Ban the bomb!
Fact: Young people and students in particular have historically been active in fighting against "the establishment" - or at least this is the stereotype we have been presented with after a small group of students in Oxford decided to break those rules. To defend an establishment by starting a pro animal testing protest. Although these guys are clearly braver than your average student- Laurie Pycroft, the 16 year old that started the campaign has got his parents pretty worried- I'm not convinced by any actual arguments I've heard from them. It's all very nice that they are willing to put forward an alternative opinion and have a good old debate about it. However, the fact is that with new evidence suggesting that the use of in vitro or in silico (on computer) testing is significantly more reliable than animal testing their ideas seem outdated and reactionary. Nitrobenzene and Isoproterenol kill people not monkeys.
My own opinions on this issue are quite aside from my politics. I worked with the South African vervet monkey foundation last year and seen the effects animal testing can have on primates. Just the boredom of being kept in a lab for long periods of time can have lasting psychological effects and vervets are the lucky ones in terms of the tests that are done on them.
The pro animal testing activists are nothing new, they could easily be a slightly more vocal and more committed version of the pro-war, invade Iran, let's have nuclear power types in every university. Whenever it becomes apparent that most people are against something a few of them turn up and point out the reasons to be for it. They suggest that a debate should be had and are promptly agreed with at least on that pointit's obvious.
Being able to see both sides of an argument is a respectable skill but it can leave you with some considerably less well-meaning allies. Defending a government that has scrapped a pledge to investigate animal testing after investing in the Biotech industry and chosen to ignore the US government's abuse of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty in it's allegiance against weapons of mass destruction.
Young people and students in particular are generally against the establishment and against the war in Iraq but aren't always inclined to take action. A huge number of us feel that the way the world is being run is wrong but it takes more than an occasional mention and grudging acceptance to change things for the better. As Paddy Hill said when he spoke at Imperial, people need to have the self confidence to take a stand for their beliefs and to believe that their friends will be willing to do the same.
That's why Imperial students who are against the war need to demonstrate on March the 18th. Show the government how many of us there are. That doesn't mean you have to join some left wing society or that the anti-war movement will take over your whole life. It's just one afternoon spent walking around central London with a placard (and occasionally chasing a manic samba band) but it is a chance to be noticed. Remember to demonstrate, 12 midday in Parliament square and people all over the world will be doing the same. When the establishment is a US government lead by someone who has trouble riding a bike and a fitness freak reminiscent of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho it's certainly worth being against it.
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