I don't know what's wrong with me. When I was a girl they…
“I don't know what's wrong with me. When I was a girl they had this aviary in one of my foster homes and I'd go in when no one was looking and put out watermelon rinds to feed the flies. There were all these flies that would have starved if I hadn't, and I'm not even wild about flies. They say it makes you a gentler person if you don't eat meat. But wasn't Hitler a vegetarian?”
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
The narrator recalls feeding flies in an aviary, questioning moral judgments about diet and historical figures.
In simple terms: Feeding flies in childhood raises ethical doubts about vegetarianism.
Question assumptions about diet and morality.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- animal care
- personal reflection
- historical comparison
- food choices
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- Do childhood experiences shape adult morals?
- How do we reconcile historical figures' diets with modern ethics?
Personal anecdote may not generalize to broader ethics.