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Letters to the Editor
PETA speaker lacked respect
I attended this meeting (a presentation by Gary Yourofsky a member of PETA who came to the Atwood Little Theatre Feb. 25 -Ed.) just like anyone else, because I was curious what all the fuss was about. Animal rights? Well, how many rights should animals have? According to the Gary Yourofsky, animals are next on the list for a new civil rights movement. Gary was not a mean guy, but he seemed to be really against the people that chose to eat meat or dairy products. He spent a lot of time trying to get the audience to believe why we should all be vegans. He used tactics such as contrasting carnivores from herbivores to showing us his homemade videos from the slaughterhouse, which were about as graphic as one could imagine. Many people looked distressed after seeing this, and I don't see why they wouldn't be. The fact of the matter is that there are a lot of people that don't know what it takes to kill an animal. It is not easy, but that does not mean it is wrong. It is important to remember that animals are not our equals. I am sorry to those that want to believe they are. Gary wanted to believe; he made it sound as humans and animals were on the same level and it was like cannibalism if we ate them. If there are people that do not like eating food that casts shadows, it is their choice and I respect that. In return, they also should respect others when they choose what to eat.
Anthony Long
Freshman, Biology
Bill hurts disadvantaged most
I am writing to address the misinformation in the letter about "Real Choice." First of all, the idea of an "abortion industry" is an illusion. Abortion is no more an industry than dental work is. Many clinics have lost funding because they provide abortions. That's right, folks, their funding is being cut for performing a perfectly legal procedure!
Also, there is no medical consensus on the fact that a fetus can feel pain. Many physicians -- who are not pro-choice -- believe that the parts of the brain necessary to feel pain are not developed until well into the third trimester. Less than 1 percent of abortions are performed in the third trimester, and most of those are done for medical reasons.
Finally, the so-called "Women's Right to Know" bill is insulting to women. This bill implies that women are incapable of making decisions regarding their health. In reality, by the time they arrive at a clinic, most women are very clear about their reasons for wanting an abortion. Clinics already routinely provide counseling and will not perform an abortion for any woman who seems uncertain about her decision. For some, the mandated delay is more than insulting. It is cruel for a woman ending a pregnancy due to complications, or a woman who has become pregnant through rape or incest to be required to make a trip to the clinic to receive anti-choice information, then wait at least 24 hours to reconsider her decision.
For many women, making a trip to a clinic is difficult; a second trip impossible. Abortion providers are not accessible to many women due to the scarce numbers of doctors. Eighty-six percent of counties in the U.S. have no doctors trained, qualified and willing to perform abortions. Many women, especially women living in rural areas, must travel hundreds of miles to reach the nearest clinic.
This bill only makes obtaining an abortion more difficult, dangerous and expensive for women. The harm done is disproportionate to those who have the fewest resources--poor women, minors, rural women, working women without insurance or sick leave and battered women.
Amanda Rae Seelen
Senior, Women's Studies and Human Relations
Don't be proud of Christianity
Ever feel like Cartman from South Park? I do now. I used to feel it was a Dilbert world. People are just innocently ignorant of the world around them. But a short while ago I read a response to a review someone did on a Christian group in which she stated proudly that Christianity had lasted 2000 years and that 10 years was nothing to Christians.
Is it me or was that the most stupid thing to be proud of? Christianity is the most blood-soaked, cheating, conniving religion ever made on a belief. It's like a Nazi saying he was proud that he killed six million Jews or Mcdonald's having instead of "we serve billions," "we killed billions because of obesity." Now I say this knowing I'm going to get lynched by the millions of Bible thumpers just looking for a good witch hunt, but I don't care anymore. Christians are okay people except for one glaring huge flaw in their system. There is never any responsibility in the system. Oh, millions where killed by the inquisitions but I'm not responsible because I'm Lutheran not Catholic. There was a witch hunt in Salem, but that's not my fault because that was a different time and a different sect. There were thousands of Muslims killed in the Crusades, but no one here has any responsibility toward that because that was the earlier Christians.
It's like saying if we get rid of Bush everyone will love us again and it's wrong. I come from a Christian background, and I don't like the idea that a man can kill 34 other men in cold homicidal blood or two boys can go and shoot up their school for s-- and giggles and not pay for it because God forgives all sins as long as you believe Jesus is your savior. If a person is Hindu or Muslim or Buddhist or even a person of Jewish faith (you know the ones you ripped off and tortured even though your religion comes from them), they have a knowledge that says that those Christians they kill are sins or marks on their soul that they don't get forgiven for.
Christianity used to have this belief, but they never seemed that interested in it. It probably was too big of a burden for you to deal with, same as learning the language your religious text is written in. Now I'm not saying belief in God is bad, nor am I saying Jesus is bad either. Jesus was a good guy from what's written about him. He said a bunch of things that many Christians don't listen to, like "turn the other cheek" and "he who hath not sin cast the first stone" and "love the sinner hate the sin." The problem is as it always is--with the people who follow the church and not the faith. It's when people do this I want to kick them in the nuts.
Chris Welch
History
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