Re: [Marxism] Delicatessan

["Calvin Broadbent" <calvinbroadbent@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

'Little furry animal'? This is patronising, and feeds into carnivorous
prejudice against vegetarianism. The extent of an animal's fur has nothing
to do with whether or not it should be killed for meat. An elephant has very
little fur, whilst a gerbil is covered in it. In my view, it would be even
worse to kill an elephant than a gerbil. I don't care what Brigitte Bardot
thinks about animals. She is a loathsome fascist brat. Once again, an
'ethical' apporach to the treatment of animals is, by definition, not
deontological, relgious, or purely moral. At the same time, understanding
why it is wrong to kill animals for meat when it is quite unnecessary for
you as a human to do so, can be part of a more practical anti-capitalist
environmentalist agenda.

On another note, it is irrelevent whether dogs have been domesticated
(studies show dogs actively allowed themselves to be 'domesticated' by
humans) as pets and pigs as food, an issue David raised. Both are
intelligent and sentient creatures with personalities. Most sentimentalist
animal lovers, who treat their pets as kinds of surrogate children, would
not put a bolt through their head, slash their throat and eat their carcass.
But this is what is done to pigs and cows.

Definitely I will say no more. A moment's thought shows that if one does not
need to eat meat, one should not do so. In certain very terrible
circumstances, even cannibalism can be justified. But only then. Again, if
humans were the prey of some higher and more powerful intelligence, we might
give vegetarian arguments a little more credence. God help us if our
predators were humanists.


PETER WROTE:

If I approach the issue from this angle then I understand it and have the
analytical tools to take the issues to pieces and the right channels and
allies to militate for a more progressive enviromental anti-capitalist
approach as part of my daily political and trade union activity. If I
approach it from an ethical "little furry animal" approach I am adrift in
wooly liberal land and find some very uncomfortable fellow travellers-
Bridgit Bardot and her Front National partner for two

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