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> “We caught the bears as cubs and raised them as a member of the family. They shared our food and lived in our village. When the time came, we set one free bac

> “We caught the bears as cubs and raised them as a member of the family. They shared our food and lived in our village. When the time came, we set one free back into nature and killed the other to eat.” > Having treated the bear well in life, her people believe the spirit of the sacred animal, which they worship as a deity, will ensure the continued good fortune of their community. That's... so interesting

taneq 6y ago
People make up all sorts of weird stuff to justify the awful things they do.
- toasterlovin 6y ago
  FWIW, I think it’s more complicated than that. If it was only about justification, they could have figured out a way to justify eating both bears. Plus, bears eat a lot of food. Releasing one made the entire transaction a net negative from a caloric point of view.
- fractallyte 6y ago
  You're absolutely correct, and shame on those who downvoted you. Indigenous or not, humans have truly monstrous traits. Occasionally, there's a question of how future generations will see us. I hope this is going to be one of those inconceivable mentalities which they will point to with curiosity and sadness.
  - TheGallopedHigh 6y ago
    You can expand humans to include all animals. All animals have monstrous traits.
    - fractallyte 6y ago
      No. This is a uniquely human trait. And judging by the number of people here who disagree with me, our shabby human race has a long way to go before we reach any semblance of 'civilization'. Maybe the Fermi Paradox has a really simple, obvious explanation: "Where is everybody?" - waiting for us to become less despicable.
      - TheGallopedHigh 6y ago
        Your firm response without recognizing the nature of the animal world just tends to show your naive perspective on its reality.
    - taneq 6y ago
      People tend not to hold animals to the same standards (compassion, empathy) that they hold humans to. A human mauling a baby deer on camera would be lambasted, whereas a tiger doing exactly the same would be considered 'natural'. Agreed though that nature is anything but 'nice'. Anyone who thinks otherwise has been lucky enough to be almost entirely shielded from nature by human society.
    - fractallyte 6y ago
      The difference is that humans claim to be 'intelligent'. Homo sapiens literally means wise person. Where is our consciousness, self-awareness? The invention of religion - as the ultimate moral or ethical framework - is exposed as a fraud. That's several millennia of philosophy up in flames. So I maintain that we should hold humans to a higher standard - the one that we believe we're entitled to, but seldom live up to.
redbonsai 6y ago
I visited the Ainu Museum in in Hokkaido about five years ago, and at least in that modern day setup they did not treat the bears well. There were two bears in small cages, and for 100 yen tourists could feed them "crackers" through a long metal tube. It was heartbreaking to see.

taneq 6y ago

People make up all sorts of weird stuff to justify the awful things they do.

toasterlovin 6y ago
FWIW, I think it’s more complicated than that. If it was only about justification, they could have figured out a way to justify eating both bears. Plus, bears eat a lot of food. Releasing one made the entire transaction a net negative from a caloric point of view.
fractallyte 6y ago
You're absolutely correct, and shame on those who downvoted you. Indigenous or not, humans have truly monstrous traits. Occasionally, there's a question of how future generations will see us. I hope this is going to be one of those inconceivable mentalities which they will point to with curiosity and sadness.
- TheGallopedHigh 6y ago
  You can expand humans to include all animals. All animals have monstrous traits.
  - fractallyte 6y ago
    No. This is a uniquely human trait. And judging by the number of people here who disagree with me, our shabby human race has a long way to go before we reach any semblance of 'civilization'. Maybe the Fermi Paradox has a really simple, obvious explanation: "Where is everybody?" - waiting for us to become less despicable.
    - TheGallopedHigh 6y ago
      Your firm response without recognizing the nature of the animal world just tends to show your naive perspective on its reality.
  - taneq 6y ago
    People tend not to hold animals to the same standards (compassion, empathy) that they hold humans to. A human mauling a baby deer on camera would be lambasted, whereas a tiger doing exactly the same would be considered 'natural'. Agreed though that nature is anything but 'nice'. Anyone who thinks otherwise has been lucky enough to be almost entirely shielded from nature by human society.
  - fractallyte 6y ago
    The difference is that humans claim to be 'intelligent'. Homo sapiens literally means wise person. Where is our consciousness, self-awareness? The invention of religion - as the ultimate moral or ethical framework - is exposed as a fraud. That's several millennia of philosophy up in flames. So I maintain that we should hold humans to a higher standard - the one that we believe we're entitled to, but seldom live up to.

redbonsai 6y ago

I visited the Ainu Museum in in Hokkaido about five years ago, and at least in that modern day setup they did not treat the bears well. There were two bears in small cages, and for 100 yen tourists could feed them "crackers" through a long metal tube. It was heartbreaking to see.