“I actually have a fair amount of respect for people who go out hunting and shoot their food themselves. ”
I hear this a lot and agree in a vague sense that felt a lot like a cached thought. So I started thinking about it: Should we really respect people who go out to hunt and kill animals themselves?
My initial reaction was that I’m wary, not respectful, of someone comfortable/enthusiastic about ending a life! As a display of character, it’s worrying.
But on second examination, I changed my mind. Even from a virtue ethics perspective, I admire a person who’s willing to face the consequences of their actions rather than letting the factory farming go on out of sight. You’re right, willful ignorance is not something to respect.
And from a consequentialist standpoint, hunters almost certainly cause less suffering to the animals than factory farmers do.
Having grown up in a city on the East Coast, I didn’t exactly grow up with an appreciation for hunters. But I think I respect them a bit more now.
Allow me to echo Julia’s thanks!
Dreaded Anomaly is right; LW has had a significant influence on me, particularly the “A Human’s Guide to Words” sequence. I drew from it heavily in a talk I gave on effective communicating, and it’ll be prominent in a few other talks coming up.
I’m aiming to do more LW-esque posts (beyond things like basic recaps of the map-territory.) Looking forward to your feedback!