CANNIBALISM
A The 2002 case of consensual cannibalism in Germany, in which Armin Meiwes slaughtered and ate Jurgen B, has brought this controversial subject back into the forum. Considered by many to be the most heinous of crimes, cannibalism, nevertheless, still holds a lot of fascination for people. This can be seen in the popularity of fiction and non-fiction accounts of cannibal killers. Dr Hannibal "the Cannibal "Lecter from The Silence of the Lambs is virtually a household name, while real-life cannibals like Jeffrey Dahmer and Ed Gein achieved remarkable notoriety. Perhaps the most disturbing example of this phenomenon is the story of Issei Sagawa. Sagawa, an English literature student at the Sorbonne, fell in love with a German woman, who he then murdered and ate. Judged unfit to stand trial in France, he was extradited back to Japan, where, unrepentant, he became a national celebrity, writing several bestselling novels. Now free, he writes his own regular column.B The above are all cases of pathological cannibalism, but has cannibalism ever been socially acceptable? Anthropologists fred this a difficult topic because it arouses such strong feelings in people. The word "annibal" comes from Columbus description of a Caribbean tribe called the Caniba who were reputedly man-eaters. Europeans declared cannibalism the worst evil and so gave themselves justification for the violent subjugation of indigenous peoples. Thus, cannibalism was used to justify colonisation of the Americas and many Pacific isles, as well as Africa.
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