Sunday, March 15, 2009
Powder
Kohak uses Karen J. Warren's account of how a Sioux learns to hunt to help support Ecofeminism. The Sioux story states, "Shoot your four-legged brother in the hind area, slowing it down but not killing it. Then, take the four legged's head in your hands, and look into his eyes. The eyes are where all the suffering is. Look into your brother's eyes and feel his pain." Ecofeminism is the idea that male oppression of nature is similar to that over the female and that if this oppression can be stopped then women can gain freedom. While I am not sure I agree with this theory I do believe that the Sioux hunting story does have its benefits. The hunting story reminds me a lot of a scene from the movie "Powder." There is one scene where the main character, Powder, connects the emotions of a wounded deer and to the hunter. He forces the hunter to feel what the deer is feeling. After, this the hunter can no longer hunter. I believe that this shows that humans need to be more connected with the world around them. While, I am not advocating vegeterianism I do believe that a deeper connection with the animal world would help humans have a deeper connection with other humans.
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I agree with Erica that humans have become disconnected with the natural world around them and are unable to empathize with other species. If we took time to share in the pain of our fellow animal species, we might be able to find compassion and learn to treat them with respect rather than as a statistic or an exhibit at a zoo. Animals deserve a chance to live out their naturally intended functions and humans are so out of touch with the natural world that we are unable to even think about what their natural functions are supposed to be. Humans used to have to rely on animals through hunting, creating their own clothes, using them as labor. Individuals relied on animals in a way that we do not anymore. People don't see the animal that is producing their leather jackets or plucking the chicken for dinner themselves. Because everything is made in factories away from us, we cannot see the pain of the animals.
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