Cycling UK Forum

hubgearfreak wrote:

Valbrona wrote:backwards band of interbred crazies....poxy little country

you wouldn't write that about a nation such as latvia or somalia would you?

I think you may have hit the nail on the head - Moral Relativism. Doesn't hat mean that it is ok for all kinds of barbaric acts to be committed by foreign peoples because it is "their culture" and to disrespect them would be racist. Don't they hang snakes up in certain bars in Thailand and skin them alive and drink their blood ? (never been to Thailand).

[quote="mercurykev
Minister is Fergus Ewing http://www.scotland.gov.uk/About/14944/Scottish-Cabinet/fergusewing although chances are he'll decide to promote the practice as a new form of adventure tourism, resulting in an influx of crazed gannet killers descending on the Outer Hebrides.[/quote]

At last someone with a sense of humour on here ....

Valbrona wrote:If God or Mother Nature gave you a consience ... use it. Act upon it.

I can almost understand a backwards band of interbred crazies inhabiting some island-stuck-in-a-medieval-time-warp

This statement shows why we should not take this whole subject seriously.

Why did the normal lot start jumping up and down and shouting about religion being forced upon us again.

If I used a phrase like that to my mental health team I might end up in special accommodation.

So the op is happy to protect a couple of thousand birds by trying to get tourists to avoid a whole country (not just the island itself where it occurs).

Therefore the op is happy to try to decimate the entire tourist industry of Scotland, plunging Thousands of people below the poverty line employed from it, who are innocent to the cause.

Selective suffering of choice it seems to me. Perhaps the op could justify this?

Mattie wrote:

hubgearfreak wrote:

Valbrona wrote:backwards band of interbred crazies....poxy little country

you wouldn't write that about a nation such as latvia or somalia would you?

I think you may have hit the nail on the head - Moral Relativism. Doesn't hat mean that it is ok for all kinds of barbaric acts to be committed by foreign peoples because it is "their culture" and to disrespect them would be racist. Don't they hang snakes up in certain bars in Thailand and skin them alive and drink their blood ? (never been to Thailand).

I think we should boycott Teesside. In certain bars in Middlesbrough they hang cyclists up skin them alive and drink their blood.(I've have been there)

My version of the four bird roast this year will be changing due to reasons of economy and conscience.
This year we'll be having Deep fried Mars bar inside Guga inside Osprey inside a roasted vegitarian. (Keep yer head down hgf). Perhaps with a dolphin sauce.
Can anyone recommend a good wine to go with it? Oh and we'll be replacing Chritmas carols with a loop tape of Scotland the Brave.

The adventure tourism could even have some sort of feast to end the day.

Come to Scotland abseil of cliffs to catch your own sustainable evening meal. No carbon miles in your evening meal, fresh meat prepared by your own hand so you know it has no drugs or preservatives.
A wonderful open air experience in classic Scottish Island scenery only available for limited periods.
A chance to experience the ways of your ancestors and experience the classic cliffs. Tuition given by some of the local population whose ancestors have lived on the island for many generations. Quaint local customs can be seen cyclists not welcome.

irc wrote:

Valbrona wrote: I can almost understand a backwards band of interbred crazies inhabiting some island-stuck-in-a-medieval-time-warp getting a kick out of killing thousands of young sea birds,

I'm sure if you include that phrase in your letter it will be sympathetically received.

Yes, and for best results also include the phrases "Tourist Pound" and "poxy little country"

Moved this out of Touring section as it has little to do with cycle-touring, and is getting more bizarre by the minute.

As for moderating posts on it and the call to do so, I believe that some of the replies were taking things to the extreme such that they matched the OP, and some no doubt thought that the OP was a wind up given its call to disadvantage a whole nation because of the actions of a handful and its lack of recognition of similar practice in the OP's home area (whatever that might be), so I'd just like to ask people not to extract the Michael just for the sake of it please, and for the OP not to be so Imperialist as such ill-thought out statements will just bring more criticism down on your head.

Si is it the person we are not supposed to make fun of or the subject.

I would encourage anyone planning a cycle tour or maybe a general holiday to do their homework on the places they are thinking of visiting, and maybe factor in a moral/ethical dimension to their plans. The Tourist Pound does carry some weight, and some cultural phenomena are clearly unpalatable to tourists and visitors - assuming tourists and visitors actually know about them. And there's not just the issue of animal welfare - the human rights record of many countries is very questionable.

Ok - A bit of self-moderation is due on this thread. Issues of animal welfare can be pretty emotive!

"I would encourage anyone planning a cycle tour or maybe a general holiday to do their homework on the places they are thinking of visiting, and maybe factor in a moral/ethical dimension to their plans. "

As most of us have a sense of proportion that is good advice. Scotland would be pretty high on my list of places to visit on these grounds - only I live here already. May I say that this is probably the most ridiculous call for a boycott I have ever seen. As said above - a few months early. See you at Hunt the Gowk.

Do you get wafers with it?

Never thought of wafers I was thinking more like those toast soldiers you get with pate

Sorry, it was my way of injecting a bit of Python humour into this thread.

Albatross?

I would encourage anyone planning a cycle tour or maybe a general holiday to do their homework on the places they are thinking of visiting, and maybe factor in a moral/ethical dimension to their plans.

I agree. Indeed I couldn't agree more, and I do as you suggest when planning my holidays. Equally, I'm sure you're aware that every country has areas where it falls short of where it could be in moral terms.

What galls me about some of the responses on this thread is not that people disagree with the boycott request, but that they seem to find the needless killing of animals amusing. On a personal level, I find this pretty tasteless. I was under the (obviously mistaken) impression that people who were passionate about cycling would also have broader environmental awareness, given the low impact nature of the sport. And, given that environmentalism also includes the well-being of other species, I would have thought (again mistakenly it seems) that sympathy with species protection would also exist.

But not to worry. It's good to have your preconceptions challenged. But, to the original poster, I'm pleased that you raised the issue, despite the title. It confirmed to me what I've known for a long time - you live by your own ethics - trying to convince anyone else of their importance is a complete waste of time.