# In response to Column on Cannibalism **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [July 2, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271 "2004-07-02T20:17:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/1 "2004-07-02T20:17:58Z")
[http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040702.html](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/040702.html) [This](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=174724)thread has more on the subject than you need to know. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/2 "2004-07-02T22:01:15Z")
I just read the column and was wondering if Cecil even knew about that thread. ---
**Author:** ![Charlie\_Tan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/charlie_tan/32/12582_2.png) [@Charlie\_Tan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Charlie_Tan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2004, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/3 "2004-07-02T23:52:51Z")
I thought I’d add some to the Swedish part of the column. **Vore** is a form of the verb **att vara** - to be. It translates roughly as _were_, e.g. “If I _were_ president of the US, I’d…” It’s a bit archaic though. I aqlso note that Google comes up with ~265k pages in Swedish, leaving a discrepancy that I’m not interested in researching further, considering the subject. ---
**Author:** ![wheelie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b4bc9f/32.png) [@wheelie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheelie)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/4 "2004-07-03T00:40:22Z")
> [@](#): > > permitted his host to slice off and cook his central extremity, which the two then attempted to eat. (Apparently it came out a bit tough.) “Central extremity”? :eek: This is the most disturbing thing I have read in a looong time. I need a beer 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Naman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@Naman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naman)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/5 "2004-07-03T01:24:02Z")
Cannibalism is a subset of vore, and the one that tends to get us (yes, I am a phagophile/vorarephile/whatever you want to call it) viewed in a bad light. For the record, most of us do not condone real-life cannibalism, nor do we condone the consumption of live animals. Vore, as it is to the vast majority, is strictly a fantasy, and stays that way. We might role-play such things, or write stories, or draw pictures, but that’s the extent of it. It’s not much different from those who RP out other fantasies of a more “adult” nature, and is harmless. Vore is, like any other aspect of sexuality, not a thing we can change. It’s there, and we have to deal with it. Before anyone starts crying “sick freaks”, I kindly ask you to imagine what it would be like to grow up knowing you had this aspect to yourself, and how it would feel to be all alone in this. (Most vores likely never find the vore communities on the internet, and most who do find them had, until then, thought they were the only ones who had these disturbing thoughts/feelings.) I’m not posting here to bring light to vore for you, or really to try to help you understand more than the fact that, outside of a few individuals, it’s harmless. (And you will have a few “sick” individuals in any group, it’s a given.) I’m mostly posting this because I fear that Cecil’s column may draw unwanted attention to our communities. We don’t have “vore pride” or want to let the whole world know how “great” being vore is. We just want to peacefully co-exist with everyone else, and be allowed our “strangeness.” That said, if you’re curious about vore, I recommend investigating things, but if you think it’s “sick” or “wrong,” I respectfully ask you, as a fellow human being, to leave us alone. From my experience, this community is generally enlightened and circumspect, but I am still a bit afraid things could go sour. We (vores) already have to deal with crippling attacks from the Something Awful goons, and don’t need any more attention, especially negative attention. ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/6 "2004-07-03T19:35:09Z")
We’re pretty broad-minded on the Straight Dope boards, **Naman**. I don’t think anybody here would automatically make the assumption that fantasizing about something automatically means you’d do it in real life. We have discussed “furry” fandom here, and I think it’s been made clear that fantasizing about _being_ an animal doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have sex with them. We have even had discussion threads on rape fantasy, where the line between “legal fantasy” and “real crime” is far more clear. Similarly, necrophilia fantasy doesn’t automatically mean the subject _murders_ the victim in order to engage in his fetish hands-on. Master/dom and slave/sub role-playing has been discussed at length as well, and hoo, that was an interesting thread! We even have a poster ( **Tentacle Monster** ) who named himself after a particular fetish of Japanese adult animation. This _particular_ case hit home in the thread which **AnnieXmas** linked because the victim was a former co-worker of a SDMB member. I’d like to think most of us can separate that particular crime, a real event, from mere fantasy or fetish. If you’re interested in fighting ignorance on your particular topic, by all means sign up for the message board. By and large, we of the SDMB are eager to learn, and most of us are good enough not to be judgemental. ---
**Author:** ![Naman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@Naman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Naman)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/7 "2004-07-03T20:24:49Z")
Thank you for the reassurance. I figured you folks wouldn’t do the typical intolerant “hey, let’s attack them” thing, but I wanted to clear some things up just in case. Hope my post was helpful, and I will keep up on the site. Not quite sure if I’ll join the forums proper yet, but I may do so. Thank you for reminded me that not all people attack what they do not fully understand. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/8 "2004-07-03T20:33:51Z")
[graham chapman] There is no cannibalism or necrophilia at all in the Royal Navy! And when I say none at all, I do mean that there is a certain amount. [/graham chapman] ---
**Author:** ![Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bc8723/32.png) [@Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/9 "2004-07-03T21:43:05Z")
Just lurk for a while, **Naman.** I’m sure you’ll get the idea soon enough. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/10 "2004-07-05T20:55:52Z")
> [@wheelie](#): > > “Central extremity”? :eek: > > This is the most disturbing thing I have read in a looong time. > I need a beer 😉 I’m assuming that this is a euphemism for “penis”. Are there really that many papers that would object to the word? ---
**Author:** ![Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f0a364/32.png) [@Rube\_E.Tewesday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rube_E.Tewesday)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/11 "2004-07-05T20:58:26Z")
> [@rowrrbazzle](#): > > I’m assuming that this is a euphemism for “penis”. Are there really that many papers that would object to the word? Not the kind of papers that publish Cecil. But — “central extremity” is funnier. ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/12 "2004-07-06T14:57:08Z")
Meiwis was diagnosed as “schizoid?” I thought schizoids were basically solitary folks who avoid intimate relationships with others (e.g. H.P. Lovecraft or Emily Dickinson) and were rarely, if ever, violent. Wouldn’t “sociopath” have been a more fitting category for someone who would kill and eat another human being for sexual pleasure? ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/13 "2004-07-06T15:01:39Z")
I dunno, I’m not sure a sociopath would bother advertising for volunteers. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/14 "2004-07-06T15:57:33Z")
[The DSM-IV definition of ‘schizoid’.](http://cebmh.warne.ox.ac.uk/cebmh/elmh/nelmh/schizophrenia/diagnosis/dsm/page4.html) Basically, it comes down to having four or more of the following symptoms: [ul] [li]neither desires nor enjoys close relationships, including being part of a family [/li][li]almost always chooses solitary activities [/li][li]has little, if any, interest in having sexual experiences with another person [/li][li]takes pleasure in few, if any, activities [/li][li]lacks close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives[/li][li]appears indifferent to the praise or criticism of others [/li][li]shows emotional coldness, detachment, or flattened affectivity [/li][/ul]So, apparently, a schizoid person is what most people would simply call a geek\* or a loner. In other words, there’s nothing in the definition that would predict any kind of paraphelia, let alone one as extreme as cannibalism. \*(The differential diagnosis section mentions Autism and Asperger’s Syndrome, two more classically geeky diagnoses.) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/15 "2004-07-06T19:29:59Z")
I’m not sure I would call the schizoid symptoms “geeky”. Geeks/nerds don’t generally have any problem with familial activities. They’ll usually not chose solitary activities, given the choice, although they usually only socialize with others of the same type. Most are interested in sex with others, but just don’t get the opportunity, etc. Meanwhile, how is it possible that Meiwes could be “schizoid but not mentally ill”, as diagnosed by his shrink? Isn’t “schizoid”, by definition, a subset of “mentallly ill”? ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/16 "2004-07-06T20:17:00Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Meanwhile, how is it possible that Meiwes could be “schizoid but not mentally ill”, as diagnosed by his shrink? Isn’t “schizoid”, by definition, a subset of “mentallly ill”? I don’t know where in the trial or the expert opinion those words were used. Since googling the _direct_ translation (“schizoid geisteskrank” plus a few variations) doesn’t return a single relevant result, I suspect that it is a loose translation of something else. However the decisive question wasn’t whether Meiwes was mentally ill “in general” but whether he was _schuldfähig_ - “capable of guilt”. The expert opinion said that while he was “severely mentally abnormal” his “ability of control was not restricted” and therefore he could be sentenced. [(German cite)](http://www.faz.net/s/Rub77CAECAE94D7431F9EACD163751D4CFD/Doc~EF2EE29E56A24417D85727BEBF723D532~ATpl~Ecommon~Sspezial.html) ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/17 "2004-07-06T22:07:08Z")
> [@kellner](#): > > I don’t know where in the trial or the expert opinion those words were used. Since googling the _direct_ translation (“schizoid geisteskrank” plus a few variations) doesn’t return a single relevant result, I suspect that it is a loose translation of something else. My German is extremely limited, but let’s see … “geistes” could loosely be translated as “spiritual” or “mental,” while “krank” would be translated as “illness,” “sickness,” or “disease.” So “geisteskrank” looks like a term for mental illness to me. However, schizoids are not psychotics. It’s a personality disorder, not a psychosis. It’s just that, while schizoids are definitely _a_social, they aren’t usually _anti_social. Frankly, I have a hard time believing that a schizoid would have the social skills to persuade someone else to allow themselves to be killed and eaten! They’re hardly dominant or domineering personalities … ---
**Author:** ![LonesomePolecat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a88e57/32.png) [@LonesomePolecat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LonesomePolecat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/18 "2004-07-06T22:21:41Z")
Isn’t it rather odd the American media made so little of the story? Even the supermarket tabloids appear to have largely ignored it, and you’d think \* The Weekly World News \* would have had a field day with something like this … ---
**Author:** ![kellner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c2a13f/32.png) [@kellner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kellner)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2004, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/19 "2004-07-06T22:24:17Z")
> [@LonesomePolecat](#): > > My German is extremely limited, but let’s see … “geistes” could loosely be translated as “spiritual” or “mental,” while “krank” would be translated as “illness,” “sickness,” or “disease.” So “geisteskrank” looks like a term for mental illness to me. Yes, it is. My point was just that we shouldn’t expect too much from a phrase that is perhaps only a result of translation without being used that way originally. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 7, 2004, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-response-to-column-on-cannibalism/253271/20 "2004-07-07T03:20:46Z")
So what ever happened to [manmeat.com](http://manmeat.com)?