Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 20, 1993 TAG: 9312200313
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Based on the same ethical principles that prohibit racism and sexism, animal rights seeks to abolish speciesism, the belief that moral concern applies to certain species only, and instead grant the right to f+iallo animals to live out their lives free of abuse and/or exploitation. The various species of sentient creatures on Earth constitute a single, complex, interconnected and mutually dependent web of life, and man is only one part of, not apart from, this biological network.
We live in a violent, commercial society where unbridled greed and human-centered prejudice abound without moral considerations. Sadly, this ``business'' reflects such twisted values. Even more appalling is the fact that our taxes subsidized this anthropocentric endeavor that perpetrates violence against trapped, defenseless creatures.
Albert Schweitzer contemplated: ``To the truly ethical man, all of life is sacred, including forms of life that from the human point of view may seem lower than ours.''
LEE KAYALOFF
ROANOKE
Now gum hazards. Is nothing safe?
WHAT'S the difference in chewing gum and smoking?
I recently quit smoking and switched to chewing gum. When I read the fine print on a Dentyne Sugarfree chewing-gum package, it said: ``Use of this product may be hazardous to your health. This product contains saccharin which has been determined to cause cancer in laboratory animals.''
Minors are not allowed to purchase tobacco products, but they can purchase gum that may be just as hazardous to their health. Maybe they shouldn't be able to purchase gum either.
What is this world coming to? Lord help us all!
DARYL L. CURD
ROANOKE
Why didn't SPCA endorse protest?
CONGRATULATIONS to Tammy Javier of the Roanoke Valley SPCA for demonstrating her opposition to the cruel plan to target shoot at live captive animals at the Boar-Walla death ranch. Where were SPCA President Steve Davidson and the rest of the board members? If SPCA still stands for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, why wasn't the protest endorsed by the organization?
To fulfill its mission, the SPCA must continue to struggle on every level to end animal abuse. If this mission includes political activism, then it should be the leader and not become hostage of economic-interest groups.
It is legal, within our civil rights, even obligatory, to raise questions about injustices, whether those injustices are against human animals or four-legged animals. If we don't stand up for those who cannot defend themselves, we're as guilty of pulling the trigger as those who delight in doing so.
PAT PRATALI
ROANOKE
Give kids the art of the possible
REGARDING the Nov. 18 ``Pregnant and proud'' news article by Beth Macy:
Children do fairly well in school until pre-puberty, and then some adjust and others slide into passivity, self-disgust and worse. To some degree, all kids are at risk.
There are skills and methods we can teach children to use to manage how they feel and act. We're not using these methods. They include goal-setting, which ought to happen at a young age, so that kids have an unfolding future that pulls them forward. At some point, each of us has to learn how to parent ourself. Pre-adolescence is a fine time for this. We have to help kids examine what they believe about themselves and about what's possible in life.
Self-respect and self-responsibility are values we can teach. We have to recognize that happy kids create happy events, rather than that happy events cause happy kids.
We cannot totally eliminate the problem of pregnant and/or violent teens. We can make certain that they know it's not the only game in town.
I appreciate your article and hope you'll do interviews with women who were pregnant teens 10 years ago to see what they've learned.
BILLIE B. ROBINETTE
HILLSVILLE
Santa can use more such helpers
HERE WE go again with the ``bikers'' of the Roanoke Valley (Dec. 6 photo on the front page of the Roanoke Times & World-News captioned ``More rapid than reindeer ... ).
God bless every one of those big-hearted guys who make Santa's toy runs for our little children, make poker runs to help someone having trouble paying medical bills or in need of food, etc. These men and their thoughtfulness are a very important part of our society.
Keep up the good work!
NORMA ALLIE
SALEM
Stick gun owners with health-care bill
REGARDING the Dec. 6 news article, ``Clute offers untarnished alternative'' by staff writer Warren Fiske:
Ms. Clute is quoted as saying, ``She proposes a special tax on handguns to defray the cost of emergency-room care.'' It would be interesting to know why she's taking this position. Does she have competent data to support it, and has she conducted a poll of emergency rooms across Virginia?
I challenge Ms. Clute to provide Virginians with this information. Why does she feel the consumer needs to take on this burden of health care? Can she provide proof that handgun-related injuries are greater than alcohol-related traffic and crime injuries, sexual crimes against women and children when handguns were f+inoto involved or other injuries resulting from criminal behavior where a handgun is not involved? Can she provide information showing the number of injuries that were prevented because of personal protection of a handgun?
Until I see this information in detail in this newspaper, I'll assume she has simply jumped on that liberal bandwagon to burden Virginia's law-abiding citizens.
SHEILA MYERS
MARION
by CNB