WRITING NATURE: 
DISCOURSES OF ECOLOGY

 

Snoopy:  Blatant speciesism leads to painful experiments on other species, defended on the grounds of its contribution to knowledge and possible usefulness for our species.  Blatant racism has led to painful experiments on other races, defended on the grounds of its contribution to knowledge and possible usefulness to the experimenting race.
Snoopy:  hello?
Helhe:  Am I alone in here?
burt:  hi
SummerTime:  Yeah, people!!
burt:  what are we talking about?
gorilla:  Anybody there?
gorilla:  Jake, are you flaking on me?
Jimmie walker:  i am here
SummerTime:  OK, so any comments or explanations for the comment?
Jimmie walker:  i have a new name though to hide my identity
Jimmie walker:  ok
Jimmie walker:  much better
Jimmie walker:  lets chat
Jimmie walker:  what was the comment
gorilla:  Sorry, but I missed the beginning of the discussion so what were we saying?
burt:   i missed it too, so i really don't know
Jimmie walker:  gorilla--you are just a big dumb ape
SummerTime:  We are about to discuss the first two sentences by Snoopy
burt:  snoopy?
Jimmie walker:  what were the sentences
gorilla:  Is it just me, or are people avoiding us?
Jimmie walker:  dyn-o-mite!!!
SummerTime:  OK, here it is: Blatant speciesism leads to painful experiments on toher species, defended on the grounds of its contribvution to knowledge and possible usefulness for our species
Jimmie walker:  let's talk
Jimmie walker:  toher species?
Jimmie walker:  interesting concept
gorilla:  contribvtion
SummerTime:  Blatant racism has led to painful experiments on other races, defended on the grounds of its contribution to knowledge and possible usefulness to the experimenting race
Jimmie walker:  racism?
burt:  i thought that was an interesting connection that he made
Jimmie walker:  i think that the statement is true.  any one else?
gorilla:  okay, the body shop is cool and all, but there is a time and a place for animal testing.  sometimes it makes sense.
burt:  i agree
Jimmie walker:  dyn-o-mite!!
SummerTime:  so what is the difference between racism and speciesism?
Jimmie walker:  racism has to do with humans
Jimmie walker:  speciesism has to do with animals
gorilla:  it makes sense that we would hold a different standard for humans than we hold for animals.
SummerTime:  ALthough racist arguments are based on the concept that some people are basically animals..so it is in essence the same argument, no?
Jimmie walker:  very true, apeman
gorilla:  but racists are wrong because humans aren't animals.
Jimmie walker:  no, racism is based on arguments that one race is less than another.  not necessarily animals though, because they have the capacity for speech
SummerTime:  Less than other in terms of less human ..therefore more animal
gorilla:  whoa.  don't get me started on whether animals have language.  ever heard of Koko?
Jimmie walker:  your sister?
gorilla:  what happened to burt?
burt:  i'm here
Jimmie walker:  burt was eaten alive
burt:  shut up!
Jimmie walker:  hahaha
Jimmie walker:  i dont think that koko could rationally talk to humans and form her own ideas, but we will leave that for another discussion
Jimmie walker:  back to the quote
SummerTime:  OK, so is the consensus that we can experiment on animals because they are animals, and that we can't do the same on humans (although there have been sooo much done on humans)
Jimmie walker:  we should experiment on everyone but me
gorilla:  okay, to defend the author of these quotations for once:  racism allows people to devalue other living beings and therefore abuse them.  speciecism might do the same thing.
Jimmie walker:  burt--are you burt ward?  from batman?
burt:  no
Jimmie walker:  too bad
SummerTime:  jw, honey, what are you on?
Jimmie walker:  honey?
Jimmie walker:  dont get me started, sister!
SummerTime:  I agree with gorilla that the basic argument behind  specieism and racism are the same
gorilla:  Burt, is that burt from burt and ernie?
burt:  maybe
gorilla:  how cryptic
SummerTime:  And that even within animals, we discriminate - it's ok to experiment on rats but not so much on tigers and lions, or pet dogs..etc
Jimmie walker:  no that was spelled bert
gorilla:  What's our basis for discrimination in animals: how close they are to humans?
gorilla:  okay, I didn't say that bert/burt had the best spelling.
david james mayer:  rarity
SummerTime:  Hmnm.. well, we do a lot of testing on gorillas and monkeys right?? for transplants especially
gorilla:  nice alias djm
burt:  dare you putting me down or something?
Jimmie walker:  we have sent animals into space before humans so i think even animals closest to man--like gorillas--have been tested
burt:  sorry that's are, not dare
Jimmie walker:  ok, psycho
gorilla:  perhaps that's just expedience, though, because their anatomy is closer to ours, so it makes sense to use them for testing.  It doesn't mean we don't sympathize with them more.
Jimmie walker:  are you talking about humans or gorillas?
Jimmie walker:  from your perspective
gorilla:  I'm talking about how humans feel about testing gorillas.  they'd better feel a little guilty
Jimmie walker:  i would test any new drug on you without so much as blinking
SummerTime:  and some of us do feel guilty about animal testing
burt:  i think it's o.k. as long as the proper guidelines are followed
Jimmie walker:  rats are people too.  eckstein taught us that
gorilla:  isn't anybody on my side?
Jimmie walker:  i am ape
SummerTime:  what are the proper guidelines??
SummerTime:  Pump them with morphine so that they don't feel the pain?
burt:  maybe
Jimmie walker:  humans have been used as test subjects for years by the government so i dont think it would hurt to use animals
SummerTime:  Just because humans have been used doesn't mean it's right
gorilla:  what do you guys think about people who thought it was dishonorable to test animals powerless to defend themselves?
Jimmie walker:  remember the black men who had untreated syphilis in the 1960s
burt:  what?
Jimmie walker:  how many animals can defend themselves against the superior brain power of humans?
Jimmie walker:  gorillas sure cannot
david james mayer:  the tuskegee experiment
Jimmie walker:  is gorilla your first or last name?
gorilla:  yeah, but don't meet a gorilla in the jungle if you plan on living much longer.
SummerTime:  if you put a man and a tiger in a cage, most likely, under absolutely natural circumstances, the tiger will eat you
Jimmie walker:  but why would a human be stupid enough to get into a cage with a tiger?
gorilla:  it's one of the great mysteries.  you'll have to deal with just plain "gorilla"
Jimmie walker:  i like "a gorilla"
SummerTime:  so yeah, as a species against species humans are better doesn't mean that we have the right to abuse other species
gorilla:  adios, bipeds.
burt:  bye.  it was fun
Jimmie walker:  see you apes later
Jimmie walker:  dynomite!!!