Is it wrong to be a cannibal?

Nope.

In fact, there are women who eat their placentas .
So why not a dead person?

I see no problem with it what so ever.

So if I found some human flesh that someone was giving away on the internet it would be okay for me to eat it as long as I didn't even pay for shipping?

What about if I just happened across a leg or something and decided to eat it -- that would be okay too?

Hunger is a natural human impulse.

People in our culture certainly view it with abhorrence. There have been instances in the history of European peoples--some cases in which people have simply eaten the dead and others in which they killed people to eat them. During the first crusade, some of the "Franj" (the name the Muslims of the middle east gave to the Crusaders in Arabic, from Frank . . . Ferengi in Turkish) killed and ate some of the captives (who may have been Arabs, but were more likely Turks or Kurds). The evidence for this comes from the account of a friar who was accompanying them, and this cannot be said to have been simply a case of anti-Frankish propaganda.

The novel Moby Dick was inspired in part by the account of the attack in 1820 on Essex, a Nantucket whaler, by a sperm whale, after which the crew were obliged to abandon ship 2000 miles from the coast of South America. The first mate wrote an account, which included a honest tale of cannibalism as crew members died. Most people have heard of the Donner Party, which was trapped in winter in the Sierra Nevadas, but most don't know the actual details. Fifteen members of the party, ten men and five women, set out on crude, home-made snow shoes in an attempt to reach the nearest settlement, about 100 miles away. One member was lost, and then four members died and were cannibalized. When three more died, they were eaten, as well. Finally, two men and all five of the women reached a fort in California. During the bad old days when Australia was still a penal colony, a handful of convicts escaped from a harsh prison camp on the west coast of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania). Van Diemen's Land/Tasmania is the only surviving land in the southern hemisphere which is scarred by the ice ages of thousands of years ago, and the terrain is not only beautiful, it is difficult to cross, especially on the western side of the island. Even the aborigines did not live in those mountain ranges. When one convict died, he was eaten, and then the "leader" of the convict group murdered another, so he could be eaten. The one remaining survivor other than the leader, escaped and returned to the west coast, where he told his tale. The leader actually managed to reach the eastern settlements, and held out for several months before being turned in. I forget the names of these men, although they were notorious in their own land and era.

I suspect the prohibition on cannibalism is in place to assure that people to not murder others in order to feed themselves. That's just speculation, though, i certainly can't say for sure.

Mmmmmmmmmmm . . . long pork . . .

That would probably be aged, already, too . . .

There are certainly practical reasons for not eating human flesh. Disease would be a big problem.

Cows aren't too like people; you can eat steak tartare.

Pigs are a lot like people; you want to make sure pork is well cooked.



Cannibals even have their own disease.:

Alfred Packer, the cannibal of lake City Colorado was tried and convicted of eating every democrat in Hinsdale county.

Oh my gosh. I could never hurt anyone. I'm not that kind of person!

I wouldn't even take a free arm if the internet give-awayer of flesh accepted advertising from some legitimate side dish company or anything because then he would have a monetary incentive to kill more people.

I won't have any part of that!

Mutton in life is free.

Perhaps we could put regular meats together in a shape that looks like human flesh. Would that be wrong?

I'm thinking you could start a new business: Boomerang's Funeral Home and Delicatessen; Waste Not Want Not.

set wrote :




as a kid growing up in germany , we had many jokes about cannibals .
talking about cannibals "preparing" a missionary for a meal , we would talk about a "lang-schwein in der kochgrube" (long pig in the cooking pit)

and they have survived !!!




pix 1 : PSST !
pix 2 : "i'm hiding from the cannibals . are they still there ?"
..........."YES !"
pix 3 : "i'll let you know when you may come out !" .
.........." THANKS !"

i'm so glad those jokes are still around !

just shows that german CULTURE is everlasting :wink:
hbg

While I don't think the world is quite ready for a funeral home/deli I do think if more reasonable cannibals came out and talked about their desires that people would realize that they aren't all that different and they don't mean any harm.

There was a time when vegetarians were considered abnormal and now everyone likes them. I think they even have their own parades and everything. Vegans are even gaining acceptance.

Innocent, found meat cannibals aren't the same as despicable, butcher type cannibals. Found meat cannibals don't hurt anyone.

My favorite line from a cartoon:

Frankly, I am appalled that any of you would even THINK of having a discussion about...about eating another human being. Frankly, it is disgusting and I will have none of it. NONE of it, do you hear?

Sincerely,
Equus (lightly toasted to a delicate golden-brown, served on a tender bed of the finest long-grain rice, with fresh roasted potatoes, asparagus tips, and a savory dry red wine sauce with thyme, seasoned to taste.)

Let's take it up to a higher plane. Shrunken heads. Assuming the person is already dead, may we shrink their head? I once knew a Swedish merchant marine, who owned the shrunken head of his friend. They were in a small boat in the land of the Jivaru, when they were captured. The friend lost his head, due to being dark skinned with black hair; the one I knew was made a celebrity, because his eyes were blue and his hair blond. He told me he keeps the head as a remembrance of his friend. He did not have to declare it to customs, because he kept it among his personal belongings aboard ship.

I came to know him, because I had just gotten my merchant marine document, allowing me to sail, and I sought out seasoned sailors to learn about life aboard ship. During my last days in the Navy, a ship, the Card, had sparked my interest in being a merchant marine. Before I could sign up, I learned how the Card got blown up in Saigon. That put an end to my interest for good.

This is interesting. My lit class centers around incest so far...(haha) and we've all been examining why it's such a taboo. We instinctively feel this mandatory revulsion when we consider it: why?

My prof's legend: Some society of pre- or early humans was led by a patriarchal figure who had his pick of all the females (daughters included, natch), so the sons got sick of having no nooky, killed the father...and the society eventually suffered. Hence, this big scary rule of no nooky from sister/daughter... That such an infraction could shake the foundations of all established institutions....

I'm beginning to think we've been comPLETELY hoodwinked.

Eat all the thighs you find, Boomer, and then have a go at your brother. (I made me laugh again)

adding to edgar's comments :
when going to school in hamburg , we had to pass a number of ship chandlers along the harbourfront . they sold mainly goods needed to outfit the ships as well as uniforms , but they also bought odds-and-ends from sailors returning to port .
all this stuff was displayed in the windows to attract tourists into the store . amongst the many things from foreign lands - such as stuffed birds and baby alligators - where also quite a few shrunken heads .
as boys we were quite fascinated by them and had we had the money , probably bought one (i don't think my mother would have approved) .
today some are still on display at "harry's hafen bazaar" , but no longer for sale .
hbg

from harry's bazaar :

If I was starving I would eat someone, but only if I was starving because there are certain respects that should be given to the bodies of people.