By Paige Nordeen, Senior Staff Columnist
Oh, the joys of protesting. Americans have mastered this form of expression in many ways. From peaceful gatherings to obnoxious rallies, from boycotting a brand to sparking complete mayhem and pandemonium: Protesting gives us the opportunity to voice our opinion and shout out our grievances to the system.
However, we must ask ourselves where to draw the line.
UC Los Angeles neuroscientist David Jentsch has recently fallen victim to an over-the-top group of animal rights activists. According to the Los Angeles Times, Jentsch has conducted his research studying the effects of methamphetamine and tobacco addiction in teenagers. His research also analyzes cognitive abnormalities of schizophrenic patients. Jentsch injects methamphetamine into monkeys and later withdraws the drugs, killing roughly six of them during the course of a year. Infuriated by his practice, animal rights activists have taken quite a stance against Jentsch’s research.
Aside from blowing up his car outside his house last year, protesters gather together on his front lawn about twice a month to shout “murderer,” referring to him as David “Tiller” Jentsch — referencing Dr. George Tiller who was shot and killed by activists for performing abortions. Jentsch has now received death threats and razor blades allegedly stained with AIDS blood in his mailbox, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Jentsch is performing a type of research that kills and abuses the lives of primates to understand a drug problem caused and created by humans. Innocent monkeys should not suffer from the devastating effects of methamphetamine because of our society’s faults and weaknesses. Researchers should eliminate animal testing as a way to understand self-inflicted health problems and addictions. By no means should these small creatures be victims of needles and microscopes, having their lives eradicated because of the misguided life decisions of weak-willed humans. However, writing death threats and setting off car bombs to attack Jentsch is a hypocritical and extreme tactic.
Why should anyone take these people seriously? Animal rights activists get a bad rap because of their radical and violent methods of protesting. It’s too easy to pigeonhole them as deranged individuals — their excessive efforts make it simple for us to do so. Because of their ridiculous actions, Jentsch now requires 24-hour security from armed guards, has to alter his driving routes to campus and constantly changes his parking spots, according to the Los Angeles Times. Haven’t these animal rights activists heard of the saying, “Practice what you preach?” If they are fighting for the humane treatment of animals, wouldn’t you expect the activists to apply those beliefs to their process of delivering that very message? To all of the screwball activists: Time to get a clue, no one will ever take you seriously unless you alter the way you communicate your concerns.
Instead of personally attacking Jentsch for his morally unjust scientific research or shooting and killing a doctor because he performs abortions, these “activists” should try a different, more civilized route. I would suggest rallying popular support, writing to their local government officials or lobbying to change laws regarding the matter. The Animal Legal Defense Fund, is an authorized organization created to protect the lives of innocent animals. ALDF is a perfect solution for those who are concerned about the welfare of animals. Rather than dipping razor blades in diseased blood, these radical activists could simply write a letter without harming anyone.
Among some of the many cases this organization has tackled, the ALDF filed suit against BP for burning endangered sea turtles and has also required the Department of Transportation to report all animal deaths when shipped as cargo on airlines, according to aldf.org. The bottom line is there are other, more logical and humane actions one may pursue to change the laws regarding animal rights. The radical protests brought forth by crazed activists are played out and tired; no one sees the legitimacy of these group’s political goals for good reason. Whether or not you believe Jentsch practices ethical research, I’m sure we can all agree on one thing: The outlandish and cruel tactics animal rights activists use to protest must stop.
— Paige Nordeen is a media studies senior.
— The views expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.
