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personal ethical conundrum

Started by joy_landlocked, December 15, 2008, 12:44:46 PM

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joy_landlocked

hey, i'd like the input of some intelligent, relatively unbiased people...  i'm having an ethical problem, and i've asked people with similar viewpoints to mine, but they all seem to be pretty biased and so sure of their answers and their righteousness that i can't get anything really objective out of it...

see, i eat a vegetarian diet, almost a vegan one, except i eat honey and drink alcohol that isn't clearly labeled as to its origins, and i don't wear leather or fur or feathers, but i do sometimes wear wool.  so it's complex.  this is a personal choice i've made and almost-veganism suits my emotional needs or whatever, so i'm not trying to debate its relative merits.  please don't try to tell me why veganism is dumb, and i won't try to tell you why anything you're doing is dumb.  okay?  okay.

now.  what i would like some perspective on, if you're interested, is this:

my employer has offered me a gift certificate for $20, to redeem at the grocery store for butterball meat products.  i'm obvioously not going to use them, and no one in my immediate family is in need of them, so i'm considering passing the "gift" on to a food bank or shelter.  i'm having trouble with that, because i've made a personal choice not to support the meat industry, and it would be hypocritical for me to go into a store and buy a turkey, even if i'm going to give it away.  BUT i also don't want to be so stubborn in my beliefs (and they are just that, beliefs, personal ones i'm not going to try to force on anyone else) that someone somewhere goes hungry this holiday season.

so.  please tell me what you would do in this situation, assuming you were faced with the opportunity to, at no monetary cost to yourself, acquire something you find personally repugnant and pass it on to someone else, thus condoning an act that you yourself wouldn't condone.  i know there are a lot of different viewpoints here, and i'd appreciate some perspective on this.  i'm really stuck on what to do.
[size=85]what happens in the meadow at dusk?[/size]

Kyuuketsuki

Not qualified to say as I'm a filthy meat eater and I love my long black leather coat :)

Kyu
James C. Rocks: UK Tech Portal & Science, Just Science

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karadan

If you can somehow base your need to not eat/use animal products on a scale of 1 - 10, then do the same for your need to help the hungry.
Then just go with the one which gets the higher score. If they get equal scores then flip a coin. I like coin flipping and it helps when i'm unable to decide about something.

How much would you like to know you've helped someone in need this holiday season?

How much would you like to know you've kept to your ethical stance this holiday season?

If that is too simplistic, then buy $20 worth of normal food vouchers and give that to a homeless person... Then encase the butterball certificate in cordite and put it on your mantel piece - reminding you gently every time you see it just how ethically awesome you are. :)
QuoteI find it mistifying that in this age of information, some people still deny the scientific history of our existence.

curiosityandthecat

Think of it this way: the gift certificate has already been paid for, so the Butterball company has already gotten its money. If the gift certificate goes unused, they make even more profit as the product can be, essentially, sold twice. Giving it to a homeless shelter or food drive would be the best decision, methinks. I've no doubt they can use it. Your choice of what you eat and what you wear is admirable (though nothing I would choose for myself), but don't let it cloud your judgment about making the best of an already odd position.  ;)
-Curio

joy_landlocked

kyu: i actually wanted the opinions of "filthy meat eaters".

karadan: no, that's not too simplistic.  thinking of it in those terms, i think my choice becomes much clearer.  i'm very secure in my personal ethical stance.  i think what matters more to me at this point is knowing i've helped someone in need.  thanks.

and curio: very good point about the fact that butterball's already been paid!  i hadn't even thought about that, believe it or not.  yes.  now i think i know what to do.
[size=85]what happens in the meadow at dusk?[/size]

Wechtlein Uns

Be flexible. THe point in beeing a freethinker is to NOT be weighed down by your beliefs. buy the meat.  :beer:
"What I mean when I use the term "god" represents nothing more than an interactionist view of the universe, a particularite view of time, and an ever expansive view of myself." -- Jose Luis Nunez.

Whitney

I think Curio made a great point.  Also, you can just give the certificate to the food bank instead of buying the meat yourself.  Then you wouldn't even have to touch the product.

Quote from: "Wechtlein Uns"THe point in beeing a freethinker is to NOT be weighed down by your beliefs.

You're joking...right?  I'd hardly say that being a free thinker means that you should no longer care about your own ethical convictions.

curiosityandthecat

Quote from: "laetusatheos"I think Curio made a great point.  Also, you can just give the certificate to the food bank instead of buying the meat yourself.  Then you wouldn't even have to touch the product.

I'm awesome. I know.

Quote from: "laetusatheos"You're joking...right?  I'd hardly say that being a free thinker means that you should no longer care about your own ethical convictions.

Free-thought could also be called a logical open-mindedness. Then again, didn't someone rather brilliant say something about minds being open so far, the brains fall out?  :D
-Curio

Kyuuketsuki

Quote from: "joy_landlocked"kyu: i actually wanted the opinions of "filthy meat eaters".

In that case I'd give the food to a worthy cause :)

Kyu
James C. Rocks: UK Tech Portal & Science, Just Science

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