Anthropophagy by Agreement
It is a history teacher’s reverie theoretical, the sort of story everyone would giggle at as an instance so mindboggling as to be impossible. Presuming two middle-aged youths, a man and a woman meet over a renowned social media platform. One had a prolonged yearning to eat another human being; the other had experienced an enduring yearning to be eaten. These youth have engaged in deep, repeated conversations exchanging consent, videotaping their agreement, signing an official ‘willingness pact’, and executing other actions showing the final determination of the man-eater as well as the victim. Presuming, further, that the victim lures the cannibal to complete his heinous act upon the latter losing his nerve. What if both agree to capture the entire progression on a videotape? Presume that the man-eater, who is sound-minded, had previously released multiple potential victims because they apparently failed to give him the same level of repeated, autonomous, and free consent.
What if, while both youths displayed some level of emotional unwellness, they could uphold friendships, embrace executive-level responsibilities, and take on numerous daily duties and tasks? What if, finally, these men lived in a legislative government that did not penalize flesh-eating but considered assisted suicide attracting light punishment? May the man-eater devour the ‘victim’ under such conditions? Such a horrifying case happened in Spain between 2008 April 6th -18th. The trial and the facts thrilled the country and a significant proportion of the globe. Two Spaniard youths, Greg Mendes and Carolyn Sanchez, were involved in this type of deed, resulting in Sanchez’s slaughter and ultimate consumption.
