"Flesh, Castration, and Unbridled Capitalism"

From the always-entertaining Columbia Spectator, a dose of capitalism-is-responsible-for-all-evil. On today's slate: speciesism:

Distorted notions of capitalism have been the impetus for our complete apathy towards the issue of animal rights. We see it as meat, not flesh; we see it as Donald Duck, not the beakless animal that died from noise distress and claustrophobia; we see it as just another meal, not the senseless murder of a real, living creature. What is essentially wrong about this is that we've allowed capitalism to turn a blind eye to moral and ethical considerations, and it has hit the ground running for profit.

The knowledge that he is being manipulated by Disney and the robber barons hasn't quite managed to turn the author vegetarian, though:

There was once a time when I could casually drive my fork into one of John Jay's steaks and then slice it swiftly with my knife—without wincing. I haven't become a vegetarian, but my relationship with the steak in front of me has changed greatly within the last month. I eat it with a strong subconscious sense of awareness. Those cows have suffered for us! They've sacrificed their lives!

From my lofty vantage point as an old, wise 26-year-old, I note the unsurprising tagline:

The author is a Columbia College first-year.