A Christian’s Endangered Monkey Meat

Considering atheists celebrate Monkey, brown people have been called macacas, and the fact that I am a vegetarian, I’m deeply offended by this on all sorts of levels.

A federal judge in Brooklyn has rejected a Liberian woman’s religious reasons for smuggling endangered monkey meat into the country.

U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Dearie ruled Wednesday that Mamie Manneh’s faith didn’t preclude her from applying for permits to import exotic food or explain why she misled officials.

Manneh was charged with smuggling the meat three years ago after customs agents seized a shipment of primate parts as it passed through Kennedy Airport on the way to her home in Staten Island.

Manneh’s lawyers claimed a First Amendment right, arguing that some Liberian Christians eat monkey meat for spiritual reasons.

Eating monkey meat?

Besides sounding kinda dirty, that just seems wrong.

And since when was monkey meat part of any Christian ritual…? I don’t remember that part of the Bible.

I guess the lady just wanted to try some Rhesus Pieces (Ha!)

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Loren Petrich

Monkey meat? If she wants monkey meat, she can always eat lab-monkey meat. Wild monkeys are too vulnerable to overhunting.

And where in the Bible does it talk about eating monkey meat? There are only two references to (nonhuman) simians in all the Bible: 1 Kings 10:22 and 2 Chronicles 9:21, referring to some exotic animals that King Solomon had.
Milena

The practice is probably the result of integrating non-Christian traditions with Christianity, especially given that Liberia was created as a colony by freed slaves in the 19th century. In a struggle to preserve cultural ties to their past, while living according to the Christian religion with which they were indoctrinated, it’s entirely possible that some Liberians created their own rituals.
Jamie G.

Milena said:

In a struggle to preserve cultural ties to their past, while living according to the Christian religion with which they were indoctrinated, it’s entirely possible that some Liberians created their own rituals.

That doesn’t happen!

Cough, cough Christmas…Easter Cough, cough
Dan Gilbert

Rhesus Pieces… *groan*

LOL 😉
Margaret Yang

Cheers to the judge for doing the right thing, though.
TheDeadEye

Great green globs of greasy, grimy gopher guts,
Mutilated monkey meat
Dirty little birdie feet.
Great green globs of greasy, grimy gopher guts,
And me without my spoon.

Had to.
Loren Petrich

Or maybe they are inventing some religious pretext out of nowhere. Some Africans consider “bush meat” an exotic delicacy, and these ones may be inventing some pretext to continue eating their favorite bush meat.
Pustulio

I think whether or not there is a valid religious basis for eating monkey meat is irrelevant. The Free Exercise Clause is not a pass to violate laws which are otherwise secular in nature. For instance you can’t justify murder by claiming that your religion demands human sacrifice to please the gods.
GDad

“Rhesus Pieces.”

You are my new hero.
Alex Fear

Why are you deeply offended?

It’s not as though the woman was attempting to smuggle meat because her intention was to offend Asians and Blacks.

She’s Lebonese, she probably doesn’t even realise this species of monkey is endangered.. so what if it’s for a religious festival or not.

It’s a bit like if some far Eastern nation decided Turkeys were an important/sacred animal and then prevented Americans from killing and cooking them for thanksgiving. No big deal. Happy Turkey to you.

Nothing to see here, move along…
GDad

“She’s Lebonese, she probably doesn’t even realise this species of monkey is endangered.. ”

So, the Lebanese are ignorant hicks? That doesn’t sound like an especially enlightened viewpoint.
Alex Fear

@GDad,

May be difficult for you Americans to appreciate but not all nations and peoples speak English, have McDonalds or recognise international law (or are aware of it).

I certainly don’t remember being given a list of endangered species that I am not to eat at any point from first school to applying for my first passport.. so some people may not be aware.. doesn’t make them hicks as you imply.
Richard Wade

Any defense based on her being ignorant that the meat was contraband is bogus. According to the Associated Press the monkey parts were hidden in crates of smoked fish. She wouldn’t have done that if she had assumed it was acceptable to import it.
GDad

@Alex Fear,

I hope I’m not coming across as attacking, and if so, I very much apologize. I think I was a bit sensitive to broad brush painting like we see in American popular culture about atheists. (Ex: All atheists eat babies. All atheists are immoral.)

But also as Richard Wade indicates, I don’t think we can accept a plea of ignorance.
Alex Fear

@GDad

No worries.. so who said atheists eat babies etc..? Seriously?

You want references for baby eating.. try the Jews..

Lamentations 4:10

😉