Thursday, December 28, 2006

Only an asshat could compare the Holocaust to delicious Kentucky Fried Chicken


And yes I mean Kentucky Fried Chicken. Not KFC. They changed their name a few years ago to hide from all of their customers that they actually deep fry their chicken. I bet you always wondered why it tasted so good. Now you know.

Now that you know about Kentucky Chicken, I'd like to know just what the fuck Justin Erik Smith is talking about when he calls meat eating genocide.

Mr. Smith is confused throughout his essay, An Animal Holocaust?

Even his title suggests that he's not quite sure if there is an animal genocide. He starts the off the essay noting that only a non repentant Nazi could compare meat eating with death camps. But that doesn't stop him from noting that "10 billion animals die each year" just so they can be formed into Chicken McNuggets.

Justin even has a handle on why most humanists won't concern themselves with animal rights. They have good reasons not to.

"Some point out, compellingly, that it is absurd to carry on about animal rights in a world in which we are doing such a poor job of ensuring that humans enjoy human rights."

Does Smith think it absurd though? He states that the term "animal holocaust" is being thrown around. And wonders aloud "Is this an impious mockery, worthy of Heidegger, of an event that was without parallel in history? Or is it, on the contrary, a true and simple description of what is happening?"

Again a question rather than an answer. Smith should be embarrassed to put forth the idea that we could compare the destruction of animals for human meat consumption with the systematic slaughter of a race of people.

"But one does not have to go so far as to affirm that animals have rights to agree that the present system of meat production is abhorrent."

One needn't and we shouldn't. Human Beings should not engage in cruelty. When we do so it ends up badly. We don't need false comparisons to the Holocaust to stir human into action against cruelty.

What we need are sane and reasonable voices in animal rights debates. Voices who can point out the implicit dangers to us all if we ignore the cruelty we find in others.

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