Brian,
ok...here is that thread from AR-Talk.
>> Those who oppose eating meat or any
>> animal products seem to be motivated by a certain revulsion at taking the
>> life of an animal. However, what of the plants? Is there a clear moral
>> distinction between parasitizing animals to sustain our life and
>> parasitizing plants?
>
>Three points:
>
>1) For most of us there is a undeniable moral difference between
>killing a carrot and killing a pig;
>
>2) If one is concerned about plants, it is apparently possible in many
>ecological niches to feed oneself without killing anything, plant or
>animal.
i don't understand this point? What does this have to do w/humans?
>
>3) At any rate, it would seem that by eating as vegans, we can lessen
>our impact on animals AND plants, since 80% of the cultivated land in
>the US is used to grow crops to feed to farmed animals.
>
>
>> Hunters and gatherers
>> are taught to respect their prey while at the same time killing what the
>> must have to live.
>>
>
>I would describe the situation differently--hunters are taught a
>range of rituals and stories that they use to ease their guilt at
>killing animals. For instance, they are told that utilizing all parts
>of the animal's corpse excuses them from the crime of killing. Then
>they call the hunters who follow such guidelines "respectful." To
>me this has nothing to do with respect, it is just self-deception done
>to relieve one's conscience pangs. Respecting another animal means
>(at least in part) recognizing that it is not in that animal's
>interest to die to provide you with a "venison roast," and whether or
>not you use his or her whole body does not change the harm done to the
>animal. So true respect for the other animals doesn't mean killing
>them carefully, but rather it means finding ways to meet our needs
>without killing them at all.
>
>Brian
i don't believe this is true. i am a lacto veg. This is my own ethical
and spiritual choice. However, i don't oppose hunting in all cases. Take
for instance Tom Brown, Jr. He was taught native american ways of living
and thinking by an Apache tracker named Stalking Wolf. He hunted for his
food. He did what he needed to for survival. But it wasn't that he just
respected life (and he did have deep respect for life, and was ALWAYS aware
of the life that gave him life), he lived almost completely within the
natural flow of Nature. Some individuals may perceive any hunting to be
immoral. But how can you hold yourself morally superior to someone who
isn't part of the system? A person who isn't dependent on electricity, a
regulated water supply, paper, computers (!) and all the other products of
our industrial society...one who flows with the Tao, as i would put it. To
refute Brian, true respect for the other animals doesn't necessarily mean
going vegan...it means living as minimally as you are capable of. Start
now...lets give away our computers!
Eric
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**_____________________________________________________________________________
"...We learned to be patient observers like the owl. We learned cleverness
from the crow, and courage from the jay, who will attack an owl ten times
its size to drive it off its territory. But above all of them ranked the
chickadee because of its indomitable spirit."
--Tom Brown, Jr., _The Tracker_
"To realize that you do not understand is a virtue;
Not to realize that you do not understand is a defect."
--Lao Tzu, _Tao Te Ching_
"If i can't dance, i don't want to be part of your revolution"
--Emma Goldman
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Eric Dee /o)\
F&M #401 \(o/
P.O. Box 3220
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