ChicagoVeg» Chicago area Raw Food, Vegan & Vegetarian Living Message Board › Veggie Pride Parade
Veggie Pride Parade
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| Vadim | |
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Let's use this discussion thread for any Veggie Pride Parade related discussions.
Andrew commented: "The overall idea and goals are good, but some aspects of the presentation questionable: "to denounce the discrimination which they suffer, both personally and in terms of expressing their ideas" = to many people, this will be to equate vegetarianism with a queer, socially marginalized group that demands recognition. Is this helpful, or is it actually counterproductive to the aims of a "politicized" vegetarianism? And in your opinion, does overt discrimination against vegetarians exist?" Suzie Castle-Smyczynski commented: I am in agreement with you Andrew. Vegetarianism will be more attractive if we focus on how it empowers those that choose it and how it is socially responsible. Andrew - I am not aware about overt discrimination against vegetarians. Nor may I completely agree with everything that originally organized Veggie Pride Parades were based on. To me, Veggie Pride Parade will: 1. Bring together veg*ns from different walks of life and believe systems to celebrate their common grounds regardless of their differences. 2. Raise awareness about Veg*n lifestyle in our society in general (which has many positive consequences). These are the main main overall reasons I would want to see Veggie Pride Parades in as many cities as possible. Edited by Vadim on Jan 1, 2012 8:26 PM |
| Paul Rose | |
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I think Andrew has a point but I'm not sure there's any harm in it. Why should we mince words, let's just come out and say what we want to say.... There's no doubt GayPride immediatly comes to mind. Does the VeggiePride title water down the GayPride movement? Does the VeggiePride title lend an inaccurate association to the GayPride issues? I can see arguments to support both and as I was thinking of it another subject popped into my mind, the Holocaust.
The Holocaust initially always was used for the atrocities of Facism, especially the brutalisation of Jews. Later Holocaust started being used for all sorts of brutal behavior including the treatment of animals. A debate went on about the overuse of the word and the potential watering down of it's original meaning. This didn't happen however, in fact it helped people relate more personally to the atrocities upon Jews and many other horrors humans have perpetrated upon each other, not to mention animals and the planet itself. So then what will the VeggiePride title do to the GayPride movement and vis-versa? Hopefully everybody will be having fun, adverstising to the world what a happy, healthy, forward moving bunch of people Veggies are. Way better than throwing red paint on our beloved celebrities which advertises more brutality upon each other as a solution. |
| LMLC | |
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Maybe change the name of the event.
I am all for having a public event to create awareness and education of vegan and vegitarianism, but maybe a parade is not best way. |
| Vadim | |
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Paul Rose - I really like your comment. Thank you.
LMLC - The event name indeed has some controversy and was discussed earlier (many months ago) for a length of time. It's not feasible to change the event name at this point. Edited by Vadim on Jan 1, 2012 11:14 AM |
| Mary Ann | |
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Not a big fan of the name either. It definitely marginalizes the movement/ excludes it from mainstream think. I clearly understand the differences between the gay pride parade and veggie pride as you outlined above, but we all already have the right to eat vegetarian and be vegans, nobody is taking that away from us. If we want to have a parade for rights I think an actual Animal Rights parade and education day would be effective.
I am very excited for this and I know there are already "Pride" parades, but I prefer the idea of a "celebration" day instead. I like anything but "Pride". The verbiage here is very important in how the public will react and embrace (or not) this event. Maybe have a Vegan Day Parade or Vegan/Veggie Celebration Day as it is more inclusive (this is just off the top of my head). Does Chicago have a city declared Vegan Day or awareness month? It would be great to coordinate the day/parade with this and involve city officials, community leaders etc. as much as possible. I think we need to blend into our communities not isolate ourselves. I know this is not the intention at all, but I think that the general public wouldn't be as apt to embrace or participate in a "Pride Parade" as they would a celebration day and they are who we want to welcome, educate and embrace veganism. Just a few thoughts - I am sure this will be great no matter what you do : ) Thank you for your efforts Vadim and crew! |
| Sue | |
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I've read the comments here and all sides are interesting. I've been vegetarian for over 10 years. My personal motivations for my decision are both my health and that of the environment.
I've seen many documentaries and movies on related subjects. One in particular comes to mind, it is on PBS and is called '3 Steps to Incredible Health.' IMO it provides a unique perspective in that the (western medical) doctor at no point says to be vegetarian or vegan, but points out the health benefits of a plant based diet and points out the health repercussions of an animal based diet. For this reason, I think he 'reaches' a broader audience. Meat consumption is the norm in our society, whether I (or we) like it or not, and if you tell someone not eating meat or animal products is the way to better health, you will likely be tuned out. I would encourage people to see it if they haven't already. It may provide an approach that we could use for better outreach. On a related yet different note; What is the current status of the event? (Vadim - If this have been covered in other emails I apologize as I don't read every email.) Are the venue date and routes set? It would be helpful to know in advance of the planning meeting so that people can be prepared with ideas if necessary. Maybe a posting with a 'Current State' of the event? |
| John Beske | |
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I've been wanting Chicago to have a parade since I first heard about the Veggie Pride Parade in New York City 2 1/2 years ago. I'm not crazy about the name Veggie Pride. It is kind of co-opting the Gay Pride name which is often shortened to Pride. This could cause some confusion and make us look like copycats. Also the word Veggie is really weak and mushy to me. It doesn't stand for or mean anything. Still, this is the national name, and it would connect us with the parades in NY, LA and elsewhere.
The whole concept behind the Veggie Pride parades is celebratory, and I believe ours should be celebratory as well. Otherwise, it's just a glorified protest march. Beyond that, we could have a Veggie Pride Parade, or we could create something altogether new. For example, Olympia Washington hosts a parade called Procession of the Species: http://www.procession...  . It doesn't have a vegan theme, but it's pro-animal, and it looks like a lot of fun.When we first started putting together Chicago VeganMania, our goal was to produce an event that was completely unique and beyond the standard vegetarian festival. We want it to grow into a destination for vegans from across the country. This parade could become a one-of-a-kind destination as well. |
| Vadim | |
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Mary Ann -
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your encouraging words. You might be surprised to hear that I am not a fan of the word "Pride" nor even "Parade". I also personally prefer word "celebration"... It took a lot of considerations and struggles before it was finalized. Now I can only hope that people would not be caught up on the words and see the overall intent, as well as a possibility for a huge positive outcome for everyone. After all, I don't think that "Pride" is much worse than "Mania"  but I see a great positive impact by both of the events. Sue - Thank you for your input. The current status of the event is in the initial stage of forming the CVPP Leadership Team (Jan 28). The Team will determine venue date, routes, etc. Thank you for your suggestion to regularly keep people updated on the status of the event. A "Current State" will be posted on both: www.VeggiePride.com/Chicago and www.facebook.com/VeggiePrideChicago Please let me know if you have any other questions or suggestions, as well as if would like to help with keeping people updated with the status. |
| Vadim | |
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... it would connect us with the parades in NY, LA and elsewhere.Not just elsewhere, but everwhere, John! Can you imagine how cool it would be to have the Veggie Pride Parade in as many cities as possible and on the same day!?! What a great impact it will bring by connecting all the dots and doing it at the same time! This is what www.VeggiePride.com is about.However, as they said "Think globally, but act locally". Therefore, our first and the most important task is to make Chicago Veggie Pride Parade the biggest success possible, to be a good inspiration for others, in the same manner as NY and Paris was a great inspiration for us. Hopefully the others will pick our spark to bring the VPP in their cities and we will spread the VPP fire everywhere! Edited by Vadim on Jan 2, 2012 3:11 PM |
| Tami | |
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When I saw the invite I thought that it was to put together a veggie group float for the Gay Pride parade.
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