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Comment by pixelbill | Hacker News Reader

So is there any reason in particular that the thought of eating something containing shark fin "disgusted" you, but all of the other animal parts on the menu were just fine?

The level of hypocrisy in this thread is incredible. Save the elephants, save the sharks, save the whales; I guess because we think those animals are coolest/cutest they get a pass. Guess what other animals are smart? Pigs. They can do math and make good pets and we mow them down by the millions. How about cows? They are sacred in some countries, I bet someone from India would be "disgusted" that they sell dead cow in American restaurants!

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Whales are endangered. Sharks are killed solely for their fins. Same goes for elephants and their tusks.

Cows and pigs are killed humanely, and used efficiently, with a clear goal in mind: feeding humans.

I'm disgusted by shark fin soup because of wastefulness. Why kill a living being if you're just going to use an insignificant part of it?

We can argue about this all day, but in the end, it's all relative. Until we can come up with a synthetic and affordable alternative to meat, this is going to continue, whether you like it or not.

Whales are not endangered. Some types of whales are endangered. In fact, most Humpback species were removed from the endangered list.

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/09/07/492976575/...

Good for you that you're disgusted by someone else's culture, I'm sure they feel the same way about you. I am just sick of the hypocrisy that so many people show. Ever kill a mouse in a mouse trap? That's a life gone for no reason, you should be ashamed.

Seems like everyone has an opinion on just which animals are okay to kill and which aren't. That's cool if you want to think that, but you are basically saying "I think its okay to kill these animals but not these." and everyone has a different line.

My bad regarding whales then. But still, I believe whalers don't "use" the whole whale, right? It used to be blubber, not sure what it is now.

Dude, living in this beautiful and multi-cultural world is a great blessing, but you have to offend someone's culture eventually. There is simply no way to satisfy everyone, which is why this whole PC movement is silly imo.

Yes, that's basically it: you may think no animals should be killed, while I think that some should be killed. But the "winner" is the one who convinces the most people by providing the most compelling arguments.

As it stands, the majority agrees that cows and pigs must die to feed humans. They also agree that sharks should not be killed for their fins, elephants should not be killed for their tusks, etc.

Now, we may end up being wrong about cows and pigs (unlikely, given history and research), but this will appear over time rather than overnight.

Whale hunters in Japan (where they have gotten a lot of criticism in recent years) most certainly do use the whole whale, or at least most of it. They eat the meat; so it's no more wasteful than eating a cow, pig, chicken. It may have been the case that they used to just harvest the blubber, but don't think it's cost effective to even do that any more (crude oil is way, way cheaper).

I'm not sure where I ever said no animals should be killed, quite the opposite in fact. I don't have an issue with ANY animal being killed. However I realize that some people DO have an issue with only certain animals being killed and not others; that is the hypocrisy.

It seems the basis of your entire argument is that you just want to do what the majority says is okay to do. That's a cool way to live your life I guess, but at least try to think for yourself every now and again.

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