Under the name “the militant vegan”, Raffaela Raab campaigns for more animal rights on social media. Her videos regularly go viral on TikTok – mainly because of her polarizing nature.
Vienna – “Are you already vegan or still brutal?” Raffaela Raab confronts passers-by with this question, among other things. The Austrian, who calls herself “militant vegan” online, shares videos of this on social media. With provocative actions, she advertises there for more animal rights. The user name has always been “a joke”, “since all vegans are described as militant, radical or extremist anyway,” reveals the 26-year-old Watson. You always move on legal ground. A look at the comments on her videos shows that, in the opinion of many, she still lives up to her name.
A few months ago, videos of the 26-year-old, especially on TikTok, went through the roof. Since then, the “militant vegan” has been a name for many users on the internet. She has more than 345,000 followers (as of December 22) on the platform. Much of her content consists of her trying to convince people on the street to go vegan. She always speaks her mind bluntly. She describes meat from the supermarket as body parts, factory farming she calls concentration camps, but she also often uses words like “decay”. And “as long as you’re not vegan, you’re an animal abuser,” she accuses a young man in one of her videos.
“Militant vegan” polarizes online with her choice of words: “Speciesism equals racism”
In her opinion, vegetarians are just “hypocrites”. If animal rights are really important to you, you should live vegan, she thinks. The activist also has a simple explanation for this: According to Raab, like human women, cows only produce milk when they have given birth to a calf. And in order for a cow to have a child, “it has to be penetrated by human hands every year,” she explains in one of her video clips. For her, it was clearly animal rape.
Your choice of words is polarizing. Just like the motto under which she operates the activism: “Species is the same as racism – live vegan, instead of brutal!”. Speciesism refers to the assumption that a particular species – usually humans – is superior to all others. But the moral way of thinking about discrimination and oppression is independent of the victim, she justifies her slogan. Furthermore, there is no ethically significant difference between human and non-human animals that would justify the latter send to the slaughterhousethe qualified doctor clarifies in her videos.
Internet users find the TikToker’s “obtrusive manner” “dissuasive”
The fact that veganism benefits both animals and the environment – many users on the Internet agree with that. However, opinions differ on Raffaela Raab’s approach. There are many users on TikTok who think it’s great how the Austrian works for the welfare of animals. “I admire you so much! I’m vegan because of you, you’re my role model,” writes one user. Some even want to take part in their actions themselves. A far larger part – at least that’s how it seems in the comments – can’t do anything with their provocative appearance.
“She’s right, but her pushy nature is sometimes really off-putting,” writes a TikTok user. “There are many good reasons to be vegan. But when I get hit on like that, I just want to run away,” agrees another. In addition to her language, many also criticize that in her videos she often addresses young people and even children “who cannot really argue against her views”. In addition, she would not let her counterpart speak. “Let people have their say,” commented one user, for example.
Influencers think the ‘militant vegan’ is ‘not getting very far’ with her approach
Some well-known influencers who live vegan themselves suspect that her approach does not always achieve what she wants. For example, YouTuber Simon is on his channel unplayed believes that confrontation “doesn’t get you very far” when it comes to veganism. Social media star Jonas Ems sees it similarly: “Because she’s so provocative and direct, she triggers a lot of people who can’t handle that kind of thing.” The result, as the influencer explains, is a defiant or defensive reaction. This is expressed, for example, in comments such as “first a doner kebab”.
In some cases, people who felt offended by Raffaela Raab’s words have also crossed borders and physically attacked them on public streets. And “these attacks will increase,” Raab is certain, like her opposite Watson says. But she can live with that, after all it shows that her activism “conjures up emotions” without which everything “makes no sense”. The fact that she is an “extremist” and “sect leader” for her mother does not stop her either. Because it is pursuing a clear goal: “I hope that in five or ten years there will be the first laws regarding the abolition of the object status of animals,” says Raab.
“I felt like a hypocrite” – Raffaela Raab has only been vegan since the end of 2020
The qualified doctor grew up in Vienna. However, she was not born into the vegan lifestyle. It wasn’t until she was 19, according to a report from Watson thinking about giving up animal products for the first time. However, she has only been 100 percent vegan and, above all, as an activist since December 2020. The trigger was a game with friends in which she spoke out in favor of the ban on animal products at the time, although she was not completely vegan herself. “I felt like a hypocrite,” Raab recalls. Since then she has stood for the rights of all animals on the streets.
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