Ethel was in her early forties when her rancher husband asked for a divorce. Following the dissolution of their childless marriage she returned to her home of origin. After a difficult employment search, she eventually found a job working in a slaughterhouse. It paid better than most other potential jobs, so offered her the opportunity to be financially independent.
Ethel’s brother was my significant other. He and I once visited her after she had been working at the slaughterhouse for a few years. She expressed her amazement at our vegetarian lifestyle and bragged that she eats beef that’s never been cold. In response to my quizzical look, she said that after hitting a cow with a stun gun, she would quickly slit its throat, then immediately cut the hide parallel to its spine and remove a piece of the flesh known as filet mignon. After slicing it into a few pieces, she threw it into a steamer for a few minutes and ate the fresh meat with her coworkers.
Ethel’s eyes sparkled with conceit as she relayed the story about being so well positioned that she could eat the freshest best cut of beef. I asked her if it bothered her to spend her days killing such large peaceful sentient beings. She laughed and said, "No, it’s what they were put here for."
A few years later, Ethel shot herself in the head. She had been drinking more and more and becoming increasingly depressed. She was engaged in a telephone conversation with her brother when he heard her roommate say, "Put that gun down." He then heard a gunshot and a deathly silence, followed by her roommate’s distant screams. Ethel had done to herself what she had been doing to cows all day long for six years.
I have thought of Ethel many times over the years and her involvement in the animal death industry and its affects on those involved. Capital death for people or animals requires that someone carry out the deed on behalf of others - usually behind closed doors. A soldier who stands in defense of his/her nation is honored for their courage, but a slaughter house worker or a nurse who injects a lethal drug cocktail into someone’s veins remains hidden from view. Why is that?
Ethel’s brother was my significant other. He and I once visited her after she had been working at the slaughterhouse for a few years. She expressed her amazement at our vegetarian lifestyle and bragged that she eats beef that’s never been cold. In response to my quizzical look, she said that after hitting a cow with a stun gun, she would quickly slit its throat, then immediately cut the hide parallel to its spine and remove a piece of the flesh known as filet mignon. After slicing it into a few pieces, she threw it into a steamer for a few minutes and ate the fresh meat with her coworkers.
Ethel’s eyes sparkled with conceit as she relayed the story about being so well positioned that she could eat the freshest best cut of beef. I asked her if it bothered her to spend her days killing such large peaceful sentient beings. She laughed and said, "No, it’s what they were put here for."
A few years later, Ethel shot herself in the head. She had been drinking more and more and becoming increasingly depressed. She was engaged in a telephone conversation with her brother when he heard her roommate say, "Put that gun down." He then heard a gunshot and a deathly silence, followed by her roommate’s distant screams. Ethel had done to herself what she had been doing to cows all day long for six years.
I have thought of Ethel many times over the years and her involvement in the animal death industry and its affects on those involved. Capital death for people or animals requires that someone carry out the deed on behalf of others - usually behind closed doors. A soldier who stands in defense of his/her nation is honored for their courage, but a slaughter house worker or a nurse who injects a lethal drug cocktail into someone’s veins remains hidden from view. Why is that?
Posted 27th July in: easy on the meat,
