Tuesday, February 21, 2006
a post to clear the air (and my mind)
a serious post for once. just because of an email that triggered a whole string of events.life's full of grey areas. there's no moral absolute, no clear right and wrong. given the proper perspective and argument, everything makes sense, in a twisted sort of way. as is the case regarding shark's fins.
i mean, okay, people are against eating shark's fin soup, cos there's shark's fin inside, and as much as it's a chinese delicacy and all, it's really sad that chinese eat everything and anything under the sun. as long as it's alive, eat it. disgusting too. so why do we draw the line at eating dogs, cats and bunnies (ok, they might do it elsewhere, but i'm pretty sure most people in s'pore don't) but we merrily consume shark's fins in great quantities at banquets? oh wait. cos the shark's big and bad ala jaws. hello, that's just one shark, the great white. for every great white out there, there's a dozen other species that are pretty harmless. not that the great white's really as bad as its made out to be.
but it's just wrong somehow. the shark's definned, and tossed back into the sea, unable to fend for itself or even move. pretty much dead. i mean, i can justify eating fish and other seafood, cos i eat the entire thing, but shark's fin is just pretty much tasteless (unless you're trying to tell me you're that much of a food connoisseur that you can actually tell the difference in texture) and you waste the entire shark for just a mere fin. at least if you eat the whole damned shark, maybe it's justifiable somehow. but then, there're more fish in the sea than sharks. so you'll run out of sharks sooner than fish. sometimes i just wonder at the sheer idiocy of it.
but then again. there's always the flipside to it. if you refuse your bowl out of sheer principle, some 'kind-hearted soul' will just help you with it. and what have you proven? that you're noble. somehow, such 'nobility' doesn't change the world. it'd help more if you were more proactive, and actually tried to persuade people not to even order the dish. but hey, we're all apathetic singaporeans aren't we. not that i can even really justify not eating the dish. if you refuse, it's not going to stop the restaurant from ever serving shark's fin again. and furthermore, it's right in front of you, the shark's been definned, not eating it would mean that food is wasted. doubly sinful? perhaps. go figure.
then the whole issue of fake shark's fin. can anyone really tell the difference? maybe. i know i can't. so anybody can tell me anything, and all i have is his word to rely on. and does eating fake instead of real shark's fin make it any better? it's like vegetarians eating mock meat. if you want to eat vegetables, eat it. don't eat a mockery of what you can't have, it just demeans the whole process somehow.
but then again. what's wrong with eating shark's fin if the rest of the world is doing it right?
sigh. sorry for the whole rambling process. but this is my blog. and i can post whatever i freaking like on it. don't worry. i think this won't ever happen again. i was just trying to convince myself. or a friend. i'm not sure anymore. but somehow, i think i'll stick to being a principled fool from now on. so do stop me if i ever reach for shark's fin. or guilingao for that matter. poor turtles.
wen was dreaming at 10:28 AM