Activist Profile: Linda Bower
Throughout the summer, Vegan Outreach has been profiling some of our top college leafleters. This week we turn our attention to dedicated Miami activist Linda Bower. Throughout the 2004–2005 school season, Linda handed out a total of 6,280 VO booklets directly to college students. A mother of two (below, son Tyler is shown looking for his next opportunity, while two FIU students read Even If You Like Meat in the background), Linda still makes the time necessary to effectively advocate for farmed animals, and does so in an engaging, upbeat manner.
What made you decide to start leafleting and if you were nervous the first time, how did you get
Advocating veganism is my passion. I found the VO flyers to be the most effective and since VO sent me leaflets when I needed them, I decided to return the favor by trying out their AAC program. Also, after reading A Meaningful Life, I was convinced that leafleting colleges would ultimately be the biggest instrument for change. I have to say that I was never nervous about leafleting; excited yes, nervous no.
Why do you leaflet colleges?
I leaflet colleges because independent youths are the most capable and willing people to absorb truth into their hearts.
What was your most positive college leafleting experience this year and why?
The most positive leafleting experience for me comes whenever Jon Camp [of Vegan Outreach] emails me to say that somebody from Miami contacted VO for more information. I cry every time.
What would you say to individuals hesitant about leafleting?
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
How long have you been involved in animal rights and how did you get interested in this?
I’ve been involved for approximately two years and became interested from an EarthSave flyer in the local health food store.
What was the last good book you read?
Eternal Treblinka by Charles Patterson. This is an excellent book outlining the parallels between our treatment of animals and the Holocaust.
Please name a major influence in your life and why he or she is such.
Emily the cow is one of my heroes. In November of 1995, upon arriving at a slaughterhouse and fully forsaken by humans, the spent dairy cow single-handedly took matters into her own hands by doing the impossible – escaping, scaling a 5-foot gate, and evading captors living among a group of deer for 40 days and nights. She was recently memorialized with a statue at the Peace Abbey.