I assume you know the punchline to the joke about the pig with the wooden leg.
This only works with a certain kind of city folk. The rest of us knew where the meat came from, have cleaned and dressed our own meat, and understand how this works. You don't eat it while it's a cute piglet. You eat it once it's a mean old hog that would be just as happy to eat you, too.
My dad always said chickens deserved to be eaten, because they were so stupid. He hated feeding them, he hated cleaning their roosts. He hated pretty much everything about them, save for the eating part.
Japan had an entertainment series about a city boy going to an agriculture school, befriending various cliques and a pig, and then when the pig grows up, has to deal with the fact that it is to be sent to be weighed.
There are many ways farmers use to deal with guilt, such as respect, rituals, and care in the clean kill. A Western civilization that doesn't know how to deal with the guilt of surviving on the life of others, is going to become an interesting demon to fight.
My dad always said chickens deserved to be eaten, because they were so stupid. He hated feeding them, he hated cleaning their roosts. He hated pretty much everything about them, save for the eating part.
ReplyDeleteAs for the piglets, those are just bacon seeds.
As Alice used to say, it's impolite to eat your food once you've been introduced. "Alice, mutton. Mutton, Alice."
ReplyDeleteJapan had an entertainment series about a city boy going to an agriculture school, befriending various cliques and a pig, and then when the pig grows up, has to deal with the fact that it is to be sent to be weighed.
ReplyDeleteThere are many ways farmers use to deal with guilt, such as respect, rituals, and care in the clean kill. A Western civilization that doesn't know how to deal with the guilt of surviving on the life of others, is going to become an interesting demon to fight.
and understand how this works.
ReplyDeleteUnderstanding and doing are two sides of different coins.
You don't eat it while it's a cute piglet.
It takes Willpower to kill up close and with muscle power, no cheats like machine power or gunpowder.
You eat it once it's a mean old hog that would be just as happy to eat you, too.
Justifications and rationalizations can be enough to fuel Willpower, temporarily. It merely creates a blind spot later on.