Tuesday, March 10, 2009

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?

7 comments:

KGT (aka Cagey) said...

Oooohh...the wordy anguish of celebrity.

Horses' ass...now THERE's a label.

KGT (aka Cagey) said...

I was reminded of a song that always spoke to me regarding these kinds of things. I placed the widget on the Grousers page...if you can't hear it all, download the free IMEEM software.

The song is by a favorite band of mine, Tool, from the album Undertow,Track 69.

Here are the lyrics:

Track 69, (Cries Of The Carrots/This Is Necessary/
Phone Call)

..And the Angel Of The Lord came unto me, snatching me up from my place of
slumber. And took me on high, and higher still, until we moved through the
spaces 'betwixt the air itself. And he brought me unto a vast farmland of our
own midwest. And as we decended, cries of impending doom rose from the soil.
One thousand, 'nay, a million voices, full of fear. And terror posessed me
then. And I begged, "Angel Of The Lord, what are these totured screams?" and
the Angel said unto me, "These are the Cries Of The Carrots. The Cries Of The
Carrots, Y'see Reverend Maynard, tomorrow is Harvest Day, and to them, it is
The Holocaust."
..And I sprang from my slumber, drenched in sweat, like the tears of a
million terrified brothers. And, Lord, Hear me now, I have seen the light,
They have a conciousness, They have a life, They have a soul. Damn You! Let
the rabbits wear glasses! Save our brothers!
Can I get an "Amen?"
(collective "AMEN!")
Can I get a Hallelujah?
(collective "HALLELUJAH!")
Thank you, Jesus!
This. Is. Necessary.
This. Is. Necessary.
Life. Feeds on life.
Feeds on life.
Feeds on life.
Feeds on This. Is. Necessary.
(etc. until 69 06.05)
(cricket sounds until 69 13.51, then:)
It was daylight when you woke up in Your ditch. You looked up at Your sky.
That, that made Blue be your color. You had your knife ther with you, too.
When you stood up, there was goo all over your clothes. Your hands were
sticky. You wiped them on Your grass. So now your color was Green. Oh, Lord,
why did everything have to keep changing like this? You were already getting
nervous again. Your head hurt and it rang when you stood up. Your head was
almost empty. It alwasys hurt you when you woke up like this. You crawled up
out of Your ditch onto Your gravel road. You began to walk, waiting for your
mind to come back to you. You could see the car parked far down the road, and
you walked toward it. "If God is our father," you thought, "Then Satan must be
our cousin. Why didn't anyone else understand these important things?" When
you got to Your car, you tried all the ddors. They were locked. It was a Red
car and it was new. There was an expensive leather camera case laying on the
seat. Out across Your field, you could see two tiny people walking by Your
woods. You began to walk towards them. Now Red was your color, and of course,
the little people out there were Yours, too. (...click)

Dr. Dirt said...

Jimbo, jimbo, jimbo

I am drunk off of my own, young, delicious, Sauvignon Blanc, which gives me complete license to speak as I please. Congrats on the notoriety. If only reporters checked their stories with grey, blog blah. I think this moment under the lime light is your opportunity package some of your brilliant prose into something for the masses. Yes, your little bit o' country a little bit o' academic rock and roll. "To kill is to live and other hunting philosophisms." Your scholarship is too good to be judged only by bloggers and someone reading misquotes. Get ye to a nunnery!
Burp.

Jim Tantillo said...

Cagey, that is one weird song. good lyrics, though. didn't listen through all the way to the end though. too depressing, thinking of all the carrots.

Ernie said...

Jim, All I can say is WOW!!!

huntermac said...

Ah, the unbiased press continues to push forth its agenda... However, many a horseback hunting trip has been saved by a strong horse's ass - and the one referred to in this case is strong indeed. Keep up the cause!

huntermac said...

ah, the unbiased media continues along the path of its agenda... many a trip has been saved by a strong horse's ass - glad the one mentioned here has the strength to carry the load...