Whitefish Banter Night: Banter 6 Tuesday, November 16th 7pm

(fruit fly ovum and sperm) (human ovum and sperm)

BANTER 6 TOPIC: Consider our arrival to a month of deer and elk hunting in our area, the current wolf debate in Montana, the season of going into darkness & winter, a time of scarcity for wildlife, etc. to keep the topic in sync with some of our local goings-on.

If there is one, what is the difference between a human killing an animal for food/sustenance (incl. hunting, slaughterhouse, farming) and an animal (predator--eagle, wolf, wolverine, cheetah...) killing another animal for food/sustenance?

explore your own opinions & internal reactions to the above question
explore the readings and try to broaden your perception of the topic
write down your initial & evolving thoughts on the topic as you read the prep-work & bring to banter 6

And if you don't see a practical difference, what about an emotional/ethical/spiritual difference between the two? (We aren't addressing predator to predator killing or human murder/animal cruelty issues in this topic...but basing the discussion around predatory/prey instincts & sustenance). We can also feather the topic into death itself--what is different, for ex., about an elk grazing in a North Fork meadow vs. one in the back of a pick-up?

Sam's contribution: E.M. Forster's "The Other Side of the Hedge" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Side_of_the_Hedge

Pam's contributions:

http://towardfreedom.com/home/content/view/1567/1/

& http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/yellowstone_bison_vs_bear_photos_go_viral/C41/L41/

Mike's contribution: "The Meat Eaters" from NY Times blog (sent via email)

Anna's contribution: attached four pieces of art (sent via email)

Sabine's contribution: “Grub first, then ethics.”--Bertolt Brecht & excerpts from The Jungle, The Wolverine Way, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle (sent via email).

Shawna's contribution: excerpt from Aldo Leopold's A Sand County Almanac: "Wolf Killing" http://gargravarr.cc.utexas.edu/chrisj/leopold-quotes.html

Judy Chicago's Birth Tear

Ahimsa (yogic principle)-nonviolence toward self and toward living beings

Buddhist monk, self-immolation (or bonzo) against Vietnamese regime, Saigon, Vietnam, 1963:

Loving Kindness (Buddhist) Meditation: May all beings everywhere be free from suffering and the causes of sufferingMay all beings everywhere be free from violence and the causes of violenceMay all beings everywhere be free from fear and the causes of fearMay all beings everywhere be free from sadness and the causes of sadnessMay all beings everywhere feel safeMay all beings everywhere be happyMay you be free from sufferingMay you be free from violenceMay you be free from fearMay you be free from sadnessMay you feel safeMay you be happyMay I be free from sufferingMay I be free from violenceMay I be free from fearMay I be free from sadnessMay I feel safeMay I feel happy.