A great letter to the editor contra Nick Gier.
Dr. Nick Gier assembled lots of really interesting stuff about animals in his Jan. 31 piece, “His View: Progress on animal rights around the world.” No one argues that animals ain’t smart. And of course they are sentient beings; i.e. they respond to stimuli. Plants, too, respond to stimuli, and many are of the opinion that plants can sense pain, and some scientific articles indicate they have intelligence. Now, the good doctor’s personal opinion is that the criterion for right to life is the ability to sense pain, so he asserts that killing an infant (to him it’s only a “fetus”) is jest fine as long as there is “consensus” that they can’t feel pain. I think his challenge for consistency in human diet choices should include that it’s wrong to peel potatoes. But hey, that’s just my personal opinion. And it don’t hurt. So shoot me.
Bob Callihan
Potlatch