I am so disappointed in my self today. I have always had problems confronting people I don't know, and today at the bank I seen a woman in a full length fur coat. I was sitting in our van waiting for my boyfriend to get out of the bank. I had a fur leaflet ready in my hand, but I froze! I couldn't get out of the van to approach her! I was too nervous. Now I feel like I let the animals down.

Is there any advice you could give me on how to get rid of my fears?

Picture people naked, with full, long, black body hair all over, underneath their fur coats. :think:

lol, I don't really think that'll work.

I'm not sure if that was shyness. That sounds more like fear of rejection. I'm a super duper outgoing person, but even in your situation, I may have done the same thing as you did.
That's not really advice...sorry :P

I can understand your situation... I usually cant say something to people wearing fur, I just give them a bad look. :stinkeye:
Just think of it this way... You'll never see that person again, and you'll make a difference for the animals. I'm sure if you are friendly to the fur wearer, they will be friendly back, just dont get personal. I would say something like "I want to educate people about the cruelty of fur."

...just dont get personal. I would say something like "I want to educate people about the cruelty of fur."

This is good advice. Getting personal won't help the cause, and may end up making fur-wearers resentful and more likely to wear fur in the future.

If you really want to do that kind of one-on-one leafletting, try practicing with friends. Have them pretend to get upset so you can get used to being yelled at in a safe situation. Practice thinking before you speak, and think of good, calm, non-attacking responses to angry words.

Thanks for your replies everyone! I'll see if I can overcome this.

I only approached someone once before. It was to give someone at Walmart an Iams leaflet (she had Iams products in her cart) and I was nervous as hell. Especially because instead of reading it she asked me what was wrong with Iams and she had children with her, so I had to try to explain it generally and avoiding any gruesome detail, and just told her that she could read the leaflet to find out the rest. When I was done talking to her, she thanked me. After I walked away my hands were literally shaking.

I'd be scared too. ...The woman was willing to kill animals, strip them of their fur, and wear them as a prize.

I'd be scared too. ...The woman was willing to kill animals, strip them of their fur, and wear them as a prize.

No, she was willing to show she had the money to have someone ELSE do that.
:furious:

Maybe in the future you could simply walk up, smile, say hi, hand her the flyer and turn and leave. That way you can let the flyer do the confronting after you've left. She may or may not read it. But at least you gave her the opportunity.

That's true. I might be able to do that. Thanks.