Fur for the Poor?

This is a real fur coat. Notice how I’m not throwing buckets of red paint on it or my unsuspecting friend. This coat is from Turkmenistan, as is the now deceased owner of it’s skin. Turkmenistan is bordered by Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Iran and the Caspian Sea. It was once part of the former USSR. Its biggest boon is a hydrocarbon/natural gas reserve that remains relatively untapped. Their Stalinesque dictator has just died, however his giant gold statues and ubiquitous, jeering, Big Brother posters remain. There is no central heating in most Turkmeni homes. While it is a desert, it does get lip-chapping, finger-numbing frigid in the winter, with temperatures dropping to -20F. Often the more fortunate Turkmen warm their apartments with their oven. 58% of the population lives below the poverty line. Malnutrition is a common ill. When the above lady worked in this country, she would often walk in on her teaching colleagues with streaks of white powder across their lips and a shamed look in their eyes. Sometimes women unknowingly eat chalk because they lack adequate levels of iron. Back to the coat. All parts of the animal were used in the making of this apparel. As a meal or whatever it is people do with animal intestines. Under these circumstance, I’m pretty much O.K. with this fur.