Wanna Scare Away Some Europeans?

I first saw this story over at the Jurist’s where they just cracked a joke at the expense of Adrian McNair’s lastest National Posties’ Column.  Actually, after having read it, one can think of numerous jokes at its’ expense.

Basically, McNair goes off wondering how the G7 bankers can be so rude as to not attend dinner and manditory photo op with Jim ‘I ain’t talkin’ about Stevie’s poison pill budget’ Flaherty.

Well, seal was on the menu, something the Europeans banned much to the chagrin of Stevie, and rightfully so.  Here is evidence that seal hunters do subject these poor creatures to much suffering, particularly seal pups that are slaughtered before they reach 3 months; not yet eating solid food;  hasn’t had its’ first swim yet and thus, incapable of defending itself.  Here are more facts about the seal hunt and how inhumane and how unnecessary it is from the  Humane Society.

While Adrian (and others like Jim Flaherty) may contend that seal traditional Inuit food and that it was this major insult for the Europeans to not attend dinner:

It’s quite another to make a show of contempt for the Canadian Inuit and their traditional food, by refusing to attend the feast in some kind of immature, imprudent boycott. Quite literally, it’s like going to the house of a friend as a dinner guest, and then deciding not to dine because you disagree with the food choices being presented.

I’ll agree the principles are similar, however not in the way he thinks.  There are other meats and fish that are the traditional food of the Inuit. If a traditional Inuit dinner is what Flaherty wanted to dazzle his guests with (can’t imagine why: such an unhealthy diet; devoid of fruits and vegetables), he could have done it without the seal.  Flaherty has either been hiding all this time in that Igloo he was standing in front of on yesterday’s Question Period or he is the one who deliberately insulted the Europeans knowing full well how they feel about the seal hunt. It is Flaherty who showed the blatant disrespect toward the Europeans.

Furthermore, is anyone going to really tell me that Flaherty actually likes the taste of seal meat or other raw meats? Maybe he really does, given who he works for, but, not too many people I know who were not raised in those regions.  No, this was a deliberate jab.

That is synonimous to my friends serving deer meat or any othe meat knowing full well I’m a vegetarian who is against hunting to begin with.  So, yes, I would boycott my friend’s dinner.  A real friend wouldn’t serve meat of any kind  to me if they had any respect.

The Europeans will probably end up much healthier for avoiding that seal meat and other meats that were served.