tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post2529419675393075142..comments2024-03-07T14:43:21.888-08:00Comments on Whatever I want to write about: The silk sari and the vegetarian. Life's another contradiction!Sriram Khéhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06907731254833435446noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-73961348036167209222013-09-04T09:45:48.409-07:002013-09-04T09:45:48.409-07:00The issues are the same whether it is eating anima...The issues are the same whether it is eating animals or wearing them: killing animals is the point of departure.<br />Especially with silk, I would think that a typical vegetarian would be horrified at the very idea that the cocoon is dropped into hot water. Of course, we can get into sub-discussions on whether they feel any pain. But, hey, if dropping lobsters into boiling water makes a vegetarian jittery, then they should feel the same about the silk that comes from dropping the cocoons into hot water.<br /><br />I suspect that as much as the typical omnivorous human doesn't think about how that animal food got to the store, a typical Rajalakshmi also doesn't think about the origins of the silk sari. <br /><br />Yes, ultimately it is all about individually making peace with all these issues. However, my suspicion is that most people do not give these even a second of their thinking time. The "peace" they have is then nothing but a blissful life out of ignorance. I suppose that is ok too.Sriram Khéhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06724218458246880137noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27946614.post-40695079765622600572013-09-04T05:57:26.092-07:002013-09-04T05:57:26.092-07:00Hey - There isn't that much of a contradiction...Hey - There isn't that much of a contradiction. There is a difference between eating an animal and "wearing" it. Same is the situation with wearing leather shoes.<br /><br />Each man makes his peace with where on the "killing chain" he wants to be. At one end of the spectrum is the devout Jain who covers his mouth with a cloth to prevent accidentally hurting a flying insect. He wouldn't dream of wearing silk or leather. Further down are people who baulk at eating meat, but are OK with wearing an animal product. Still further down are people who are OK to eat some animals, but not others. Way further is somebody who would eat anything. Each person must make his peace with where he is. <br /><br />I think your point is that the mamis are wearing silk without thinking and if they probably saw a silk extraction plant, they would stop wearing it altogether.Rameshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11782192840421019943noreply@blogger.com