Well, John P, like Ann Elk, I have a theory about that.

I think that most people are made uncomfortable by animals' suffering, and they will go to some lengths to avoid it. The originator of this thread puts in time, effort, and expense in rescuing abandond dogs.

I know plenty of meat-eaters who would never hunt game, much less hang up a pig and cut its throat. In Maine, there are organic farmers who help eke out their meagre living by providing tours and workshops. I don't know of any slaughterhouses or egg factories that do the same.

And I think that even if they buy their meat wrapped in plastic and their eggs washed clean and boxed, they are aware of the suffering that precedes and makes possible their meal. Repressing this awareness has a psychological cost, and as a defense they displace their discomfort onto those who remind them of this fact. The macho bravado about meat eating that you see in some of these posts stems, I think, from the same discomfort.

So these outbursts actually give me some hope--that when such posters step outside the arena, they'll drop the pose and give some thought to their motivations.

I know this sounds insufferably smug, but it's the response that their outbursts provoke in me.