Legal cannibalism?

[Pasi Nurminen]

There have been cases in the past of cannibals being tried when the consumption was consensual (people meeting over the internet and agreeing to eat each other), should this be a crime as long as the person or people being eaten consent to having their flesh consumed by others?

I vote no, poll coming. In the spirit of the recent "random government's body declares ___ legal" threads.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

It certainly should not be legal, as the state should reserve the right to take life under appropriate sanction, rather than it being the domain of individual citizens.

Certain circumstances, such as plane crashes and their aftermath, can be justified in moral and legal terms, but not gnawing on your drinking mate or making meat puppets out of yer latest squeeze.

Furthermore, it is simply not civilized - it is savage, primitive and atavistic. We have not come this far through fire, spirit and time to regress to animal behaviour just because some may find it sexually (or otherwise) arousing.

There are some things that a gentleman simply does not do, such as munch on friends, use the tradesman's entrance or be intimate with servants!

 

[Commodore]

I voted yes it should be legal. I think it should be treated similar to organ donation. Each adult citizen should be asked in the event of their death if they would like their body to be contributed to the food supply. The meat would undergo the same inspection process that all other meat goes through. It would then be packaged and sent out to the supermarkets and those who have a taste for that kind of thing can buy it for consumption.

So it would not be people running around killing and eating each other. It would be just harvesting meat from people who just died and decided that they wanted their body to be used for that sort of thing.

 

[Speedo]

If you want to be the chew toy for some nutcase... you can go right ahead.

 

[Che Guava]

I'm assuming the case you speak of is this one:

German cannibal tells of fantasy

A man accused of killing, dissecting and eating another man has gone on trial in central Germany.

The court heard how horror films had fuelled Armin Meiwes' childhood fantasies of eating school friends.

The 41-year-old computer technician is charged with murder, even though the victim allegedly volunteered for his fate by replying to an internet advert.

The gruesome incident was all captured on camcorder and the footage is expected to form part of the evidence.

"I had the fantasy, and in the end I fulfilled it," he said. The fantasy first developed between the ages of eight and 12, he added.

link

Have there been any others? I voted no, btw. There's plenty to eat ou tthere, we don't need to start nibbling each other...

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Good Lord! I like my school chums, but I don't think I could finish a whole one...

 

[Rik Meleet]

Humans tend to follow laws, unless there is a good reason not to do it. The good reason differs from human to human and from situation to situation. In the movie "Alive", where a Chilean rugby team crashed in the Andes-mountains; they started eating their dead teammembers at some moment. They would have done that even if it was a crime.

The problem with this canibalism to be allowed or disallowed is that it doesn't matter in unusual situations, but disallowing might just prevent some people from doing it. If it just falls within their boundaries of "good reason". But frankly; I don't consider this law or discussion really important. If 2 people want to do something and both agree to it; they'll most likely do it and hide it if it's illegal. No big deal.

 

[jeriko one]

It is already legal I think. If a ship in the high seas is in a desperate condition and without food etc. The sailors can cannibalize when others die.

Correct me if I am wrong because I am not sure of this info.

 

[skadistic]

It is already legal I think. If a ship in the high seas is in a desperate condition and without food etc. The sailors can cannibalize when others die.

Correct me if I am wrong because I am not sure of this info.

I don't think there are laws on the high seas. Any law of a nation is void at the point the boat gets past the 12 mile mark.

 

[Gelion]

Jawz II, Swiss Bezerker you scared me!

 

[MRM]

I don't think there are laws on the high seas. Any law of a nation is void at the point the boat gets past the 12 mile mark.

And what's abot the plane in the Anden ? Or a city under siege of an invading army ? In such cases those people are in a country with existing laws but under such circumstances there are often cases of cannibalism - btw AFAIK cannibalism isn't forbidden here - the guy was "only" sued for the killing ...

 

[Shaihulud]

Legal in the case where the practice of can save life. Subject of cannibalism msut also already be deceased and agreed prior to death to be consumed by the cannibals.

If we that we are what we eat, than in a way we are all cannibals.

 

[Masquerouge]

Furthermore, it is simply not civilized - it is savage, primitive and atavistic. We have not come this far through fire, spirit and time to regress to animal behaviour just because some may find it sexually (or otherwise) arousing.

I completely disagree with that. The vast majority of cannibalism on this planet was done through rituals, nothing to do with savage and primitive behaviours.

Just because in our particular society, in this particular time, we have a moral taboo on cannibalism doesn't mean it's an universal one.

Plus as Riik said, if two people really want to do it, they're going to no matter what the law is. It's really hard to spot a wannabe cannibal in a crowd.

 

[Iggy]

I have had people say to me, "Bite me!", however it was for reasons other than legalities that I declined.

 

[Simon Darkshade]

Rituals do not mean a thing in regards to a behaviour not being savage and primitive. There were rituals of human sacrifice in many primitive societies, and they were equally bestial and utterly wrong. Ritual is no indicator of civilised and decent behaviour.

I have no truck with apologetic subjective morality - the killing and eating of another human being is universally wrong, whether it is done by a decadent twisted German with perverted sexual fantasies or a scarred painted Aztec priest. Such thinking is the basis of justification of many foul and repellent acts throughout the world and history, ranging from honour killings to female genital mutilation to the wicked crimes of the Japanese.

If the two people want to do it, then fine. The surviving individual can cop the full force of the law. More is needed than simply adult consent when we are dealing with serious social issues.

One is reminded of the British military officer coming across a scene of suttee in India, where the bride was burnt on her husbands pyre. When he expressed his disgust, he was informed that this was the custom in these parts.
'Very good. It is our custom to hang chaps who do that.'

 

[Evil Tyrant]

It shouldn't be legal, and is an act of barbarism.

 

[Archbob]

Hi,
If I'm starving without food and some idiot says its ok for me to eat him, then I should have the right to save myself by eating him.

 

[The Condor]

If it makes someone happy and it cuts down on overpopulation it is fine with me.

 

[cgannon64]

No: The state has the responsibility of protecting you from yourself.

 

[Joeb WK]

I don't know if you could really put someone in jail for cannabalism though as I think they'd be protected by the mental health act.