I have seen cows strolling around the city streets in all areas of India. Even the “elegant” areas are not cow-free….cows don’t read the street signs and one town is as good as the next. They tend to be on the skinny side, since they are nibbling whatever they can find on city streets. They are also docile and friendly; I have never seen cows or bulls here get aggressive or vicious. They have learned to peacefully coexist with local populations. I have heard that local populations also bring them food sometimes - - like chapatis (flatbread) - - (is that nutritionally valuable for cows??) though I have never observed cows getting fed. I am told that these cows are owned by farmers, but they are set off to wander freely during the day to forage for food. If they are indeed “owned” and not homeless, I have no idea how their owners ultimately find them at the end of the day.
It seems a real contradiction; cows are worshiped and not slaughtered, yet they live such a dismal existence on the streets of the cities. I am perplexed about how people that worship these animals can still tolerate their living conditions. (That said, if they CAN’T tolerate their living conditions….I’m not certain what they can actually do about it)…I find it reminiscent, though, of Right to Life movements, where so much energy is invested in ensuring that embryos emerge as babies. But less energy is expended in ensuring that the babies born will have the infrastructure and support to live good lives, despite poverty and other conditions that will challenge their lives.
Hi Sara! Here's a bright side, many Right-to-Lifers are supportive of born children and their parents, and not just pre-borns. E.g. our local non-sectarian help center (Birthright) is chock full of clothes for a variety of ages, other donated child supplies, and support services and referrals for a vast array of support for struggling parents including many with language and cultural barriers. Sweet ladies aged 24 through 88 take shifts at the desk providing the above plus a supportive shoulder to the women and families who walk in. Men help behind the scenes. This pattern is replicated frequently across the fruited plain by hundreds of thousands of volunteers. But, understandably, all this is a lot less "newsworthy" than vocal opposition to legal/tax-subsidized foeticide, which itself is a lot less newsworthy than the handful of "right-to-lifers" who commit acts of violence. So the coverage skews the perception. A lot of people are nicer than we would think! -- John P.
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