Yourofsky quits activism -- why NOT to be a misanthropist

[brimstoneSalad]

I didn't know this. Just saw ModVegan's video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mKiEAZD2dU

I think his hate and misanthropy, while it motivated him too, ultimately burnt him out. He hinted to this in his final post on facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/therealgaryyourofsky/
Where he mentioned his patience.

Meanwhile we see more human positive and optimistic voices like Peter Singer still very productive following a lifetime of work.

Jebus (forum member, for any new members who don't know) asked before in another thread why not to be a misanthropist even if we don't act like them; I think it takes an emotional toll that's hard to overcome.
Others, like Emily from Bite Size Vegan, may go the other extreme and get buried in sympathy and compassion, lost in all the misery.
Optimism is essential, and if you lose that, you at least have to remain impartial somehow.

Singer is often criticized for being cold or emotionally distant, but I think that's how you have to approach these difficult issues if you want to maintain your sanity through it all.

It's interesting that one of the key points Yourofsky laments is intersectionalism. As much as I disagree with some of his more hostile and negative comments, I think he has some sight of the middle ground activists need to walk.
We can't be misanthropists, but we can't be apologists instead and leave animal issues on the back burner, or get lost in utopian speculation of world peace if we just all go vegan or abolish capitalism or "insert ideal here".

[miniboes]

I agree, this is very important. I've been considering to make a topic about what i'd call the vigor of the recently converted. Once you're convinced of veganism, atheism, libertarianism, minimalism or any other philosophy/idea/movement, you tend to get very worked up and frustrated about it. I've gone through that phase many times. In that period, you may be more emotionally engaged with and driven to advocate for a given topic than you'll ever be. However, it is also that phase in which you're the least effective as an advocate; you don't know your stuff very well and your outrage/resentment will probably put people off. We need some emotional distance from the topics we engage with to maintain our enthusiasm, be better advocates, and to be able to criticize our own side.

Rationally, I think climate change is going to get way out of hand, animal agriculture will continue to expand and nuclear war may very well break out this century. And I probably can't do shit to prevent any of that. I find a way, however, not to let that get to me, and just try to do my part somehow. In a way, you're just fooling yourself when you do that. But that may be necessary.

[DarlBundren]

Nice thread.
I had never read anything by him before, but that post was pretty bad. How come there are so many people who like him? Hatred sells better than love, of course, but is he a good speaker too?

I agree with both of you that being a misanthrope is never good for veganism. As much as I like vegan sidekick's strips, for example, I wonder if he would be even more effective if he were less of a pessimist. Still, I don't know how much of a choice we get in that.

[Jebus]

He'll be back. Burnout is usually temporary and he will soon start missing the casual poontang and other benefits that come with being the world's biggest vegan celebrity.

I think it's good that there are so many different styles in the vegan celebrity world. Yourofsky probably appealed to people who weren't attracted by Melanie Joy and vice versa. We can only guess which style is the most effective within the general population.

[miniboes]

Nice thread.
I had never read anything by him before, but that post was pretty bad. How come there are so many people who like him? Hatred sells better than love, of course, but is he a good speaker too?

He's a very good public speaker. He made bad arguments, but they really appealed to gut level emotions so they were effective for a lot of people. I was really impressed by his speech the first time I watched it.
On the other hand, he's said some crazy stuff that may have turned people away from veganism completely.