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Vivisection
Feb. 28th, 2010 09:48 amDario Ringach was targeted by animal rights activists for his scientific research. The activists--terrorists, really, given their tactics, succeeded in driving him out of the business. But he made the mistake of speaking at a panel about animal research--a panel intended to bring together people of differing views. Now animal rights terrorists have targeted him again, publicly planning to go after his children.
Okay, I'm appalled and infuriated, but I have experience with these people and I don't actually expect any better from them.
No, what really pisses me off is this article in the Huffington Post. And in particular, one term it uses over and over and over:
Vivisection is the practice of dissecting an animal, without anaesthetic, in order to learn more about how a body functions. It was practiced centuries ago, when knowledge of anatomy and biology was rudimentary, and there were no anaesthetics. This occurred before the new liberal idea that violence has an actual moral dimension had taken hold in any significant way, and people were much more cruel, both to other people, and to animals, than we will tolerate now. There were cookbooks with directions on how to roast a goose while keeping it alive as long as possible because the animal's terror and pain were thought to tenderize the meat. It was routine to beat a disobedient apprentice until he could not walk. People were publicly flogged or gutted and torn into four pieces by horses while still alive. And animals were dissected without anaesthetic. Of course no one does any of those things today.
Animal experimentation is any experiment that involves animals. Things like: monitoring a hamster to observe when it goes to sleep and when it wakes up again and how that relates to the presence or absence of light, or its angle or color. Things like: vaccinating a rabbit against a particular protein and subsequently collecting small amounts of blood to produce antibodies to that protein. Yes, it can include things like delaying the time at which a kitten's eyes open by sewing the eyelids shut, carefully and under anaesthetic, and cutting the stitches later to see how that changes the "wiring" in the visual cortex. Nobody is doing it to get a thrill out of hurting animals--in every case there are extensive safeguards to make sure animals are used only when necessary and that the animals are kept as comfortable and safe as humanly possible. Sometimes these animals are killed in the course of research. However we live in a society where the majority of people think it's okay to kill pigs, cows, sheep, deer, and rabbits because we enjoy the taste of their flesh. Contributing to human knowledge is actually important in a way that ten minutes' pleasure with a tasty hamburger is not. Logically, eliminating animal research will require changing some very basic and widely held attitudes toward animals in our society.
Unless, of course, you lie. As using the term "vivisection" about modern animal experimentation is lying. When you hear someone use this word, you are talking to a liar, or someone who has gotten her information from a liar.
Do me a favor and say so.
Okay, I'm appalled and infuriated, but I have experience with these people and I don't actually expect any better from them.
No, what really pisses me off is this article in the Huffington Post. And in particular, one term it uses over and over and over:
Vivisection, or what in polite society is merely called animal experimentation,In polite socieity, vivisection is called "vivisection." You don't hear the word much, not because we're bowdlerizing it with a softer term, but because it is extremely rare.
Vivisection is the practice of dissecting an animal, without anaesthetic, in order to learn more about how a body functions. It was practiced centuries ago, when knowledge of anatomy and biology was rudimentary, and there were no anaesthetics. This occurred before the new liberal idea that violence has an actual moral dimension had taken hold in any significant way, and people were much more cruel, both to other people, and to animals, than we will tolerate now. There were cookbooks with directions on how to roast a goose while keeping it alive as long as possible because the animal's terror and pain were thought to tenderize the meat. It was routine to beat a disobedient apprentice until he could not walk. People were publicly flogged or gutted and torn into four pieces by horses while still alive. And animals were dissected without anaesthetic. Of course no one does any of those things today.
Animal experimentation is any experiment that involves animals. Things like: monitoring a hamster to observe when it goes to sleep and when it wakes up again and how that relates to the presence or absence of light, or its angle or color. Things like: vaccinating a rabbit against a particular protein and subsequently collecting small amounts of blood to produce antibodies to that protein. Yes, it can include things like delaying the time at which a kitten's eyes open by sewing the eyelids shut, carefully and under anaesthetic, and cutting the stitches later to see how that changes the "wiring" in the visual cortex. Nobody is doing it to get a thrill out of hurting animals--in every case there are extensive safeguards to make sure animals are used only when necessary and that the animals are kept as comfortable and safe as humanly possible. Sometimes these animals are killed in the course of research. However we live in a society where the majority of people think it's okay to kill pigs, cows, sheep, deer, and rabbits because we enjoy the taste of their flesh. Contributing to human knowledge is actually important in a way that ten minutes' pleasure with a tasty hamburger is not. Logically, eliminating animal research will require changing some very basic and widely held attitudes toward animals in our society.
Unless, of course, you lie. As using the term "vivisection" about modern animal experimentation is lying. When you hear someone use this word, you are talking to a liar, or someone who has gotten her information from a liar.
Do me a favor and say so.
