In article <1995Mayl7.164201.7392@sco.com>steveha@sco.COM (Steve Harris) writes:
>Then I think about the rate at which millenia of millenia old forests
>of incomparable value and resources are simply discarded, consumedif
>you will, to grow beef for a few years until the land desertifies.I
>think about the ranchers who use guns and peddled influence and
>intriguing levels of violence and corruption to rape the land fortheir
>own capital gain. Then I think of all the poor suckers who fall forit,
>hook, line, and sinker. "If we can't convert this gold into lead,the
whole system is gonna collapse and we'll lose our place in line."
>Sure.

Not as outrageous as you make it sound.

Being the dominant species is both tenuous and temporary. There'll comea time when we won't be on top of the ol' food chain. Not in my lifetime,though.

I don't consider myself to be one who pillages the Earth. I think, instead,that I just happen to be a fortunate beneficiary of those that do.

>All I've got to say to all the people who've attached their egos to
>their beef is you deserve it, you are what you eat after all. I don't

You betcha! I'm an animal, and an aggressive one at that, so eatinganimals causes me no moral guilt.

>have a problem with you killing yourself, but when you're killing other
>people and ruining the planet for future generations, I don't thinkI
>have to wait to be asked to give an opinion, anymore than you do.Even

My mother gave me some rather sage advice when I was younger, and whichI employ to this day. She said, "Everyone is entitled to their opinion,no matter how stupid it may be. But vocalizing it is not a requirement."

>if I did, I wouldn't. I mean was your job threatened if you ate meat,
>or did you simply feel like less of a person because somebody waswilling
>to tell you the truth for a change? Maybe they just didn't realizewho
>you were and how you'd react. I know you and I wouldn't be stupidenough
>to make the same mistake (in line that is ;-).

That's part of what annoyed me so much. I exude a demeanor that usuallydiscourages people from bothering me with their petty views. I'm not veryreceptive to people pushing their personal agenda on me, and I stronglyobject to people I don't know and don't want to know to invade my spacein the way he did.

You know me, Steve, and you and I could sit and talk about things onwhich we don't agree. That's different than this case was, though. Thiswas a thoroughly unsolicited assault on my moral standards by someone whoneither knows me nor has the right to impose his views on me. Would thathe knew that I really don't care what he thought, maybe he'd have shownthe decency to stay out of my way.

>Besides, ignorance is no excuse for abuse, and if you want to talk>about harassment...

Actually, I do. That's why I brought it up. You're the only person whocame out to play.

>The earth is your mother. Conversion of non-renewable natural resources
>into capital is rape of the earth. So what's your point?

That's very Santa Cruz of you, above.

My point? Perhaps , just because I live in a city with weak-kneed liberalphilosophy doesn't mean that I have to embrace it. Perhaps it's that Iknow the pluses and minuses of consuming meat, and it annoyed me that someonethought I was so stupid that I needed *him* to point it out to me. Perhapsit's because I don't like strangers being familiar with me. Perhaps it'sthat I thought he was out of line. Perhaps it's that someone would havethe audacity to challenge *me* on what should and should not be.

Or any combination of the above.

What's *your* point, Steve?

Vinnie Jordan vinniej@sco.COM
"I've never met a Phi Beta Kappa, a Magna cum Laude or a Most Likelyto