Guest guest Posted August 10, 2002 Report Share Posted August 10, 2002 ***************************Advertisement*************************** eCentral - Your Entertainment Guide http://www.star-ecentral.com ***************************************************************** This message was forwarded to you by yitzeling. Comment from sender: This article is from thestar.com.my URL: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2002/8/6/features/siewbeks & sec=f\ eatures ________________________ Tuesday, August 06, 2002 From the animal & #8217;s point of view THE reason why we have columns like Chew on This is to present alternative perspectives on issues we take for granted and to provoke otherwise smug, “unthinking” readers to reflect on what we do and why we do things. But of course my article is insensitive and ludicrous from the perspective of someone like Angel Tan, humans to whom my article was meant to provoke. But are you sure it is insensitive and ludicrous from the perspective of animals? And by what stretch of the imagination did you arrive at such a categorical statement that they are not traumatised by the experience of being watched by humans? Humans are fascinated with all and sundry. It has all to do with what humans want, need and desire, never mind how they go about it. Your views are selfish and myopic, and shows how insensitive you are to the feelings of other living things. Indeed who is the greatest predator of all, if not man himself? If it is downright insensitive to cite the example of a man permitting others to watch his wife give birth, by the same logic why isn & #8217;t it insensitive to watch and pry into the intimate affairs of animals? Is it because they are just mere animals and we humans are superior? That appears to be the line of argument Angel Tan adopts by the tone of her letter, There is a difference (Speaking Up, July 30). And if men “like this will get a sexual kick out of anything” then at least let & #8217;s not add the poor turtle to the list! The point which you have entirely missed is that we can do something about it, rather than throw our hands in the air and say “there is nothing we can do”. Incidentally, if you haven & #8217;t noticed, whenever we have Nature programmes on local television, the intimate parts/mating scenes are often edited out! Cats and dogs may mate in the open but that doesn & #8217;t mean an open invitation to humans to do as they please with other creatures. What sort of rationale is this to support your argument? And there is a difference between making documentaries on Nature and the blatant exploitation and commercialisation that I am talking about. To sum up, the views expressed by Angel Tan smack of a cavalier attitude towards animals based on the assumption that she knows how animals feel. At least my article tries to see things from the perspective of the animal kingdom. At least it shows sensitivity towards the welfare of animals. Coming to the defence of the human race the way she does, tells us a lot about how sensitive and tolerant she is towards other forms of living things. I suppose they are all meant for our entertainment and exploitation. Or to put it bluntly, if it & #8217;s okay for us humans, it & #8217;s okay for animals too. What an attitude! Last but not least, I am not in the business of writing safe, comfortable articles that reinforce stereotypes and pander to fossilised mindsets. I do it because, firstly, I was given a brief and secondly, to offer alternatives that challenge ingrained assumptions and values, and of course doing so invites controversy; if not, it would be self-defeatist. Dr Sunny Tan Siew Bek Universiti Sains Malaysia <p> ________________________ Your one-stop information portal: The Star Online http://thestar.com.my http://biz.thestar.com.my http://classifieds.thestar.com.my http://cards.thestar.com.my http://search.thestar.com.my http://star-motoring.com http://star-space.com http://star-jobs.com http://star-ecentral.com http://star-techcentral.com 1995-2002 Star Publications (Malaysia) Bhd. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Star Publications is prohibited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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