Word: sharfsteins
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...Joshua Sharfstein's impassioned essay on animal and human rights in the January 18 issue of The Crimson deserves closer consideration, for it contains within it the seeds of a compassion--and intelligence--that transcend the deeply flawed nature of the article's assertions...
...Sharfstein is concerned, and offended, by the increasing number of citizens who are stepping forward as advocates of the rights of all animals. To his mind, the term animal rights is an oxymoron, because animals "are not part of any group who can understand morality, can reason, can conceive of its own existence or can fully comprehend pain." Leaving aside the years of close observation of animals by wildlife researchers that have proved such statements untrue, there is a fundamental question Mr. Sharfstein, in his concern for mankind's comfort, is ignoring about our future: can the interests...
...applaud Mr. Sharfstein for his caring, but I would suggest that his perspective is not yet sufficiently inclusive to serve the interests of compassion. Morissa Lou Williams
...sufficiently distinguishing the interests and means of action of various groups in what Sharfstein collectively refers to as the "animal rights movement," Sharstein's insensitivity further promotes the misunderstandings to which he himself has succumbed. The actions of certain radical groups may be considered deplorable, but this should not be allowed to influence one's judgement of the philosophies and intentions of non-violent groups, such as PETA, which constitute the vast majority of the "movement." The $400 which PETA spent in rescuing lobsters, which Sharfstein suggests could have been used more productively, is less than what many students probably...
...these and many other ways, Sharfstein's article represents an incomplete, irresponsible, and morally complacent attack which fails to appreciate the complexities and significance of the goals of the "animal rights movement," and hence serves to perpetuate the dangerous attitudes behind the acceptance of the exploitation of animals in modern society. James M. Grossman...