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will probably get down voted for this but cannibalism was part of some cultures.....just saying, things change.
by siffland 8y ago
will probably get down voted for this but cannibalism was part of some cultures.....just saying, things change.
- hjek 8y agoThe "tradition" argument is interesting: We'll keep on doing this, because we've been doing it for a while, so let's not consider whether it's appropriate. That cliché argument is used not only by the Japanese to defend whale hunting but to any kind of violence towards all non-human animals. Things change. Things need to change.
- coldtea 8y ago>The "tradition" argument is interesting: We'll keep on doing this, because we've been doing it for a while, so let's not consider whether it's appropriate. No, it's more like: "We do this for a long time, and we consider this part of who we are, and we like it, and want to keep doing it. We're not idiots to just do it because we did it in the past, and in fact, we have opted to drop tons of things that we did in the past that we don't like anymore, we're not stuck like that".
- TomMarius 8y agoSo why even argue that? Why not just say "I like whale meat"? I hate this "it's a tradition" bullshit. Just say it, stop hiding behind traditions.
- GolDDranks 8y agoBecause it _is_ a tradition. They don't actually eat a whole lot of whale meat like they used to do. There's more supply for whale meat than there is demand. The reason the whaling industry still exists is because it receives government support for being a "protected tradition".
- GolDDranks 8y agoAlso, that is the real tragedy, and I hate the fact that the journalists often miss it: criticising people for killing sensing, feeling animals is hypocritical because we do the same thing for cattle, pigs, sheep and chicken. (Argument for whales being rare species are nonsensical because the minke whales that are being hunted aren't that rare.) What's horrible is killing sensing, feeling animals for no good reason.
- ngcc_hk 8y agoTo repeat one is raising them to be eaten. The other not. We do not eat elephant ... Still fishing is a general hard field.
- coldtea 8y agoBecause they don't just like it like animals like stuff. They like it as meat, but they also like the parts of their culture associated with it. The same way an American would like the turkey AND the thanksgiving dinner, and would like to continue having both, and not just because of turkey meat, but as a combo.
- hjek 8y agoSo would slavery similarly be more justifiable if it was also done not only because slave owners liked it but because it was part of American culture?
- coldtea 8y agoYes. That's also part of how it was justified back in the day. Or do you think that those practicing it thought it wasn't justified as they were doing it? The fact that people have now changed their minds on that particular matter doesn't mean that anything people haven't changed their minds but consider tradition is equally wrong. Or that there's some law-of-nature-style "right and wrong" aside what a culture deems as such. For all our modern posturing, if we were merely born 200 years ago in the US, heck, not even the South, we would statistically be far more likely to be in favor than against the practice (and still be considered perfectly "modern" for those times).
- hjek 8y ago> The fact that people have now changed their minds on that particular matter doesn't mean that anything people haven't changed their minds but consider tradition is equally wrong. No, but it does mean that tradition can be an obstacle for considering the rightness of an action. > Or that there's some law-of-nature-style "right and wrong" aside what a culture deems as such. Agreed. But if we assume some basic principles (e.g. like preventable pain and suffering should be avoided or human existence is good or whatever), then we can question whether something is right according to those principles.
- lb1lf 8y agoIn my experience, the tradition argument doesn’t carry too much weight in Norway - local sentiment (I live within spitting distance of three whaling vessels’ home port) is more that whale meat is tasty (and, historically, much more accessible than other meats, as dairy farming is somewhat of an extreme sport on these small islands we call home) and also, whaling is more profitable than most other forms of marine harvesting, never (to the best of my knowledge) having received subsidies &c - it is commercially viable.
- sc4les 8y agoHm but it depends whether there is a victim involved or not IMHO
- coldtea 8y agoSure, but one can say that for eating burgers too.
- moate 8y agoYes, and lots of people do.
- hjek 8y agoExactly (if the burger is made of animal flesh, that is; but fortunately there are many other ways of making burgers).
- coldtea 8y agoYeah, just not real or tasty ones.
- hjek 8y agoI'm cooking and eating burgers often, and they smell and taste quite real (as opposed to imaginary burgers made out of air). Have you yourself tried a non-flesh burger, and did you genuinely find it bad? Was it from a shop or a cafe or was it homemade? Or do you have a dogmatic belief that there has to be real suffering and murder for a burger to be real?
- deleted 8y ago[deleted]
- petre 8y agoAlso Papuans ate their dead instead of burying or incinerating them and that's how they got prion diseases. Not all traditions are good.