Domesticated swine and Western Civilization go back a long way together. The domestic pig was being raised in Europe by about 1500 BC. Rome improved pig breeding and spread them throughout their empire. The early Christians increasingly abandoned the Jewish ban on the eating of pork by about 50 AD and it’s been the celebrated ‘other white meat’ ever since.
Pigs and the discovery of the New World went hand in hand. Christopher Columbus took eight pigs on his voyage to Cuba in 1493 at Queen Isabella’s insistence. Hernando de Soto brought America’s first thirteen pigs to Tampa Bay, Fla., in 1539. Cortés introduced hogs to New Mexico in 1600 while Sir Walter Raleigh brought sows to the Jamestown colony in 1607.
Frankly, the West and pigs go together like, well, bacon and eggs. Who hasn’t enjoyed the cultural icons that are the ‘three little pigs,’ delighted in playing “this little piggie went to market” with a toes of a small child, or stashed a few dollars away in their piggie bank? And who can forget such beloved childhood characters as Wilbur from Charlotte’s Web, Babe the movie star (that’ll do pig), Miss Piggy, or Piglet from Winnie the Pooh?
Let’s be honest, even the most finicky among us has to admit that a side order of bacon at IHOP isn’t such a bad idea either.
But, alas, not all share our love for all things pork, bacon, and pig-related.
Piglets removed from agricultural exhibit because Muslim kids were stoning them to death
“Some children are sad that the funny pigs have been removed from an agricultural museum near Gellerupparken in Aarhus Municipality.
The explanation so far has been that the pigs were removed because of environmental and animal welfare.
But the actual reason is brutal mistreatment of the pigs – typically stoning.
In one case a piglet was killed after children of a different ethnic background than Danish had stuck a stick into it. …
‘- We protected the pigs’ hut with a fence so they could be left in peace from stones and other objects.’
But the attacks continued, and the pigs have now been removed.
‘- They were our most popular animals for most visitors. And we were excited to show how the pigs could live a natural life,’ he says and adds that also rabbits, chickens, lambs and sheep have been hurt.”
C’mon now, who could kill such cute little pigs? Our Jewish friends aren’t overly fond of our squealing little pink companions either, but you don’t hear about them attacking innocent swine belonging to others.
Now it may seem like a big leap to jump from stoning little piglets as children to slitting the throats of dirty Kafirs later in life, but to some there may appear to be a disturbing pattern of violence in Islam towards all that it deems “offensive” to it. Now I don’t have a problem with someone not eating certain things due to religious or any other prohibitions, but don’t come to the countries of the West and expect us to kowtow to your every complaint concerning your discomfort about the keeping, eating, or representation of a pig. Here in the West we have a little saying that starts with “When in Rome….”. What we don’t have is one that starts with “We should all be like Mecca…”
We should not put up with it here no matter what. Maybe the answer is to not let so many in, not by the hair of my chinny chin chin.
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Crossposted from The Constitution Club
