Edit scares

In response to the March 3 editorial titled “Let’s put humans first,” more than a few of the statements made scare the hell out of me. The title “Let’s put humans first” has been the motto of the human race for too long. What has it gotten us? Air pollution, water pollution, toxic waste, overflowing landfills, ozone depletion … need I list more? If we continue this attitude, the human race may be one of the next extinct species. The earth is shared by all living things, both human and non-human. Humans cannot exist alone on this planet; every living thing has a purpose.

You attack the people protesting the removal of the geese by accusing us of neglecting other causes to protest something so irrelevant. I do not believe that people who fight for the homeless, the tuition hikes, the upcoming elections and other causes are dropping those to fight for the geese. I know I can only speak for myself, but I can believe in and fight for more than one cause at a time. I believe other people are capable of this amazing feat also.

Your argument against animal rights particularly distresses me; you imply that just because animals cannot communicate as effectively as humans, they should not have rights. What is your opinion about humans who happen to be developmentally disabled (some refer to these INDIVIDUALS as “tards”) or mentally ill (also known as “psychos”, “crazy”, etc.)? These people often lack the ability to defend their own rights; someone else must act in their best interests to protect them. Are they, then, undeserving of the same rights as “normal” humans?

You then bring up a totally unrelated incident at M.S.U. where activists broke into an animal experimentation laboratory and destroyed it. Nothing even remotely similar to this has happened here; petition signing and letter writing are hardly against the law.

Then there’s the issue of the so-called damage the geese cause. Yes, they defecate on the sidewalks. So do the ducks, the squirrels and other animals on campus. These droppings are washed away every time it rains. What about the litter on the campus from students, faculty and staff? The debris they leave is usually NOT biodegradable and remains here until the groundskeepers and student groups collect it and put it in a landfill somewhere … out of sight, out of mind? The geese are also accused of ruining the grass. What about all the damage to the grass caused by the students? Have you ever seen the marching band practice field during marching season? Perhaps we should do away with the band.

Your final slam is that animal rights activists are wasting their time by taking up their cause; there are too many injustices to worry about already. Yes, there are many injustices; what if people thought that womens’ rights or the civil rights movement were just another waste of time? Who gives you the right to decide what people believe in? I thought that this was the United States of America, where individuals are allowed and encouraged to stand up for the things they believe in. Apparently at NIU this is only true if the cause is the “politically correct” cause of the week. I can’t wait to get away from this campus.

Kelly A. Hodge

DeKalb resident