Domestic Terrorism: three-ducks Three-dux
Terrorism: The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.
Violence used to force people to change their behavior. Creating fear to force other people to do what you want them to do. The use or threat of violence with intent of to coerce. Philosophy I am an animal person from way back. In fact, that is how I got one of my best dogs: I saw that someone was not taking good care of her and I ...uh, persuaded them to give her to me. I took the responsibility. She had a good life from then on and we had a lot of fun together. A We [humans] took it upon ourselves long, long ago to domesticate some animals, and that choice makes us completely responsible for those animals. Around my place the animals eat first. B Humans are omnivores. We eat plants and animals. We used to have to hunt wild animals. That took a great deal of time and effort and did not supply dependably clean, disease-free meat. We had no time left over to ensure a clean water supply, create writing, Art, or philosophy. Or the study of ethics. As we gained the ability to raise animals in order to make it easier to feed ourselves we also took on the responsibility to treat those animals humanely. Clean, good food and water. Good medical care. Good living conditions. Easy deaths. All deaths are not the same. When it is claimed that farming animals "[is] comparable ... to the Holocaust..." it is clear that a point has been missed. If cows were to band together and kill another herd of cows, that would be comparable to the Holocaust. When a pack of coyotes kills a cow, it is not. Humans are like the coyotes -- we are predators. If someone claims that it is bad or evil to eat animals, I must ask, "Humans are animals, so why is it bad for humans to eat animals and not for wolves or polar bears?" I don't personally know the circumstances of a duck farm focused on foie gras, but I do know that a county animal control agent has a rigorous set of guidelines against which he must measure any business he evaluates. Raising animals for slaughter is a business. There is no room for sloppy sentimentality or anthopomorphization. Methodology The US was founded on the principle that differing opinions and perspectives rubbed together in the arena of public discourse creates greater clarity and improved conditions for all. The Rule of Law means that one citizen cannot go around, willy-nilly, forcing people to live his way. We all get together in a proscribed manner and choose the rules of our country and culture. When an individual or group decides that they are so morally and ethically superior to everyone else that they are entitled to use violence and fear to force others to behave as they decide, that is against the most basic organizing principles on which our country is founded. It is a return to the ancient principle of "might makes right."
In July, vandals went to the home of chef Laurent Manrique, a business partner, [in the Sonoma restaurant which plans to serve the foie gras] poured acid on his car, glued the lock on a door and spray-painted slogans. They also left behind a videotape, shot through a window, of his family, including his 2-year-old son. [this was in addition to causing over $50,000 in damage to the restaurant]
That is as clear a threat to that little boy as can be imagined. In that act they communicated that they could, and would hurt that man's child if he does not do what they say is "right." Two other people who utilized this methodology well spring to mind: Saddam and Stalin. The vandals/terrorists/trespassers are using the old excuse that if the ends are good they justify the means. "Yes, we trespassed, but we brought out something so valuable that I think it justified it." I'm afraid this fella missed Ethics 101 where the rest of us learned that the ends do not justify the means -- the means create the ends. According to the Law of Unintended Consequences, this outfit may think they are "rescuing" ducks but what they are actually doing is creating a climate wherein any random loon or moonbat can get away with harming any person with whom he does not agree. I think that is a step away from civilization, not toward it. . UPDATE: The woman who is circulating the petition to ban the sale of foie gras in Sonoma --- sells slaughtered fish for a living. [deep fried] I guess she doesn't know much about Icelandic cod fishing . . . But her fish don't come from the sea: they come from a cardboard box in the freezer.
did you hear the one about the anal bead that lost his way?
Posted by art on 11/11/03 at 12:13 PMWhy, no, art. Tell me about yourself.
Posted by Claire on 11/11/03 at 12:23 PMExcellent post. Well done, Claire.
Posted by Jared on 11/12/03 at 04:13 AMGreat post. I usually don’t comment, but I felt I had to.
Posted by John on 11/17/03 at 09:14 PM
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