- Sep 22, 2013
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Cannibalism involves the ingestion of human flesh for food. Various human groups have engaged in cannibalism across world history, either for ritual/culture (e.g., Aztecs) or survival (Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 survivors in the Andes Mountains).
The evolutionary ancient Earth 'relatives' of humans (Homo sapiens) were the Paranthropus who really ate mostly veggies and fruits. When our evolutionary tree diverged and our ancestors began eating meat, we grew in size, strength, dietary flexibility, and therefore survivability.
We might wonder, "If ingestion of food and digestion is important to humanity, then why do we discriminate so much between the ingestion of vegetables and the ingestion of animal meat?" We might inquire about the 'ethics parameters' that make animal-meat ingestion (non-vegetarianism) 'sane' but human-flesh ingestion (cannibalism) 'insane.'
The iconic science-fiction evolution-themed film franchise Planet of the Apes describes a deviant evolution in which our planet is ruled by super-advanced monkeys (sometimes ruthless) rather than 'benevolent humans.' We can imagine groups of these 'ruling apes' eating humans for food and using 'intelligence' as a criterion for justification (just like we humans justify the ingestion of animal-meat for food with the 'human intelligence superiority' defense!).
It is therefore *useful* to use this science-fiction evolution-reversal 'thought model' to talk about racism(!), so here's a mock dialogue about cannibalism between two folk mythos avatars, Krishna (Hindu god of negotiation) and Shiva (Hindu god of destruction).
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KRISHNA: Sports is as savage as war.
SHIVA: Partially, but in sports, players are penalized for hurting others...
KRISHNA: In ice-hockey, fighting is considered a 'normal' ritual of the game.
SHIVA: Yes, but even in ice-hockey, excessive fighting leads to penalties.
KRISHNA: Some scholars argue that some races are more savage/aggressive than others.
SHIVA: There's no evidence. Caucasians tend to develop more weaponry and hence are more 'martial.'
KRISHNA: With power comes responsibility...
SHIVA: Exactly, which is why I wonder if cannibalism in primitive groups is seen as more 'normal.'
KRISHNA: Well, the relatively more 'primitive' Aztecs practiced esoteric cannibalistic 'rituals.'
SHIVA: If we saw similar 'rituals' among, say, Satanism Haitians living in modern-day NYC, we'd scream.
KRISHNA: Actually, we might scream more if we found out a modern-day Caucasian leader was doing so.
SHIVA: True. If Donald Trump was a cannibal, we'd be more alarmed than news of Satanism Haitians.
KRISHNA: So those in true political power (First World Nations) are obligated to shun cannibalism.
SHIVA: Obviously, if you want to lead people as an orator, you can't tell them, "I want to eat you!"
KRISHNA: Hahaha. Yes. Does this suggest that some races are more 'communication-oriented'?
SHIVA: Well, some controversial linguists claim that African-American inner-city slang is a unique 'dialect'!
KRISHNA: Maybe there's a link between language lyricism and cordiality...
SHIVA: This would suggest that 'rough-sounding' languages are spoken by aggressive/savage cultures.
KRISHNA: Perhaps anthropological studies of the cuisine of cultures can illuminate contours of evolution!
SHIVA: A racist in modern-day America might say, however, "I do not wish to break-bread with a black man."
KRISHNA: That is why Thanksgiving is such a special holiday/custom...
SHIVA: Americans know how 'consumerism culture' (e.g., Burger King, Facebook) creates 'etiquette fears.'
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The evolutionary ancient Earth 'relatives' of humans (Homo sapiens) were the Paranthropus who really ate mostly veggies and fruits. When our evolutionary tree diverged and our ancestors began eating meat, we grew in size, strength, dietary flexibility, and therefore survivability.
We might wonder, "If ingestion of food and digestion is important to humanity, then why do we discriminate so much between the ingestion of vegetables and the ingestion of animal meat?" We might inquire about the 'ethics parameters' that make animal-meat ingestion (non-vegetarianism) 'sane' but human-flesh ingestion (cannibalism) 'insane.'
The iconic science-fiction evolution-themed film franchise Planet of the Apes describes a deviant evolution in which our planet is ruled by super-advanced monkeys (sometimes ruthless) rather than 'benevolent humans.' We can imagine groups of these 'ruling apes' eating humans for food and using 'intelligence' as a criterion for justification (just like we humans justify the ingestion of animal-meat for food with the 'human intelligence superiority' defense!).
It is therefore *useful* to use this science-fiction evolution-reversal 'thought model' to talk about racism(!), so here's a mock dialogue about cannibalism between two folk mythos avatars, Krishna (Hindu god of negotiation) and Shiva (Hindu god of destruction).
====
KRISHNA: Sports is as savage as war.
SHIVA: Partially, but in sports, players are penalized for hurting others...
KRISHNA: In ice-hockey, fighting is considered a 'normal' ritual of the game.
SHIVA: Yes, but even in ice-hockey, excessive fighting leads to penalties.
KRISHNA: Some scholars argue that some races are more savage/aggressive than others.
SHIVA: There's no evidence. Caucasians tend to develop more weaponry and hence are more 'martial.'
KRISHNA: With power comes responsibility...
SHIVA: Exactly, which is why I wonder if cannibalism in primitive groups is seen as more 'normal.'
KRISHNA: Well, the relatively more 'primitive' Aztecs practiced esoteric cannibalistic 'rituals.'
SHIVA: If we saw similar 'rituals' among, say, Satanism Haitians living in modern-day NYC, we'd scream.
KRISHNA: Actually, we might scream more if we found out a modern-day Caucasian leader was doing so.
SHIVA: True. If Donald Trump was a cannibal, we'd be more alarmed than news of Satanism Haitians.
KRISHNA: So those in true political power (First World Nations) are obligated to shun cannibalism.
SHIVA: Obviously, if you want to lead people as an orator, you can't tell them, "I want to eat you!"
KRISHNA: Hahaha. Yes. Does this suggest that some races are more 'communication-oriented'?
SHIVA: Well, some controversial linguists claim that African-American inner-city slang is a unique 'dialect'!
KRISHNA: Maybe there's a link between language lyricism and cordiality...
SHIVA: This would suggest that 'rough-sounding' languages are spoken by aggressive/savage cultures.
KRISHNA: Perhaps anthropological studies of the cuisine of cultures can illuminate contours of evolution!
SHIVA: A racist in modern-day America might say, however, "I do not wish to break-bread with a black man."
KRISHNA: That is why Thanksgiving is such a special holiday/custom...
SHIVA: Americans know how 'consumerism culture' (e.g., Burger King, Facebook) creates 'etiquette fears.'
====
