Are We All Closet Cannibals?

Lets have Chinese tonight,anyone for Thai?,Do you like Italian?read these phrases , do you see a chinese human being, a Thai human being an Italian Human being as you say each corresponding phrase?
Research has hinted that in the past , tribes eat their victims the world over, only later when food was more easily harvested were the conquered merely raped tortured and mutilated until death.
But historians have pointed out that after towns and villages were initially pillaged , many warriors would linger behind the main invading forces and devour the corpses ,and cure and pickle to store against future famine.
If cows and sheep and pigs became scarce would we really care if we ate Human beings?
We buy fish under the guise of flake, and many sushi shops some say offer whale.
Would we really question the new tender yet strange looking chops?...if we were starved of traditional meat sources?
Perhaps it would spark a new arms and legs race, to see which nation could eat more of their enemies.
It has been documented that the real reason for the relatively recent population expolsion is down to the decline of cannabilism due to religious imposts.
BUt what if?...would you eat Chinese , perhaps a banquet?

In life or death, I am gonna eat me a man steak. It is disgusting and wrong but when the snicker bars stop coming then the hunger takes over. I don't believe we are all closet cannibals. Barely anyone is going to willingly eat a corpse. If it comes to it though, the majority would eat their neighbor, no doubt about it.

People in the last few hundred years have only resorted to cannibalism when it has gotten really bad. The Donner party, Nazi soldiers in the later stages of the battle for Stalingrad. (They ran out of dogs and were drinking cologne because it was the only remaining alcohol, who could blame them?) In my opinion, it just depends on the scarcity of food and the individual's will to live despite societal mores. It would also probably become more likely if we were reduced to tribalism, and were able to visualize other tribes as lesser beings. It could happen.

Yes quite a few instances of cannibalism in severe situations, don't think you can judge them really. The majority of cannibalism throughout our history i think was punishment for severe crimes mixed in with superstition about ingesting the flesh of said criminal.

Not in any way condoning cannabilism, but it is curious how we are told millions of living humans die each year due to th effects of malnutrition, yet millions of people who die each year and whose essence spirit and soul is elsewhere, leave behind bodies which are entombed or cremated, this source of protein and nutrition could sav emillions of lives.
Is it sane to let millios die ?

reply to post by Dr Conspire


We could solve the problem of hunger in the world if we really wanted to, without resorting to making people eat each other. But governments,institutions and some corporations don't want that.

[edit on 23-4-2010 by Solomons]

reply to post by Dr Conspire


When asked if I want Chinese, I picture sesame chicken. Thai, paenaeng curry. Italian, scampi. American, a burger. I don't really associate the food with the people, probably because as Americans, we're so desensitized to how other cultures actually work. We just get the watered-down version, or sometimes stuff that makes no sense at all. Perfect example - General Tso's Chicken, super popular dish that you can get at nearly all Chinese restaurants, at least in the US. There was a General Tso, but he certainly didn't make the dish - in fact, it doesn't really resemble anything in traditional Hunan, Canton or Schezuan (sp?) cuisine. It was probably invented in New York in the 70's Same with sesame chicken. I've never personally been, but several friends of mine have been to China and say the food is nothing like Chinese food here. Same with Italian, although the dishes are more similar, just not as fresh or prepared as well here.

On the note of cannibalism, hey, we're all animals, right? If ya need to eat, ya need to eat. Actually, does anyone know how prevalent cannibalism is in nature? I know insects will eat their own, but what about, say, racoons?

Explanation: I recommend you try the...

Delicatessen!



Personal Disclosure: Yes! You all look yummy to me and I wonder if you taste like chicken?

soylent green is mad peepz yo.

I will never eat another human being.

sorry psychos.. not with you on this one.

-

Well I've always told my wife I wanted to eat her.......lol

Well I've always told my wife I wanted to eat her.......lol

[edit on 23/4/2010 by stevcolx]

I'd totally eat somebody if I had too. Of course, it would be a last resort, but I definitely wouldn't be too hard on myself if it came to it. Add some spices, maybe a marinade on the BBQ. What's the big deal, really?

Originally posted by stevcolx
Well I've always told my wife I wanted to eat her.......lol

Pics or it didn't happen.

reply to post by Dr Conspire


Of course we're all closet cannibals. Why do you think zombies are so popular? Its because they represent a forbidden and taboo version of us driven by the impulse to eat, to devour one another (they represent more than that, but I don't go into that here).

So in a way we all have, buried deep within, a penchant for cannibalism. My theory is that this desire USUALLY remains dormant while we're in civil society because we are not driven by hunger or superstition to eat each other. So cannibalistic desire is usually only active in people who are desperate for survival.

These secret urges are tied into all things taboo and dark within us and they are manifested in things we do and say subconsciously and of course in the catharsis of writing and art (Cronus devouring his children and zombies of course).

reply to post by Dr Conspire


Ah, the Long flank. i wondered how long it would be before someone thought of this, in a Planet X destruction scenario food would be at a premium. Domestic animals would be very scarce, and without proper weapons wild animals would be very hard to kill. Vegetables take a long time to grow, if you have seeds and it rains. It is a very real theory you have here.

One that same note, we were all originally Vampires. We spent the first 9 months of our lives living in oxygenated water, and pout very first meal was blood.

To survive, men and women would eat the flesh of humans. It happened many times in the past, Donner Party, the siege of Savanna, there were many more. I too would, in a pinch.

Well when your body is on the verge of collapse and your primitive emotions kick in, your eyes will set on a body, you know there is meat there. Much needed protein. Your tabboo ideas of cannaiblism will not be there when you are starving and your mind and stomach start communicating.
Picture yourself, you haven't eaten in weeks, no food around you are weak, to weak to look for food or hunt. There is a body of a fallen enemy laying next to you. You know you might have a day to live, but you don't have the energy to feed yourself.
So you reach for the pocketknife, and take a chunk of meat out of the arm/leg/back, hold it over a fire and smell the aroma of cooked meat. You shake as you take a bite, you might cringe or even cry. But the next day you will be alive, you might have the energy to try and find some more typical "food".
But survival means doing things that you may not enjoy.
Would I? If I absolutley had to, or my mind flipped the switch and I end up that primitive from sitx.

Not enough meat on the Chinese...personally I would go for a Hawaiin or Samoan, or Brazilain would be exotic. I liked to say that I would never resort to cannalbalism, but since I have never been in that situation I can;t say for sure what I would do. I do know that people will do whatever it takes for their own survival..hmm could thought inducing question.

yes we are, animals do it all the time when food is scarce or just because they become addicted to the taste of blood
me, i would eat someone if it was a last resort, but only if they werent killed for that purpose, id be guilty about that, but say if i was in a war scenario and a battle brother was shot dead and food was scarce, i would have little problem with eating them, why bury him, when he can still help us fight by giving us energy?

but i doubt ill ever be in that situation, i hope not at least
in another scenario if i was a survivor of a plane crash and there was no food i wouldnt have too much of a problem of eating the poor people who dided in the crash, i believe there was a movie about this once

in a soyleint green situation i would shru it off and say "eh foods food" its either that or starve and starving leads to death and it hurts

ive also heard human meat is somewhat sweet

somewhere in india theres a religious ritual where people dig up their dead relatives once a year and eat them

[edit on 25-4-2010 by ashanu90]

There is a good reason people and animals dont eat their own kind regularly.

Prions and Kuru. en.wikipedia.org...

We dont know for sure cannibalism is related to it, but it sure seems to be. Especially since feeding cows other cows caused an outbreak of a similar disease among them. I personally dont think most people want to eat others, I think we are naturally repulsed by it. And likely for good evolutionary reason.

People bring up the cases where people do eat one another, but dont over look the fact that the majority of starving people just starve and dont eat other humans. Cannibalism is the exception, not the rule.

Originally posted by Illusionsaregrander

People bring up the cases where people do eat one another, but dont over look the fact that the majority of starving people just starve and dont eat other humans. Cannibalism is the exception, not the rule.

though it does happen often under extreme stress
i remember hearing about how the celts would canabalize each other when the romans invaded becuase they thought the gods would hear their pleas and save them from the romans....i dont think it worked


but yeah when it does happen you better believe that bad stuff is going down

reply to post by Dr Conspire


Interesting...
Y'know...I'm actually a strict vegan...but if it came down to it...for survival...I'd eat EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU.