Where Do We Draw The Line?
Saturday, January 20, 2007
I do not often get upset, but when others mistreat or waste life, I feel sad. It is an issue that I have fought most of my life. I seem to always be standing alone on one side asking people to understand that even though organisms may not be human, that not mean it is a life worth wasting.
I am at a point in my life where I use animals for research. However, I do not treat them as research animals. I do not waste life as if it has no meaning. I recently instructed a student on how to 'wire' a crayfish. This is a very delicate procedure and one slip of the scalpel can cause death. I carefully explained how to be gentle and why we take the time to do it properly. I am sad to say, the this student did not heed my words. As any instructor would do, I calmly explained the mistakes seen, only to receive an off-handed reply about it only being a crayfish.
So I now ask all of you this....when does a life have value. Does it have to be human, do we save a cat/dog and then draw the line. I find myself saying that it has to be more than that. Who are we to make those decisions. When are the moments that you question your actions? I may be one of the few, but I have always had a difficult time sentencing anything to death.
The idea of wasted life makes me angry. Why do we put higher value on things with higher cognitive ability. Is that all that really matters? If that is true, then answer this....where do the mentally handicapped fall? If we are judging by those criteria, it would it seems that this category should be treated as we treat the lowest of invertebrates. And yet, by my saying that it upsets people...why? Where do you draw your line? It seems to not be in the same place that I draw mine. What are your boundaries?
So this brings me to my next point. We often hear that everyone has rights. Rights to live and breathe and have children. We are outraged when our rights are stripped away. And yet, you are not outraged by those who do not have any rights. Why is that? I see more people willing to ignore what they don't want to see. It's as if by looking away .... things are not really as they are. This tactic is used from the smallest infractions the the most horrendous of acts...and yet people treat them the same. I wish this would work for me...but I cannot turn a blind eye to injustice.
So if humans make the line, then how can you sleep at night at what is going on all around the world. How do you ignore genocide and infanticide and all other crimes against humanity. If you say you are outraged..where is the outrage? What will be your actions? So I ask this, when is enough, enough. When will it be bad enough for you stand up and say you care. I only ask when you will care enough to open your eyes to all that is happening. When will you stand up for all things including humanity.
And to think this all started by just little conversation of treating crayfish with respect. It seems where we draw our lines makes a difference after all!
Labels: Life
posted by Sonya @ 1/20/2007 03:03:00 PM,
5 Comments:
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At January 20, 2007 at 3:52 PM,
Sakshi said...
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Well Written and such a valuable point.
As a scientist, I have had to sacrifice smaller creatures. This is usually justified as "this might (might.. a slight chance) save hundreds of humans." Yet we don't respect the animal who ends up loosing its life for our knowledge. Sadly we humans not only ignore smaller creature but are blind to abuses on felllow human beings. If it does not happen in my house, I dont care - is what most people follow. What they forget is if it happens to them, then aren't the rest justified in taking the same stance? Why should then I care? -
At January 20, 2007 at 4:03 PM,
Sonya said...
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I totally agree. You can only say the same thing over and over again so many times. If they won't listen, then they just won't listen. But when it affects them, they're outraged. Why does it have to be on your doorstep for you to care? The example that I keep coming back to is when the dead zone happened in the Gulf of Mexico. All life in the water was dying due to large bacterial blooms resulting from high nitrogen run-off coming from the Mississippi river. People's lives were being destroyed due to businesses going under and food supplies dramtically depleted. When agencies confronted farms along the Mississippi River, they didn't care. They would not reduce pesticides and fertilizers usage on their farms. It sad to say that until they started poisoning their own drinking water that they decided to stop. I just don't understand why. Why wouldn't you care about other people and the problems that are destroying thier lives? I am not a 'people person' and yet I care...go figure that one out!
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At January 20, 2007 at 4:29 PM,
Pam said...
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Well said. I have tried to say the same thing on my blog, but I didn't say it as eloquently as you. I work in a research lab that studies anxiety behavior in rats. I feel bad when they have to be sacrificed. It is serious business to me.
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At January 20, 2007 at 4:35 PM,
Sonya said...
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@ Pam -- Thank you for responding. Often times I come across and sensitive or some other term people like to use to discard these thoughts. Many times it's hard to be an animal person and also a researcher at the same time. I find myself in a tug-of-war with my love for science and my conscious....I can honestly say that science doesn't always win.
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At January 20, 2007 at 7:41 PM,
Pam said...
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I know what you mean. Sometimes I wonder if I should be in research at all when I am such an animal lover. I struggle with it. However, I am only a research technician, and I was able to tell my boss before I was even hired that I do not want to sacrifice the rats! Fortunately, they were ok with that, so I mostly just do the benchwork!
I really like your blog!
