@ambiguous_yelp@veganism.social If you feel that you're not being shitty, then you're not; I'm not here to judge anyone's work towards making the world better. When I tried a more direct and assertive approach, I failed miserably more times than I can count. It wasn't because my ethical alignments and commitments were solely in the camp of "human benefit" only. The failure was on my ability to communicate better. I've battled emotional dysregulation for decades; it's resulted in those attempts coming across as irrational since my mouth would dump out an emotional diatribe that my brain couldn't pump the brakes on. It's cost me jobs, friendships, and countless opportunities and experiences. I'm older now, did dialectical behavior therapy, and can manage my emotions far better than ever. I wish I could have back then, but better late than never. I'm not a liberal. I'm an anarchist since the age of 19. I'm 50 now. Nothing has changed on that front; this amount of time has only increased my resolve on my beliefs. My time of getting my head bashed by riot police at protests, arrested, and fighting neo-nazis is behind me now. I have health issues and a shortened lifespan from it. I have a family. We live in poverty. We regularly face the threat of houselessness. I'm not able to do what I used to do even if my very fucking soul wants to so badly. I'm sorry that it appears that I'm toning myself down to appease or minimize the urgency and necessity of this all; I want to be clear in saying that is not my intention and it never has been. Currently, I'm doing what I can within my means and abilities.