Online Organization: Offline Activism
Facilitating collective action
After Hours Advocacy is how V.A.P.E. Society plans to hold legislators accountable to the facts; by working in partnership with the entire vape community, from shops to makers to consumers, to ensure the strongest case for vaping possible is made in every Jurisdiction that tries to steal vaper’s freedom. We believe the local Vape Shop is the beating heart of the human network that drives vaping, and industry is an essential partner for effective grassroots advocacy, not a contaminating source of bias. Vaping is truly unique in that, the industry itself has genuine grassroots origins; the vape community resists the distinction between consumer and producer, because the best producers began simply as passionate consumers, –and only became successful by remaining genuinely passionate consumers. V.A.P.E. Society believes it is therefore is impossible to attempt to speak for consumers, without also accepting producers must be an integral part of the conversation as well.
V.A.P.E. Society hopes to sponsor After Hour Advocacy events in partnership with Vape Shops, so that any time an anti-vaping bill is proposed, the entire community is prepared with a plan, and can easily come together with all the resources necessary to make the absolute best case for vaping possible. With enough voices, it’s only a question of a little organization to ensure every possible argument in favor of vaping is made, and every potential argument against vaping is pro-actively addressed, and defeated before it’s ever delivered.
V.A.P.E. Society’s goal is simply to make participating in Advocacy less painful and more fun for everyone. With a little coordination, it is not only possible, but easy, to deliver a case for vaping that is both detailed AND comprehensive; individuals are limited to 3 minutes, but a collective effectively has unlimited time –simply broken up into 3 minute segments.
V.A.P.E. Society is actively involved in advocacy at the federal level, but the sad truth is, vaping is more likely to die from a 1000 cuts at the state and local level. Truely saving vaping nationwide will require an unprecedented ammount of coordination and collaboration; but our unique community can pull it off. V.A.P.E. Society hopes to work with Vape Shops to deliver relevant, up to date testimonies, written or supported by experts in policy and scientific research, directly into the hands of the vapers affected most by a piece of legislation. Vapers could choose to read directly off of a script, pick and choose what facts they want to present, or completely rewrite it; it is simply a resouce provided by V.A.P.E. Society for vapers to use as they see fit, nothing more nothing less.
Vapers have no problem getting together for a party, and the hope is that if V.A.P.E. Society could partner with local community leaders in Vape Shops to make advocacy a little less dry, we could come together and make enough noise that ignoring us and the facts would turn into a political poison pill, saving vaping as we know it.