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June 15, 2005

Activist Profile: Joseph Espinosa

Throughout the summer, Vegan Outreach will profile some of the top leafleters from our Adopt A College campaign. This week we profile veteran leafleter, Joe Espinosa. Despite a full-time job as a social worker, Joe handed out a total of 22,512 booklets throughout the ’04 -’05 school season. By working Saturdays specifically so that he can leaflet one school day per week, Joe finds a way to fit effective animal advocacy into his life. The positive feedback that VO continues to receive as a result of Joe’s work gives credence to the notion that one person truly can make a difference. Here is our interview with him:

Why do you leaflet colleges?

Colleges are a great collection point for an audience that is likely to be the most receptive population for us to reach. I particularly like to be on college campuses, as opposed to getting people at concerts or festivals, because people on their way to class are typically sober and in relatively serious mindset, ready to think. The numbers really speak for themselves in terms of booklets given out for the time invested. It is vital that as a movement we do a better job of covering colleges.

What would you say to individuals hesitant about leafleting?

It is really not hard to leaflet and makes such a difference for farm animals who are suffering and will continue to suffer because we were too afraid to simply ask passersby if they want a booklet against animal cruelty. I tend to be a pretty shy person, but this issue is important enough to overcome that.

How long have you been involved in animal rights and how did you get interested in this?

Matt Ball let me in on the truth about animal suffering in October of 1992. I went vegetarian 4 weeks after meeting him, then got involved in AR activities after graduating in 1993. I was not particularly interested in political or social causes, but the massive suffering that I was witness to compelled me into action.

What made you decide to start leafleting? and:
If you were nervous the first time, how did you get over it?

I began leafleting after becoming dissatisfied with the results of the standard animal rights techniques that were in use (demos seeking media attention). The quality of the message that gets out is often lacking. The essay that Marsha [Forsman] and I wrote for the Vegan Outreach's e-Newsletter, which was also used by Erik Marcus [in Meat Market], gives a good explanation of why we decided to take off the costumes and start leafleting. I was nervous the first time, but realized it is much less confrontational and much more promising than probably any animal rights work I had done before. I was simply asking people if they wanted a booklet, not accusing them or moralizing over them like many of the demos we had done before.

What was your most positive college leafleting experience this year and why?

INDIANA! I was afraid to go into Indiana, but all the schools were quite worthwhile, and my fears were unfounded.

What was the last good book you've read?

Meat Market by Erik Marcus

Who is a source of inspiration to you and why?

Of course other leafleters and supporters of VO. But my inspirational hero is Twiggy Ramirez, former bassist and songwriter for Marilyn Manson. Beyond the music which is really quite strong, I am quite interested in free speech; it is an essential tool for us to do what we do. Without an open marketplace for new ideas, there is little hope for progress/justice. Manson began as a concept band that wanted to explore the boundaries of free speech. While many may not agree with the content of the lyrics or the behaviors that the band has engaged in, they have been at the front lines guarding our rights to speak the unpopular opinion. Several of us have experienced schools limiting our first amendment rights, so this is an important area that we should be concerned with.

Where do you live?

I live in Crete, IL which is about 40 miles south of Chicago, about 5 miles west of the Indiana border.

Vegan Outreach
P.O. Box 38492
Pittsburgh, PA 15238-8492

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