Fried Squirrel...It's What's for Dinner

From Screen Captures

Let me preface this posting by offering some personal background information.
I'm not a big fan of guns. They are dangerous in the wrong hands. I agree that "Guns don't kill people-people kill people." Thomas Jefferson, Father of the Declaration of Independence wrote,

"Laws that forbid the carrying of arms ... disarm only those who are neither inclined nor determined to commit crimes ... Such laws make things worse for the assaulted and better for the assailants; they serve rather to encourage than to prevent homicides, for an unarmed man may be attacked with greater confidence than an armed man."

I cannot argue with this logic. I can simply state that the eternal optimist that lives in my heart hopes that if we all put down our guns, there will be less violence in this world and in our children's future.

I do not believe in senseless killing or killing for sport. Truth be told, I have gone without eating meat, entirely, and could do it again. My sappy and mushy heart looks at baby calves and piglets and loves them. I see these creatures play with each other. They jump and chase and wrestle. They have fun. They run to their mothers for love and care when scared. Pigs are known to have an equal-to or greater than intellect than dogs. I imagine their intelligence could rival a few people I know. I wonder what makes humans so much better than all of God's creatures? How do we know for sure that these animals don't have souls? They play and have fun. They show love and care for each other and other creatures. They demonstrate intellect. I believe they have as much right to live as we do.

I do understand and appreciate that we, the human race, are omnivores. God has created our bodies to thrive on plants and animal protein. I conceded my vegetarianism years ago. I reluctantly watched as my husband fed our babies steak. They delighted in it and I was forced to admit that this was as natural for them as the sweet potatoes I fed them.

I have married into a family that does not agree with my sentiments. They have all lived their lives owning and using guns. They eat meat and love it. They are average Americans and there's nothing wrong with that. My husband and his have zero issues with guns or killing animals.

I entered my relationship with Doug young and full of very strong beliefs and ideals. My heart contained very little "gray area."

I was NOT going to raise my children eating animals. Clearly I have conceded. I, too, now partake in carnivorism. Admittedly, I still feel quite nauseous while preparing raw meat.

We were NOT going to have guns in our house. Doug and Austin now have several.

My children were NOT going to lay a finger on a gun. I have conceded on this point as well. Living here in the south, I realize that many families own and use guns. I believe it important that our children be educated on gun safety for fear that one day they will run across one and make a deadly mistake.

Austin was NOT going to own a gun. Clearly this is a right of passage in a Brummett boy's life. Another concession. I agreed to allow Austin his first BB gun at age 10.

Yet again, I have been overruled. Austin just recently received a BB gun from his father and g-dad at the young age of 8. Grrrr...

Okay...Austin will NOT be allowed to shoot animals. He will only be allowed supervised target practice. He is to respect the value of animal life.

Now it is with this last part that I have come to the point of my entire post.

On Sunday afternoon, Doug shot a squirrel with a pellet gun. He first shot it in the rear and then he shot it right in the head. Doug killed the squirrel. My children burst into my house hollering, "Daddy shot a squirrel." They were bouncing up and down with excitement...practically clapping their hands. THIS is NOT who I want my children to be! At what point did MY values become irrelevant? In an attempt to respect Brummett values, I have allowed MY own values to be trampled upon. Where is the mutual respect and accommodation of personal beliefs?

Yours truly lost her cool in a BIG pissed off way. I yelled at my husband in front of my children. I let slip a few colorful words. I'm still wondering if the neighbors heard me. I hollered about animal life and senseless killing. That killing things was at the HEART of my problems with guns. About setting a positive example for our children. You don't kill things and not eat them! About waste. About disrespect for me and animal life. I was truly mortified that my husband killed this squirrel. ( I feed the squirrels and talk to them in the mornings. I feel like he killed one of my friends. For that moment, I hated my husband.)

Shaking with anger, I went inside to mourn for the little critter and my childrens' values. Shortly there after, them smell of cooking meat wafted into the room. Faith announced that, "Daddy's cooking squirrel for dinner!" Are you kidding me? As my anger wavered, my hands ceased to shake. I am personally disgusted at the thought of eating my friends, the backyard squirrels. I feel my stomach sliding its way up my throat at just the thought of my children eating rodent. I was adamantly opposed to it. Still,Doug had heard me. He showed me the respect of not wasting the life he had taken. He ate the squirrel. My children who were so thrilled at the death of this poor creature were each forced to take a nibble. (I opposed this at first, but realize that Doug was right in demanding this.)




As I have shared just a tidbit of this story with others, I have been met with laughter and a request to blog about it. I do see the humor in this story, and I have had a laugh. But I can't really offer my typical smart-mouthed and zany post. This actually hit me pretty hard, for several reasons. I'm still upset about the squirrel and the kid's reaction to its death. However, I'm no longer angry with Doug. He absolved himself the moment he popped that fried squirrel into his mouth.