Unwanted Celebrity

Had a bit of excitement this week as I was quoted out of context in an AP story that ran in the New York Times. My thanks to the US Fish and Wildlife Service Public Affairs Office for sending the reporter to me for a juicy soundbite. JOSH.

heh heh

The misquoted statement made me look like a complete sociopath and prompted hate mail including the following:

While reading the online article about the 11 year old boy who shot his stepmother and her unborn baby, I came upon your ridiculous quote. This quote sounds as if it is coming from a serial killer not a college professor...not that teachng "environment philosophy" qualifies you as a professor. You are a dangerous person to be projecting your warped views onto age 20 something students.

After reading your quote (below) many times and I can't help but come to the conclusion that you are the biggest horse's ass on the planet. One thing is for sure you should not be around young people.

"Life exists at the expense of other life. You have to kill in order to live," said Jim Tantillo, an environmental philosophy professor at Cornell University in New York, who is also a hunter.
"There's just something very honest about owning the responsibility for the life you take. When you pull that trigger, you know something's going to die," he said.

There is something about hunting that I don't quite understand. You put on your gear, pick up the latest high powered killing machine, take your family and beer....don't forget that....we are doing the macho bonding thing...and you blow a hole in the side of an sentient animal that wishes you no harm. If you want to go the male bravado route...why don't you put your gun down and head for brown bear country and fight one one one with a larger more challenging animal? You don't need philosophy training to see that men who hunt are looking for validation or something that makes them feel manly or in control. Hunting deers isn't it!

Hopefully, you will lose your tenure at Cornell over your lack of good judgement. I seriously hope you are a person who likes to create sensations by talking out of your ass and really don't believe your dangerous quote.

In the interview with the reporter, Ramit Masti, we were talking about vegetarianism, not homicide. The actual quote was, and I have recited this almost verbatim in every talk I've given and hunting-related publication I've written for the past ten years :

"Alfred North Whitehead wrote that 'all life is robbery.' Life exists at the expense of other life. You have to kill in order to live, whether you are pulling carrots or pulling the trigger on a deer.

"In contrast to vegetarianism, there's just something very honest about owning the responsibility for the life you take [in hunting]. When you pull the trigger, you know that something's going to die."

Anyway, I asked for a correction and/or retraction, and an apology. The Associated Press issued a "clarification," and the reporter apologized for the poor editing.

So although there's still a chance that I am the biggest horse's ass on the planet (discuss), I guess all's well that ends well.

¿quien es mas macho?