It was an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. The images were heart wrenching. This was a "home" for those elephants that were fortunate enough to have ended up in this shelter, after being abused and maimed by humans in unimaginable ways.
These elephants had not lived in the wild but had served people in various capacities. The sadism perpetrated against these highly intelligent animals was committed by human filth. There is no other way to describe these particular Homo sapiens.
Yes, what goes on in places like Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. in Chino, California is not a garden party, and most Americans don't want to know how their meat is "prepared." Of course sick animals have to be removed from the industrial process, and even on the family farm cows have to be prodded sometimes.
But there is no doubt in my mind that abuse did take place at Westland. It probably happens more often than we'd like to think in the corporate butchery business. In the case of Westland, the executives with the soft hands and the expensive suits need to be held personally accountable.
More than thirty years ago Lynn White Jr., a professor of Medieval History, said, "We shall continue to have a worsening ecologic crisis until we reject the Christian axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to serve man."
This one sentence in a short essay the professor wrote started a spirited debate. White went on to say that "Human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about our nature and destiny--that is, by religion."
While we might be able to throw some stones at Christian theology regarding some of its views and interpretations of nature, our repugnant treatment of other species occurs throughout the world regardless of religious beliefs.
The magnificent and rare Sumatra tiger is rapidly disappearing in Indonesia because its teeth, claws, skin and whiskers are believed to bring good luck. No, this has nothing to do with indigenous people killing an animal to gain its "noble" spirit or because the tribe needs to eat.
This is little more than commercial slaughter to feed the degenerate needs of some general sitting in his mansion in Jakarta, a corrupt party official in Beijing or a New York hedge fund manager.
Asians have demonstrated an astonishing propensity to shove whatever they can find into their mouths. It's nothing more than a death cult. Species of all kinds are disappearing, often in the name of "traditional" cuisine, status symbols among the growing middle class, and herbal "cures."
Fishing fleets from Asia are destroying sea life as fast as they can scoop it up, in a mindless and shortsighted race to keep the fish loving folks in the homeland happy. Perish the thought that the traditional life of some humans may have to change. But keeping them dumb is more profitable.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo would be a good place to spend a few of the billions now being thrown away on the Iraq obscenity. I'd have a combined United Nations and African "peace" force take over the entire country for ten years.
This is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet. The country is in chaos with no end in sight. It's little more than mob rule, with human trash like the "charcoal mafia" machine-gunning the rare and gentle mountain gorilla, as a warning to local government officials not to interfere with their business of forest destruction.
Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said not very long ago to some gun group that "I'm pretty sure there will be duck hunting in heaven and I can't wait."
Allowing for the usual political pandering and the intentional exaggeration, Huckabee's remark is all too typical how we literally think about the world around us. We're going to have to reject a lot of outdated axioms along with the people that mouth them.
The U.N.? Bashing hunters, Christians and Asians??
"I'd have a combined United Nations and African "peace" force take over the entire country for ten years."
Considering the slaughters overseen by the U.N. in Rwanda, Somalia, Darfur, etc., etc., what on Earth possesses you to assume the U.N. is capable of policing anything? Peace from the same force that repeatedly raped young African girls in exchange for jars of jam? Response, please?
"Asians have demonstrated an astonishing propensity to shove whatever they can find into their mouths. It's nothing more than a death cult."
Wow - you don't mince words when you're on a tantrum, do you? Not 'some Asians', or 'a minority of Asians who break the law' - simply Asians who, to you, are participating in a 'death cult' and will 'shove whatever they can find into their mouths'. Have you run this past the Asians at the KC Star to find out what their reactions might be? If someone said something as outrageous as this on TV, how fast do you think the hammer would come down on THEM for not being culturally sensitive? Comment?
You've certainly managed to attack a lot of diverse cultures - some in the PC movement would claim you're being racist, though in your defense I personally feel you're just being overly hysterical. I also enjoyed Huckabee's duck hunting comment, though according to you it is indicative of an "outdated axiom" and you'd like to reject the "people that mouth them". My, but that's not very inclusive of you, rejecting all the millions and millions of law-abiding hunters (a lot of them Christian, too) who enjoy killing animals for whatever purpose. I personally have enjoyed hunting, killing and preparing geese, squirrel and rabbits, and while I have no interest in 'trophy' hunting with no intention to use meat, the people who do pay fees to support the animal population, which is better off being professionally managed than allowed to naturally go through cycles of overpopulation and then famine. I'd have to say your opinion about them is in the vast minority, based on the various memberships in the usual suspect environmental and animal rights groups, versus that in the various hunting groups and the NRA. And the vast majority of them are law-abiding, upstanding citizens who enjoy nature and the outdoors without running roughshod over same, unlike the examples you've trotted out. Sure, I think there are abuses worldwide, and they should be dealt with, but hunter and Christian bashing is no way to go about it.
response to grinch
I'm glad my "tantrum" inspired you to come to the defense of humankind. I tried my best to be all-inclusive, not wanting to leave anyone out.
What White wrote some 30 years ago about certain Christian axioms was and is quite true. Nothing was said about "all" Christians or it's only a religious problem. In fact, I'm glad to see that a number of Christian fundamentalists have embraced the idea of stewardship. There needs to be a lot more of them however.
In terms of the illegal, worldwide animal trade I wish I were wrong. I'm not; it's been documented many times. There are markets throughout Asia where you can see this. It's much more than a few "bad apples."
Would you like some delectable tiger paws in a high-end Beijing restaurant, where only the "very best" people go? Maybe you'd prefer a good high-tech whale hunt on a Japanese whaling vessel. It's all for science of course.
Or possibly you might want to learn about a species of tuna that's vanishing. If you have enough money I would send you to some coastal villages in West Africa, where local communities have been devastated by commercial fishing, many of these state-of-the-art vessels coming from Asia.
Suffice it to say that some of your criticism of the U.N. and African peacekeeping forces has plenty of validity and there are many reasons to be skeptical. But that is an article all of its own--especially about what the West including the U.S. have not done, and it's a lot. Biodiversity in the Congo is not just a regional problem.
Response
Your comment about Asians was incredibly demeaning, yet you have no qualms about it, using the defense that since there are some problems, you apparently can say whatever you like. Do you maintain that you feel no need to apologize to Asians who don't look to 'shove' everything down their mouths, which apparently are simply open receptacles that help support a 'death cult'?
Concerning Christians - I'm not one myself, but if you don't think the following is partially bashing Christianity, I have some property to sell you in Beijing ...
More than thirty years ago Lynn White Jr., a professor of Medieval History, said, "We shall continue to have a worsening ecologic crisis until we reject the Christian axiom that nature has no reason for existence save to serve man."
"While we might be able to throw some stones at Christian theology regarding some of its views and interpretations of nature, our repugnant treatment of other species occurs throughout the world regardless of religious beliefs."
Question - is there any culture you DO like, who lives exactly according to the beliefs you harbor as indicated in your writings here? I mean, what is the gold standard of nations that you aspire to? Or is it simply a varied belief system you have that covers a 'stewardship' of the Earth? I honestly have no idea what is important to you other than plants and animals, said animals excluding human beings, evidently.
As I said earlier, love of hunting is shared by far more many people here and world-wide than dislike of it - and do you know what? There's NOTHING wrong with that - there's nothing immoral about killing an animal (as humanely as possible) and eating it, assuming you're following the game regulations. In fact, it's a lot of fun. Some of my fondest memories of my father are those we shared hunting and fishing, which is how I came to love the outdoors and want to help conservation efforts, but certainly not in the fanatical and over-the-edge manner a lot of eco-nuts want to. I personally believe humans are far more important than animals, but hey, that's me and the vast majority of those of us on the planet.
And from that poll you've posted - do you want to limit population growth? How are you going to achieve that, anyway? Would you do what China has done, penalize people who have more than one baby? I'm honestly curious about this - what are your views on this subject?
for grinch
thanks so much for your comments. I'll certainly try my best to answer all that I can in future posts.