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AllIveEverTouched
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it's hard to let people know when you're slinging without alerting the authorities to your activities... it used to be a pair of shoes over the power lines or if you were on the street you'd roll a leg up. nowadays it's easy to establish a continual supply and a good set of customers and rely on word of mouth/aquaintances.... this will allow you to have a good turnover and also, hopefully, help you avoid police attention.

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AllIevertouched,

 

One good way of slowly disseminating your leaflets is simply carrying some with you in your bag, napsack, lunchbox, or whatever and leaving a small trail wherever you go.

 

In other words, if you travel by bus or subway, leave a couple on the seat and near other seats before you exit the train or bus.

 

If a mall, leave some on the chair you were sittiing at at teh food court, or on top of the table you were at so the next person that sits there picks it up to hopefully read.

 

Leave some in the waiting area of say your doctors office, or whatever, where other reading materials are, etc. Or you can insert some in the magazines at these places.

 

Leave one behind always at the atm you use. (I always stick stickers on atm's - must the bank people crazy!!! ).

 

i will write more later, but I just got back home so I am tired.

 

Basically, always have some with you and leave or stick in any place that others will come to or see. You dont actually have to stand at a corner and hand them out to people directly.

 

Always mail a leaflet with other outgoing correspondence whether it is sending something to your bank, insurance company, your school, anything. Just stick a leaflet in there! Hopefully the mail opener person on the other end will read it and think!

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Good suggestions for leaving a "paper trail"!

 

However, I don't agree with this one, because it can make people angry or annoyed about the action (defacing or disrespectiing private property) so that they don't even get to the point of contemplating the message:

 

I always stick stickers on atm's - must the bank people crazy!!! ).

 

I think it might turn more people off to the message than it would open up to the message.

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With the Save Babe campaign - http://www.savebabe.com/ - I spent a lot of my time last Xmas period walking supermarkets applying 'awareness' stickers to hams and other pork products as well as to the meat cabinets.

 

I have also posted 'awareness' leaflets to the egg sections of the supermarkets.

 

Or if I see a stack of newspapers I'll casually slip leaflets into each of the newspapers.

 

I've yet to be caught and thrown out. And have been to these shopping centres regularly since. I think if you just act casual you won't be singled out and attract unwanted attention.

 

I like the paper trail idea. I also often go around to all the 'community notice boards' and put up any leaflets there. I have also done the letterbox drop thing - I think people are more open in their homes.

 

Good luck...

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I've heard the paper trail idea before and I do like it but I worry that the entire trail could wind up being a waste. Has anyone seen positive results from this?

 

How about activism in stores... Does security watch when you slip things under clothes or put stickers around?

 

Well, of course that the leaflets will eventually end up on the ground, stepped on, or in the garbage. But, before that happens, hopefully some people will have seen them, picked them up off the seats and read them. The paper trail, particularly left on public transit when people are going to work or coming home, I find is one of the most effective uses of leafltets, short of actually standing around and handing them out. I find that people are more likely to be receptive to something when they freely pick it up to read without actually being handed something. I used to observe people from a corner to see some reactions, and I found that many would in fact read the leaflets, and either put it back on the seat after they were finished, or some even put it in their purses! Also, I tended to move from subway cart to subway cart on my way home so I can spread out the distribution. It is a waste putting say three leaflets in three chairs right beside each other. YOU should spread them out. Say one for every three or four chairs.

 

As far as in stores, I used to stick the "Iams Kills Dogs" stickers directly on Iams Food Products in stores when I was sure that no staff were watching me. I would usually wear a long coat and put the sticker in the palm of my hand, pretending to pick up some of the iams stuff to read the ingredients or whatnot and then stick the sticker on the product - somewhere visible enough for the purchaser to see but not store staff walking by the items. I never got caught, but I wasnt too concerned about getting caught anyway. What are they going to do, throw you in jail? The worst case LIKELY scenario I would imagine would be they might make you pay for the items that you "defaced" and ban you from the store. Not a big deal. I wasnt too concerned about the possibility of getting caught.

 

If you prefer not sticking stuff directly on items, you could stick stickers on public payphones and atm machines where people are likely to see it when they use the phones or atm machines.

 

Elevators, stuff like that.

 

Always carry some leaflets with you to leavs SOMEWHERE!

 

PETA is really helpful in coming up with some great tips on how to disseminate the leaflets. YOu can ask them by emailing them at

 

[email protected]. I am sure they would be happy to give you some ideas.

 

Keep up the great activist work!

 

P.S. Sorry but I had no time to proof this post for typos and what not

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From http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/tips.html

 

Suggestions for Leafletting

 

The great thing about leafletting is the lack of preparation time required. At the right time and place, just one person can hand out hundreds of brochures in less than an hour. You will inevitably interest many new people in making their way toward veganism, sowing seeds of change where they do not currently exist.

 

Students tend to be more interested in veganism than the rest of society, making college campuses good places to leaflet; weekdays before 3 p.m. are the busiest times. At large universities, there is normally a steady flow of pedestrian traffic somewhere on campus at all times throughout the day. Smaller colleges and universities usually have a steady flow of traffic between classes.

 

You can find a spot where many pedestrians are passing, or you can walk around offering the brochure to people you come across. Many of us now prefer walking around and offering the pamphlet for a number of reasons.

 

Some schools have an open policy on allowing leafletting by outsiders, while others do not. Public universities are supposed to allow it according to federal court decisions, but they don't always follow these rules. However, students are rarely questioned about leafleting. They commonly go around campus handing out flyers about upcoming parties to everyone they see. This has made students accustomed to being approached by leafleters and so they think nothing of it. If you dress casually, carry a backpack of pamphlets, and simply walk around approaching students, you will appear to fit in. Even if you are older, people will normally assume you are a graduate student if you dress like one. We have found that we are rarely questioned by anyone when we just walk around handing out pamphlets, versus standing in one place waiting for people to come to us. And you hand out a lot more, too!

 

We have often leafleted inside academic buildings and student unions when the weather is bad!

 

Even if someone eventually tells you that you are not permitted to hand out literature on campus, it will likely be after you've given out a great number of brochures.

 

People who take part in walkathons in order to raise money for causes tend to be willing to accept literature. (We target these people because we think they are likely to take a brochure, read it, and thoughtfully consider moving towards veganism, not because Why Vegan has anything to do with the cause for which they are walking.) Animal-related events, such as humane society benefits or animal rights presentations, are also a good place to reach interested and committed individuals who may not have considered the implications of their own diet, or the idea of promoting veganism.

 

While leafletting, keep in mind:

 

We have found that "Would you like a pamphlet about vegetarianism?" or "Have you seen one of these yet?" are effective ways of offering literature to people (and minimize the number thrown away).

 

Many activists are nervous about leafletting. In our experience, nervousness often fades once you’ve offered the brochure to a few people.

 

Besides Why Vegan, Vegan Outreach can supply you with copies of our Vegan Starter Pack for people with questions.

 

One person can make an enormous difference. Many people will pass the information on to others, causing a chain reaction.

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When I first started working here, it was always a fear of being confrontational with people, worrying about what they would think if I did hand them a leaflet. I remember my first KFC demonstration, and I was afraid because I did not know what to say, or how to relate to those who would approach me...the best advice is to just get out there. We can also help you here at PETA. You can alway give us a call and we can chat with you on the phone about stragtegies on how to get your point across, i can send you an activist's guide as well. Just drom me a PM if you want me to send you some more info, leaflets, etc.

 

Hope this helps...

 

Mike

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  • 1 month later...

Due to the recent Purple Disaster I was thinking about what makes advocacy effective. I have to admit I'm not the best activist on any issues out there but I'm willing to improve.

 

Since making this post initially I've become slightly more brave about what I do. I stuck an Animal Experimentation sticker next to the Iams label in my Stop and Shop and returned three days later to see it still there. I also put a Meat is Murder sticker inside the basket I carried my groceries in. I've stuck fliers in jackets in store and zipped them up as well as in brochure holders meant for other causes. I've stuck a sticker over the price checker at Macys. I put a flier under someones windshield wiper as well.

 

I've done other fun things with fliers and I'm going to continue to. I'd like to place stickers at the self checkouts at Stop and Shop next time I go.

 

I'm trying to convince my two newly vegetarian friends to protest KFC with me over the summer (as one goes away to school and the other just plain has school). I think it could be fun.

 

 

 

I still pose the question of what others like to do as activists and what you all think is most effective. Sometimes I think a long conversation can be completely worthless while just putting the idea in someone's head who is less prone to argue is much more on target.

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Long conversations can take a lot of time, but they are very effective. Plus it keeps you on your toes. I would reccommend going to PETA.org and checking out some of our fact sheets and frequently asked questions page. I can send these to you as well if you need any help on them. When asked an off the wall question, you can engage it by saying... "Well, you know, I use to think the same thing, but..." Find a common ground, and go for it. We can even do practice with you on the phone if need be, or if you have any questions that you are getting asked that you just dont have an answer to..(I've heard EVERY possible question you can think of)... hehe...

 

Just wearing t-shirts tha say "Ask me Why I'm Vegan", buttons, I wear my Veganbodybuilding T-shirt to the gym, and people will ask you questions...

 

Finding people who want to argue with you is a gift in disguise.. Just dont call it arguing, but discussing... It lets you see what you don't know, and where you need to strengthen your arguments... A lot of people can argue with you on nutriton, but they cannot argue against the inherant cruelty that is associated with these industries. Dont be afraid to ask them questions as well.. Ask them why they like meat? Usually they can only answer with "because it tastes good"... then ask them if they like animals, or if they support animal cruelty... then it opens the door to talk about the cruely on factory farms. The same can be applied to any of the other forms of cruelty to animals. Just stay firm in your responses and no matter what they say, know that you have truth on your side.

 

Let me know if there is anything else you need- leaflets, info sheets, stickers, practice... etc..

 

We are more than happy to help, and appreciate all of your efforts for the animals...

 

Mike B.

PETA

Vegan Campaigner

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