Hi, Del!!!
I am really touched that the snow monkey program affected you the same way that it did me and my family. I think my litmus test for men whom I not only like but respect as well is a heightened sensitivity to animals, and lack of macho embarrassment at showing sad feelings.
I would agree with everyone who believes that medical research that is cruel to animals, or kills primates, is wrong. Not only are animals intelligent and sensitive and capable of advanced thoughts and feelings, but there is some evidence that the transmission of primate viruses to humans may create significant health problems.
In San Francisco we have a gay man, Jeff Getty, who got a baboon transplant to bolster his immune system against AIDS last year. He is still alive, and apparently doing well, but was cautioned against having sex because of exactly this concern. Of course, the baboon is dead!!! It makes me uneasy to have to depend upon very high standards of behavior in humans, going against their instincts, to protect the general population against new diseases transmitted by interspecies medical experiments.
I am out of time again!!! I wanted to say more, but I am off to the coalmines again. Incidentally, I bet your ponytail is cute!! |
