From: hashish@yabbs
To: Xela@yabbs
Subject: meat
Date: Sun Jul 17 03:57:32 1994

the microorganisms that my body kills every time i inhale is predominantly 
a means of defense against infection, although many microbes that we 
ingest or inhale are capable of living symbiotically in and on our body,
e.g. the millions of bacteria in your gut: you give them a place to live 
and nutrients from your diet whilst they help digest your food and 
colonise your gut to prevent other infectious bacteria growing to the 
level of an infectious dose through competition.
i do realise what i kill, but i also realise what i provide for. it is 
difficult to justify killing in the sense that you mention except only for 
my survival, this is by no means suggesting that i am more important than 
some other lifeform, but illustrates how organisms evolve to become part 
of an enviroment through a life/death struggle for survival.
i'm not sure how innocent bacteria are or if we can use our values to pass 
judgement concerning their nature.
my brotherhood is not a romantic vision, but a reality which i am glad to 
be a part of, for now i have 9 brothers who i train with, go out with, and 
who can help me if i am in trouble. brotherhood goes beyond friendship.
the ceremony was performed at a temple in front of our ancestors as a part 
of traditional chinese culture and as a mark of respect, not worship.
the brothers are for the brothers, not for the ancestors to who we pay our 
respect.
the brotherhood description given here is very sparse, but highlights some 
of the important principles to which we (i.e. the brothers) abide. it 
is difficult to visualise the situation unless closely associated with the 
culture (which i am still learning about).

hashish