savage love

Anyway, is Meiwes guilty of murder? At the very real risk of pissing off the cannibal community (”yes, Virginia, there is a "cannibal community"; a few "cannibal supporters" have been attending Meiwes' trial, lending him their "moral" support”) I take a hard-line position on cannibalism. Gosh darn it, I just think it's wrong. Meiwes may have had his victim's consent (Brandes' consumption was not only videotaped, but also devoutly wished for), but there are times when the very act of giving your consent proves you're not competent to give your consent. A perfectly healthy person who consents to his own sexualized murder, for example, and eats his own tough, overcooked penis before being killed, is in need of mental help, not meat tenderizer. His consent is meaningless, and obtaining it does not exonerate the man who murdered him.

(Dan Savage/Onion AV Club)