Folks'll do anything... [General]

2007 May 31
...to get on the news

This is so repulsive, I dont care where in the world you are. My respect for Britian is slowly being eroded away, and I wonder why sometimes.

edition.cnn.com

2007 May 31
I don't see the problem... He's protesting animal cruelty by royalty!

He's eating a corgi that died in a breeding farm; it wasn't slaughtered for him. And even if it were, how is that different from eating beef or pork?

He didn't seem to like it though. I know people who've had dog and they said it was very good. A different breed, I guess...

Personally, it would turn my stomach, but so would many other meats that people eat. I understand that philosophically/morally, there's no difference between eating a dog and eating a pig.

2007 Jun 1
Sure there's a difference between a dog and a pig. Pigs, although smart are 'just' domesticated animals. Canines on the other hand have a very close relationship to the development of human social interaction and group dynamics, and there is some dispute as to whether humans learned certain pack behaviours from dogs, and even if the first 'domestication' wasn't that of humans to dogs rather than the other way around. This social closeness, does I think, make it different eating a dog versus a pig. This is way off topic I guess.. but you started it! ;-)

2007 Jun 1
"Social closeness" varies from person to person though. My mom won't eat lamb because she thinks of them as pets. My wife won't eat rabbit for the same reason. I'd have trouble with cat or dog for that reason too. Eating dogs is no different from eating rabbits, sheep, cows, alligators, etc in any absolute sense... it is just different to you.

2007 Jun 1
Yes.. I understand the meat is the same. I however disagree that a cat, or lamb is the same WRT social closeness. Putting aside people who 'think' animals are something other than animals, none of the animals you listed can naturally (like domesticated canines can) understand human facial gestures, physically referencing (pointing at things), and most can't understand spoken words at all, let alone the 200 that a smart dog can. Saying a lamb is like a dog, is like saying a cockroach is like a dog... except it's not all cute and fuzzy... (And except for some Scotsmen, most people don't have social closeness with sheep... ;-))

2007 Jun 1
So why is it your loosing respect for Britain, does that include me and my Grandma Moonie, or just the idiot eating royal dog? If someone in China ate dog would you have less repect for Hong Kong?

2007 Jun 3
Yeah, it's not like he killed the dog just to eat it. And even then, meat is meat Whether it's from a dog, a horse, a cow or a pig. It doesn't matter. Just beacuse puppies are indeed cute, it doesnt mean anything. Lambs are the cutests animals alive, but hey, that doesnt stop me from eating them. And plus, dog is eaten by loads of people in the world, especially in asia, and Hervey said, so to judge someone on eating something, I think, is kinda predjudice.

2007 Jun 4
"Just beacuse puppies are indeed cute, it doesnt mean anything."

Fair enough, but -- what's it doing?

The best 'why I eat cows but not dogs' explanation I've heard (really, it's sometimes a bit of a mystery to this vegetarian) was, summed up, 'increased responsibility, increased privileges.'

Living in the sticks, now, and going by cows regularly, I have to say they seem pretty, uh... Well, they're meat that happens to be moving around. Highly unlikely to rescue me from a fire or anything else Lassie-ish.

2007 Jun 4
I ask.. where are our bovine Superheros?

2007 Jun 4
Ok.. saw this article and just had to include it here:
www.washingtonpost.com

I found it under the headline "Scientists discover dogs have deductive reasoning."

2007 Jun 4
Hmm... interesting logic being thrown around in here. I'm going to throw you a curveball.

What do people think about eating jungle meat? That is, the act of eating monkey which is essentially genetically the same (99.whatever%) as a human? This is something that is common in Africa in areas where fresh meat/protein is sparse and industrial logging is driving the primates into hungry villagers hands. Is this wrong? What would you say about people who resorted to cannibalism due to political reasons/desperation during war-time (ie. WW2)? Is that wrong? In what cases is it alright to judge another over what they eat and for the various reasons they do so? Is it really appropriate ever?

2007 Jun 5
Ah Chimi.. you're delving into the realm of survival requirements. I think 99.99% of vegetarians would probably start eating meat if starvation was the alternate. Similarly, I'm sure cannibalism would take root if people were hungry enough. Even in the animal world, some animals are more likely than others to cannibalize when hungry. I think right now at least, all of us are in the situation where we can choose what we do, or do not eat. I think that choice makes all the difference. And when choosing, is one choice right, and the other wrong... I'm hesitant to draw such vivid lines, unless of course you're Hannibal Lectre.

2007 Jun 5
Without going into long and opinionated (mine) reasons as to why I am losing respect for Britain, lets just say this is another straw lately that makes me cringe.

In this case, it was done to cruelly hurt someone specific, whereby the Protester could have chosen a more delicate way to make his point. Just because you have the right to do something doesn't mean you have to exercise it. By this logic, his point is entirely lost by what he is doing rather than what he is saying. One runs that risk when taking such extreme measures. On the broadest canvas it grossed the developed world out, and I would hazard a guess that, if asked, the majority of them have no idea what he was protesting.

Mostly I think that everyone has an "Eww Meter" (tm) and whether it is dictated by geography, religion, humanity, or desperation, I think we can agree its a flexible one.