Cruelty and Killing, for Publication, for Money, and for No Reason at All
Published May 18, 2009 @ 03:05PM PT
I told you on Saturday that I hoped I would soon be able to direct you to the (devastating) conclusion to this story: Your Turn: Why Unnecessary, Cruel Research Happens. Jen has now posted her story at That Vegan Girl. Please go read it: In Memory of Vincent, Remy, and Henri.
The introduction:
This is a story about three rats. Actually, it’s a story about 25 rats, but only three of them really had a chance at redemption, and even that didn’t happen in the end. I gave them names, even though I never met them, because I couldn’t stand to let them die known only by numbers. They were ordinary hooded rats, three months old. They and their 23 brethren (and of course the other millions of rats we kill yearly) all deserve to be remembered not as objects, but as the clever, curious, sentient beings they were even if they were never treated as such.
This is also a story about three girls in their early 20s; three girls who made very different choices. I wish I could say they were nothing alike, but I think that would be untrue.
From later:
A lot of people in the animal rights movement still deny the logic of direct action, and would never consider taking part. They feel like they should do what they can through legitimate means wherever possible. Before this, that’s exactly how I felt. Now, I can understand exactly what spirit grips those who do what they know to be right, no matter what the costs. In many cases, we cannot trust ‘legitimate means’ when the very system they rest on is so biased against animals. What happens when legitimacy is at the mercy of one person’s bad attitude or psychotic whims? What happens when the whole system is set up to take the blame away from those who don’t follow the rules in place for “the animals’ protection” [and] simply walk away, degree in hand?
There's much more to the post. Please read it. What ended up happening in this case and the actions and inactions taken by those in an official position to stop it is infuriating and horrible, but please do me a favor, would you? You will understand immediately, as I did, when you read Jen's story, that despite her feelings to the contrary, this was not her fault, that she was doing her best to save these lovely animals, and that she couldn't have known what the investigator would do. I know what it feels like to blame yourself for not being able to save the life of an animal you desperately tried to save. Let Jen know the blame isn't hers.
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Photo by Flickr user AlexK100
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Comments (2)
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Author
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Stephanie is an independent animal rights advocate, a vegan, a tree-hugging environmentalist, and a freelance editor and writer. She lives in St. Louis with an aging corgi-lab and an adolescent rescued pit bull.
I haven't read the linked post yet, but just want to comment on the "A lot of people in the animal rights movement still deny the logic of direct action, and would never consider taking part. They feel like they should do what they can through legitimate means wherever possible."
I think the reason a lot of people in the AR movement do that is similar to the reason some publicly distance themselves from PETA -- because of the "tactics" and public perception of them -- whether a "tactic" is illegal, or it is offensive to women and other groups for some reason, and/or can be ridiculed and used against us and the cause by our detractors. I think many prefer to work through legitimate means, because they want to be perceived as "legitimate", and to portray the AR movement as something other than the stereotypes and labeling we've had to deal with.
Back to my reading.
Posted by Sue G. on 05/18/2009 @ 09:22PM PT
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@Sue G
I completely agree. That's one of the reasons I decided to go with legitimate means, one of the reasons I jumped through their hoops and waited for their answers. I didn't want to be "that crazy animal rights girl" who got expelled from the university because I hear the perceptions these people already have of the people in the AR movement. I spent the whole year re-educating them about the whys and whos, breaking their stupid stereotypes down and trying to get them to understand.
On the doors of one of the labs, around the corner from mine, is located a poster that shows a picture of demonstrators protesting animal research. The caption reads "Thanks To Animal Research, They'll Still Be Protesting in 2018". This is the attitude that our department cultivates about the AR movement, and I so desperately wanted to change that - but I don't know if it was worth the lives of these rats.
Posted by Jen Ruff on 05/19/2009 @ 05:47AM PT
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