The current dark age

[glenatron]

Today was a sad day because the repugnant necrophile bunny-fascists won and although I don't believe for a second that the people running the farm should have had to endure those conditions any longer and I'm not even sure I agree entirely with animal testing in many cases I really hate bunny-fascists. I don't know what it is about them that fills me with rage- I'm sure it's not purely that we get a bunch of them shouting through megaphones near our offices - but I think it's the fact that they are the extremist extension of all that whole "fwuffy bunnies are aw cutesy and no-one should be awowed to hurt them" element of society and also that they are a strong element of the anti-science agenda that appears to be gaining mindshare among the public in general. There are various reasons for that including the resurgence in Christian Fundamentalism (not feeling angry enough at the talibunnies? take a look at the science of the religious right) but I think the main one is that people are stupid. Stupid and badly educated. They want a simple world where scientists can't be trusted ( at heart I want a simple world where scientists can be trusted but that may be equally naive ) and there is a miracle cure for every disease that has never needed to be tested at all. They would rather trust the media scaremongering or to my-word-is-truth preaching than people who have dedicated their lives to study and evidence but cannot say they are 100 percent certain of anything because they know that is not how the world works.

There are more subtle problems- in many cases science can't be trusted while someone with a commercial agenda controls the purse strings but when it comes down to it the scientific method is the most effective tool we have ever developed and to ignore it is criminal.

If I was in charge, being a bunny-fascist would be criminal. In fact I think bunny-fascists would pretty much require capital punishment. Sanctimonious vegans could settle for lifetime imprisonment because they could easily develop into bunny-fascists and anyways there are very few kinds of people more annoying than a sanctimonious vegan.

Comments

[life-of-tom.livejournal.com]

it's the extreme blind hypocrisy of the extremists I can't stand. The way that someone opposed to vivisection or abortion will happily dig up someone's body, or post a nailbomb to a doctor or a scientist's home, knowing they have a family, and justify it because of the result they are looking to acheive. Strange, I thought they hated scientists for using the same argument. I don't have a problem with people objecting to animal testing if they think they have a well-reasoned case (someone like Peter Singer, say, who's pretty vociferous in his arguments against but resorting to barbarism to make your point is an automatic way to lose the argument. The question of whether animal experimentation is worthwhile or indeed needed should always be asked, but it should be asked honestly and without the threat of a facefull of broken glass prejudicing the debate.

I found it quite interesting that on the Today Programme this monrning, there was a debate where the two people pro and anti just ended up shouting at each other, each trying to make his point louder than the other. this was because the anti-vivisectionist didn't let his opponent finish a sentence. He was also trying to score some kind of point over the fact that only a limited number of scientists working in that field were willing to sign a statement in support of animal testing, when the reason those that didn't sign it is most likely that they don't want their door kicked in, their family harrassed, and their life threatened. Fine, have a debate, but come to the table prepared for the fact that the argument itself is what should determine the winner, adn be willing to concede to a better argument than your own. that's what liberalism is founded on, and what liberal fascists forget.

[glenatron.livejournal.com]

The trouble is that once one side has been reduced to barbarism you are on very rocky ground because no matter who won the argument one side has just left the debating room and is outside throwing bricks.