Several years ago my father returned from a trip to central America with these slippers. They are made out of alpaca--not just the alpaca's wool, but the whole thing. I was not sure how to react to the gift. I have never liked fur, and at this point I was already deep in internal debate about my relationship to other animals and what I could justify using them for. I didn't like the idea of wearing and perpetuating the use of fur, especially for use in a cheaply-made pair of slippers, but they were already purchased. Uncomfortable, I accepted them, thanked my father, and then informed him that I had moral problems with fur products and asked him to keep this in mind in the future. He's since accommodated this; I think he honestly hadn't thought that giving fur to an animal lover would be a problem.
But since then I have had this quandary: I have these damn alpaca fur slippers that I don't know what to do with. I feel guilty wearing them, but I can't bring myself to throw them out. Something--some one--died, after all, to make those slippers, and wouldn't it be a greater travesty for that sacrifice to go unacknowledged? But I also don't feel comfortable giving them away, as I don't want to somehow encourage the use and wearing of fur, one of the most unconscionable of all animal products. So? Do I wear the slippers? Ignore them? Do I dispose of them in some ritualistic and alpaca-honoring way?
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