Quote:
Originally Posted by LessinSF
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I was at a dinner just before that became impossible where someone showed me video of Chinese consumers eating live animals while the animals were still breathing. (Some large form of what looked like a frog.)
I like meat and fish, but I try to purchase varieties that state they are derived from humanely raised animals. Even then, I still feel kind of guilty about the meat. (Not so much the fish because, well, fish are idiots. However, I will not watch live crabs or lobsters be thrown into boiling water, regardless of the fact that it's probably painless.) So I'm not suggesting the western world is comprised of angels in its treatment of animals. We are regularly inhumane to them.
But we do it for consumer reasons. Or for medical research. We never do it just because it's cruel. In fact, we have laws against that.
My friend who showed me the delightful video made sure I noticed the attire of the people eating the live animal. These were not moronic proles. More chavvy sorts. But clearly folks with some money to spend. So why spend it in such a disgusting way? Because in some circles, eating pangolin, or bats, or live anything, is a status move. It signals dominance, apex standing, etc.
These are not behaviors which can be shrugged off as "cultural." Objectively, they're never acceptable, wherever they may occur.
I do not think criticism of the mistreatment of animals, or the trafficking in rare species as a dining experience, should be considered xenophobia. (This includes the Trump children's vile executions of big cats.) These are demented acts of ghoulish people. And a country that allows the consumption of live animals as status displays by its crassest classes is complicit in allowing those citizens to remain barbaric. That country should be called out for its unhygienic and despicable practices.
