premised on the crucial assumption that, were I not to leaflet for VO, I would, in fact, be earning money, or doing something with my time of at least comparable value. Yet this assumption is probably not true in my particular case, for rather complex reasons that it would be tedious to discuss here. Furthermore, I also think that the act of leafleting might have benefits for me in addition to its consequences for meat consumption. Such an activity would allow me to get a much better glimpse of the psychology of the average meat eater, and provide me with instant and constant feedback about which approaches work and which don't. It seems to me that the knowledge gained from this experience might improve my thinking about meme-spreading strategies in general, beyond the particular issue of trying to change other people's eating habits. Given the importance of effective meme spreading, these benefits might be considerable.
So, my questions for you are:
(1) Do you agree that leafleting for VO might be a good use of my time for the reasons noted?
and, if so,
(2) What advice, if any, would you give to a potential lefleter like me?
I am more interested in the second question, though answers to the first will be also greatly appreciated.
[Edited to add: I was assuming that leafleting involves at least occasional interaction with a fraction of the people to whom leaflets are handed, either because some of these people show interest and start a conversation with the leafleter or because the leafleter himself takes an active stance and tries to talk to his or her targets instead of just passively distributing the material. But maybe these assumptions are wrong. Frankly, I have really have no idea of what "leafleting for VO" really involves.
]
For the last couple of days I have considered devoting a few hours per week to leaflet for Vegan Outreach. In the past, I had dismissed the idea on the grounds that my comparative advantage lied elsewhere: during the time I would be handling leaflets, I could instead be earning, and donating, more money than it would cost VO to have someone leafleting for the same length of time. Moreover, although I think VO is an admirably cost-effective organization, I happen to believe that Effective Animal Activism has an even higher moral bang for the buck. So the earnings I could have donated to VO would do even more good if donated to EAA, strengthening the case for earning to give.
However, it now seems to me that my dismissal was premature, since it was premised on the crucial assumption that, were I not to leaflet for VO, I would, in fact, be earning money, or doing something with my time of at least comparable value. Yet this assumption is probably not true in my particular case, for rather complex reasons that it would be tedious to discuss here. Furthermore, I also think that the act of leafleting might have benefits for me in addition to its consequences for meat consumption. Such an activity would allow me to get a much better glimpse of the psychology of the average meat eater, and provide me with instant and constant feedback about which approaches work and which don't. It seems to me that the knowledge gained from this experience might improve my thinking about meme-spreading strategies in general, beyond the particular issue of trying to change other people's eating habits. Given the importance of effective meme spreading, these benefits might be considerable.
So, my questions for you are:
(1) Do you agree that leafleting for VO might be a good use of my time for the reasons noted?
and, if so,
(2) What advice, if any, would you give to a potential lefleter like me?
I am more interested in the second question, though answers to the first will be also greatly appreciated.
[Edited to add: I was assuming that leafleting involves at least occasional interaction with a fraction of the people to whom leaflets are handed, either because some of these people show interest and start a conversation with the leafleter or because the leafleter himself takes an active stance and tries to talk to his or her targets instead of just passively distributing the material. But maybe these assumptions are wrong. Frankly, I have really have no idea of what "leafleting for VO" really involves.
]
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