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At 10:31 AM 07/08/99 -0600, S. Bissell wrote: >I think that if someone hunts in order to break monotony of their existence, >then it is very questionable morally. However, hunting is a difficult form >of "recreation" at best. I think that some of us posters, such as Jim >Tantillo and myself, are saying that hunting is much more than "mere >recreation," and may, in fact, represent a relationship with animals with >profound meanings. > >Some newly discovered cave paintings in (I believe) Spain show half man-half >animal figures. Consider that the painter had to crawl on his/her belly >carrying a bowl of burning animal fat and paint these figures. Why did they >choose hunting as the subject of most of the paintings? I think these people >had a very clear understanding of the relationship of animals and >themselves. They knew that taking a life was an important event, and not >just for survival. If that was the case they would not have attempted to >show a metaphysical relationship with animals. In fact some non-hunting >cultures do not have any indication of metaphysical attitudes toward >animals. > >Does this justify modern "sport" hunting? I don't know, but I think it >starts to get there. > I seriously doubt that 'sport' or 'recreational' hunting is akin to hunting (and fishing) as a means to one's physical and spiritual existence, as is still the case in parts of the US, e.g. Appalachia and other rural areas. The sight of urban sports hunters with their gas-guzzling SUVs, four-wheelers, and high powered rifles with night-vision scopes tearing through woods and meadows is hardly the kind of metaphysical or physical connection that our ancestors and still some of the luckier ones of us today enjoy. >I agree. The attribution of human psychology to animals is risky business, >and it may be disrespectful to the animal. I've met very few humans who was >at being "human" as a lot of animals I've known who were at being whatever >kind of animal they were. At anyrate, I'm not sure what it all means. One of >the reasons I like and admire big dangerous animals is just because of that. >I have more respect, in a trivial sense, for this killer whale who kills >humans in his tank than the ones who juggle balls and jump over flaming >sticks. I realize that they are being forced to do so, but somehow I have >more affinity for Nat Turner than Uncle Tom. >sb > Perhaps this whale should serve as a reminder to us what happens when we get too confident in our attempts to intervene in and control the natural world and the entities that inhabit it. L.S. McLeod _________________________________ Dr. Lisa S. McLeod Coker College Hartsville SC 29550 [log in to unmask] %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%