Performing speeches in restaurants

[knot]

I saw this tweet from Thunderf00t yesterday (yet another atheist youtuber who has now lost my respect btw). He's reacting to an overly emotional vegan giving a speech in a restaurant (by being just as emotional, lol. Seriously, are meat-eaters at all aware what they're saying?)

I've seen this strategy of holding up signs and doing speeches in restaurants before, though this was perhaps a more cringeworthy example. I'm wondering if you think this accomplishes anything or it's detrimental to the cause?

[brimstoneSalad]

The trouble with performing a speech, or anything like that, in a restaurant is that you have a captive audience. This is actually illegal (it's also on private property), unless you have the permission of the restaurant owners.

If people are not free to leave to not listen to you (and they aren't part of your dining party which you have invited), that is a problem, both a breach of etiquette and legality.

However, if he's trying to say this is wrong, where Thunderf00t may be a raging hypocrite is in his stance on Elevatorgate. On the elevator, you ALSO have a captive audience. Talking to somebody on an elevator about anything that might make them feel uncomfortable is equally problematic -- there's nowhere to run away to. Even less so than in a restaurant, where patrons may technically and legally leave if they want to abandon their meals and the restaurant owner doesn't resolve the disturbance quickly (that was a short speech, it was pretty much an 'elevator pitch').

That said, it's an effective form of publicity, but I don't think it's an effective form of activism. And I'm not sure it's really good publicity.

[knot]

brimStonesalad: his comment was, "Stuff like this just makes me want to go to one of their vegan meAtings eatin the most meat heavy burger I can find! ", which I thought was kinda hypocritical. I don't really respect the law in this area, but at the same time I think it's best to not break it since it will only confirm meat eaters assumption that vegans are crazy. I can't think of many major social changes that have happened without someone breaking the law, but if only 2% of the population (or whatever the # of vegans is) did so I doubt it would work out well.. Most of the big atheist youtubers seem to poke fun at vegans at every opportunity, yet they are afraid to make videos about the subject because they only have bad arguments against vegans.
On the face of it I think this sort of activism is terrible publicity, but at the same time it seems to garner a lot of attention, so it's also a method to backdoor your way into an interview with the media where you can explain things more rationally.

[Jebus]

On the face of it I think this sort of activism is terrible publicity, but at the same time it seems to garner a lot of attention, so it's also a method to backdoor your way into an interview with the media where you can explain things more rationally.

I agree. It's probably not an effective method with the restaurant clients, but it could have positive ramifications elsewhere.