I'm nonviolent. I'm not going to be quiet about it and I'm only getting started.

To the indefinite, uncertain mind of the American radical the most contradictory ideas and methods are possible. The result is a sad chaos in the radical movement, a sort of intellectual hash, which has neither taste nor character." Emma Goldman

I'm not sure how to phrase it any other way, and so instead of being clever, I'll just come out and say it: nonviolence is a moral imperative for veganism and for the abolition of animal slavery. I think it's unfortunate that a vocal but small minority of advocates who promote violence are often taken to be the backbone of the animal rights movement. That's simply not true.

The animal rights movement is nonviolent, and veganism is nonviolence put into practice in everyday social relations. I don't hate people. I care about animals (human and non), their right not to be used as property, and the veganism that I owe them as a moral baseline in light of that right. The proposal that I should be poisoning the elderly lady next door because she eats a little dairy now and again is fundamentally contrary to the basic principle of veganism, which is to avoid contributing to the suffering and exploitation of other animals.

What I owe her is education, education, and education. To change the world, it is not enough to coerce behaviour. We must change minds. There are no shortcuts.

I've taken some time to gather up a series of recent posts from other abolitionists (as well as my own work on this question). These pieces were written/recorded in the last month or so alone, but there are many more out there (especially at Gary Francione's Web site: www.abolitionistapproach.com -- just search on "nonviolence"). If you only read/listen to one piece, I couldn't make a recommendation because they are all so excellent.

If you're not vegan, you should go vegan today. If you are a vegan and you have a chance to blog, tweet or post about the importance of nonviolence to our movement today, I strongly encourage you to do so. We do not need a propaganda machine or a paramilitary structure to end nonhuman animal slavery. We need reason and determination. Any of us who adopts abolitionist veganism and the nonviolence necessary to it, the critical thinking necessary to it, the unequivocal commitment to education necessary to it, is an unstoppable movement unto him or herself.

James Crump and Karin Hilpisch: "In support of non-violence"
Dan Cudahy: "What's extreme? Well, how much is ten billion?"
Gary L. Francione: "Is That Milk on Your Balaclava?"
Gary L. Francione: "A commentary on violence" (podcast)
Mylene Ouellet: "Using violence to stop violence"
Randy W. Sandberg: "On Regulation and Breaking Laws"

And some of my recent pieces:

• "The sleep of reason produces monsters; or, we fight fire best with water"
• "An open letter to Gary L. Francione"
• "Opening an abolitionist vegan business is 1,000 times more powerful than closing a nonvegan one"
• "We can only fight demand by fighting demand: lessons from the war on drugs"
• "Refusing to educate people about veganism is passivism: how passive will you be today?"
• "Burning the Ark won't solve the problem; nonviolence is not just a consideration for vegans; it's the basis of veganism"
• "Che t-shirts won't change the world: What James Yettaw can teach animal advocates about adventurism"
• "Remember that day I tried to act directly and Julius had to rescue me instead?"
• "I'm nonviolent and I'd rather fight than switch"