Sorry, I respectfully disagree.
In matters of cultural differences, I’m very respectful.
In matters of cruelty that arise from either ignorance or callousness or both I’m not.
For example, in parts of Korea it is considered normal to eat dogs. While that is not my thing, I’m not going to campaign against it because meat is, after all, meat. Their dog is my cow and the Hindu’s goat, etc…
However, some Koreans feel that dogs taste better if they experience severe pain while dying. So, dogs are sometimes killed by being flayed alive, subjected to electric shocks, beaten, etc…
In this example, it is the torture that I would and do have a problem with.
Back to Taiwan: Ok, granted many people here don’t share my views on pets. Had the man ate the dog, we’d arguably be having a conversation about a cultural practice that conflicted with the daughter’s idea of having a pet. But, we’re not. No one here knows the economics involved with this family, nor do we know if baba grew up eating “fragrant meat” in the winters of his youth.
What we do know is he abandoned a dog in such a way that will almost certainly result in the dog’s death.
This is not cultural, nor is it excusable in the light of the average Taiwanese family’s income. It is wrong and cruel.
Your example of books and somehow comparing them with a sentient being is, well, hardly worth comment. But, I will let you know the next time I see a novel starving to death at the side of the road.
