Wearing fur

[JoB]

I don’t know how to tell you this.. but a fair number of us still own fur that was purchased long before it became PC not to wear fur.

in this age of recycling.. do you really think we should just throw them out or make throw pillows of them?

I would not choose to buy a new fur today… i haven’t for decades… though there were some possum furs in Australia that were pretty darn tempting… but i am not about to throw out what i already own… and would buy it used in a heartbeat if it was something i loved.

As someone who suffers terribly in the cold, i can tell you that a fur coat processed the old fashioned way really is one of the warmest coats you can own… and boots too.. and hats.

both my hat and my boots are alpaca.. and my coats are shearling… but the animals who wore those skins last obviously died to make them…

Kayleigh… synthetics make my feet stink.. worse than they do in leather if i am wearing synthetic socks… i wear leather:)

WesCAddle.. i am not sure i looked so different when i was in Minnesota at 20 below.. though for that i was swaddled mostly in down… it easier to wash.. dirty snow got on everything. first thing i did when i found we were moving back to the northwest was put that walking sleeping bag coat and a couple of my furs in a consignment shop. Perhaps i shouldn’t have been so hasty:)

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[MellyMel]

**details on cow slaughter, please skip if you dont want to know**

I eat red meat on occasion and do wear leather, but cows are not “euthanized” in the way that the word suggests a quiet painless death. My graduate school buddy worked summers a processing plant in the “knock box” where they used a pneumatic bolt and administered the shot to the head. It doesn’t always work and a second station takes care of those who dont immediately go down by slitting the throat.

This is, from what I know, more humane than industrial age practices and is designed to be quick, though not perfect.

I have more of an issue with the way cows (and other livestock) are raised/fattened than the way they are slaughtered. “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” is a great read that is not liberal preachy or pushing vegetarianism.

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[Cait]

If you want to know about a real animal AND human tragedy, read the book Chicken that details life for slaughterhouse workers and how horribly the chickens are treated. Don’t even think about lecturing me if you have eaten chicken or have used their feathers for anything. You can be as careful as you want and you’re still going to harm animals, that’s the harsh truth. Do your best.

I wouldn’t buy new fur, but I eat meat. I do and I know how it gets to my plate. BUT! If we’re going to split hairs here and get preachy and downright disgusting with examples, let’s take a look at Chicken. Try avoiding that in your every day life.

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[Zenguy]

What are these cows you speak of??? Doesn’t meat come from little packages in the store?

Ignorance is bliss, I do not want to see the inside of a meat packing plant or a sausage factory either. I do not want to what is in sausage intentionally or unintentionally.

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[GenHillOne]

I wish I could remember the name of the book, but there’s one out there that talks about getting to more mindful living in stages; not expecting that you will be able to suddenly do a lifestyle 180, but to take purposeful steps. It might mean buying products with less packaging, are more humanely raised, or are made by workers with fair labor practices. It also addressed diet, exercise, smoking, many aspects of “living life.” I found it encouraging because you can always keep moving along the spectrum. That said, I do have a coat that was my grandmother’s ca. 1960 and I do tell people it’s fake, because a) I would never buy a new fur and b) it is a style that is popularly copied now.

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[Cait]

GenHillOne – I think that’s the right idea. I’d love to read that book if you have the title handy. Sounds like it might be a nice gifty for the white elephant exchange coming up on my “that side of the family” celebration this weekend.

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[GenHillOne]

I found it – Quantum Wellness.

http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Wellness-Practical-Spiritual-Happiness/dp/1602860181/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1229461259&sr=8-1

Had to go to the review at the bottom to be sure, but it had a quote that confirmed it for me, “leaning into wellness, comfortably, adding things here and there to the thrust and taking baby steps toward the changes we want to achieve.”

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[mellaw6565]

Job – FYI – Alpacas & llamas are sheared like sheep – they don’t die from harvesting their “fur”, so your items are PC to that extent:)

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[HeavyMetalConservative]

If you want to see what life was like before being PC or environmentally aware, go to Russia. What a time warp. We were there last year. About 60 to 70 percent (maybe more) of the people wear fur, and lots of it during the winter.

You want to talk about shoes and boots, it seems like there is a boot store every 30 feet in Vladivostok. As our driver Sergei said, “Vladivostok pretty city, as long as you not look too close” Translation – They don’t care if they litter or not. Trash is everywhere. I saw a guy open up his pack of cigarettes and throw the wrapper on the ground.

They also have a lot of smokestacks spewing black smoke. It took me back to the 60’s. Oh yeah, they charge for your grocery bags too.

If you are worried about getting paint thrown on you, just carry a concealed paint gun. I think the permit costs about $500.00. Just kidding.

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[nuni]

My brother had a piece of fur once..and it started growing fur. How is that possible? We thought it was interesting so we kept it around for a while.

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[transplantella]

“If you want to see what life was like before being PC or environmentally aware, go to Russia. What a time warp. We were there last year. About 60 to 70 percent (maybe more) of the people wear fur, and lots of it during the winter.

You want to talk about shoes and boots, it seems like there is a boot store every 30 feet in Vladivostok. As our driver Sergei said, “Vladivostok pretty city, as long as you not look too close” Translation – They don’t care if they litter or not. Trash is everywhere. I saw a guy open up his pack of cigarettes and throw the wrapper on the ground.

They also have a lot of smokestacks spewing black smoke.”

Amazing. So you mean the whole world isn’t like Seattle? :~/

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[JoB]

mellaw6565

when the skin is still attached, the animal was slaughtered.

in the case of the alpaca. i can be fairly certain that the animal simply died of reasonably natural causes… or had to be put down for some reason.. because alpacas aren’t grown for their meat.. and if they were it would be make kobi beef look cheap…

but the sheep? i suspect that one was raised for slaughter.

I am all for using all of an animal.. including it’s skin and fur… when it dies or is slaughtered.

i wish i could be so useful when i die…

though i expect i won’t have enough good skin left by then to make a decent wallet:)

maybe someone will use my ashes for fertilizer.. though i don’t think they are as powerful as decomposing bodies…

i would like to think i keep things growing long after i am gone.

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[RT]

“Amazing. So you mean the whole world isn’t like Seattle? :~/”

You don’t seem to like it here very much, so I have to wonder why you chose to move here. Seattle is one of the most liberal places in the country, so of course you’re going to encounter opposition to things like wearing fur. Maybe you should have moved to Idaho or Wyoming instead.

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[transplantella]

I’m always tickled when people describe Seattle as “liberal”.

I checked on the defininition of liberal and it included “flexible, unbiased, tolerant, unprejudiced”.

Which does not often characterize the Seattle I’ve met.

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[Anonymous]

transplantella, are liberals to be fluid in all things at all times to remain a liberal? Most of us have fixed opinions just like conservatives. Where we differ is what we do with new information and facts. That is were we evolve our thinking and actions, or at least try to. I imagine if it could be assured that no suffering were involved, not many would take issue with fur, leather, or meat.

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[JoB]

JT..

i loved this comment.. “are liberals to be fluid in all things at all times to remain a liberal?”

transplantella..

if “flexible, unbiased, tolerant, unprejudiced” equates with giving in to and agreeing with everyone who crosses their path.. then probably we aren’t so liberal.

(yes, i am a transplant.. but it didn’t take me long to figure out i belong here.. i am one of those you so carelessly condemn now :)

but there are other ways of defining those terms…

flexible?.. have you looked outside your window? the flexibility of people here is confirmed by the incredible transportation options people are using today:) so far i have seen sleds (made of everything possible) snowshoes, cross country skis… and every motorized option short of a snowmobile:) And that is just on one street.

that same flexibility fuels the innovation of Seattle’s business and arts community… and produces some of the best geo-tech engineers in the world:)

my daughter is visiting and i am geo-tech focused right now.. but i suspect the same is true of several ground breaking areas of science…

unbiased? … the lack of bias here fuels the imaginations of those who lead the pack in innovation… you can’t get innovation from biased minds… You have to be willing to concede that there is much you don’t know to look for what is possible instead of labeling the unknown impossible.

tolerant? … on any given day in any pub in town you will hear a broad range of opinions being voiced on a broad range of subjects .. and the most likely comment is.. “you might be right, but”…. present your argument well and someone is likely to buy you a beer… I’d call that pretty tolerant.

The range of diversity in lifestyles here is also proof of a pretty tolerant society… When somene here says.. “some of my best friends are ____ ” .. they probably are.. and not because they went out of their way to cultivate a token friend…

but, come to think of it, most of us would never think to make that statement at all.. we’d just be indignant that you were so insensitive as to talk about our friends that way…

unprejudiced? … I think a lot of us struggle with our own personal prejudices.. but as a whole we tend to err on the side of bending over backwards to compensate for that prejudice rather than let that prejudice control our actions.

while i am fully aware that is a form of prejudice.. i suspect it isn’t the one you were noting.

Have you noticed the way we tend to look after those who are different or disadvantaged here.. even bag ladies and tramps.. ???

I think you got us wrong… your loss ;)

Don’t confuse our intolerance of dogma for intolerance in general because there is one thing that is definately true here.. we seem to be a fairly well educated group of people who were taught to think for ourselves… and don’t much value those who can’t or won’t.

I suspect intolerance of bull is one of our most consistent traits.. maybe that’s why we choose to live here ;~>

but…. we are mostly too polite to call you on your bull unless you insist on foolishly repeating stereotypes without bothering to scratch the surface for substance…

scratch a little and you might find what you have been missing.

unless of course, you are inflexible, biased, intolerant and prejudiced yourself..

in which case no matter how deeply you look, there will be nothing you can see.

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[JoB]

JT..

i loved this comment.. “are liberals to be fluid in all things at all times to remain a liberal?”

transplantella..

if “flexible, unbiased, tolerant, unprejudiced” equates with giving in to and agreeing with everyone who crosses their path.. then probably we aren’t so liberal.

(yes, i am a transplant.. but it didn’t take me long to figure out i belong here.. i am one of those you so carelessly condemn now :)

but there are other ways of defining those terms…

flexible?.. have you looked outside your window? the flexibility of people here is confirmed by the incredible transportation options people are using today:) so far i have seen sleds (made of everything possible) snowshoes, cross country skis… and every motorized option short of a snowmobile:) And that is just on one street.

that same flexibility fuels the innovation of Seattle’s business and arts community… and produces some of the best geo-tech engineers in the world:)

my daughter is visiting and i am geo-tech focused right now.. but i suspect the same is true of several ground breaking areas of science…

unbiased? … the lack of bias here fuels the imaginations of those who lead the pack in innovation… you can’t get innovation from biased minds… You have to be willing to concede that there is much you don’t know to look for what is possible instead of labeling the unknown impossible.

tolerant? … on any given day in any pub in town you will hear a broad range of opinions being voiced on a broad range of subjects .. and the most likely comment is.. “you might be right, but”…. present your argument well and someone is likely to buy you a beer… I’d call that pretty tolerant.

The range of diversity in lifestyles here is also proof of a pretty tolerant society… When somene here says.. “some of my best friends are ____ ” .. they probably are.. and not because they went out of their way to cultivate a token friend…

but, come to think of it, most of us would never think to make that statement at all.. we’d just be indignant that you were so insensitive as to talk about our friends that way…

unprejudiced? … I think a lot of us struggle with our own personal prejudices.. but as a whole we tend to err on the side of bending over backwards to compensate for that prejudice rather than let that prejudice control our actions.

while i am fully aware that is a form of prejudice.. i suspect it isn’t the one you were noting.

Have you noticed the way we tend to look after those who are different or disadvantaged here.. even bag ladies and tramps.. ???

I think you got us wrong… your loss ;)

Don’t confuse our intolerance of dogma for intolerance in general because there is one thing that is definately true here.. we seem to be a fairly well educated group of people who were taught to think for ourselves… and don’t much value those who can’t or won’t.

I suspect intolerance of bull is one of our most consistent traits.. maybe that’s why we choose to live here ;~>

but…. we are mostly too polite to call you on your bull unless you insist on foolishly repeating stereotypes without bothering to scratch the surface for substance…

scratch a little and you might find what you have been missing.

unless of course, you are inflexible, biased, intolerant and prejudiced yourself..

in which case no matter how deeply you look, there will be nothing you can see.

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[JoB]

oops.. my bad

impatience is not a virtue.. but it sure gets a lot done sometimes:)

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[Kayleigh2]

I’m really tired of people claiming Seattle isn’t “liberal” because we don’t agree with conservative viewpoints spouted on a freaking Internet board. I’m also tired of people who move here and then proceed to insult everybody–this is beyond rude.

I’m a liberal. I listen to lots of points of view. I also belive in social justice and protecting animals and the earth

I think wearing fur is outdated and cruel, and if you think that means I’m not liberal, then we must disagree about the definition of the word.

Edited out some crankiness.

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[Aim]

Let’s take a left turn to a useful place…

I saw an article the other day on what to do with used furs to keep them useful. Wildlife rehabilitators use them to help orphaned baby animals. Who doesn’t love some baby animals?

http://www.hsus.org/press_and_publications/press_releases/spring_cleaning_donate_fur_garments_to_wildlife_in_need.html

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[mellaw6565]

Very cool Aim – thanks for the link!!

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[Author]

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