LETTERS

VIVISECT THYSELF
Your most recent article on the Regional Primate Center ("Monkey in the Middle," March 21, 2001) has convinced me that at least one form of primate research needs to go forward. We need to answer the question of what drives certain Homo sapiens to incarcerate, inflict pain on, and otherwise experiment on sentient creatures not unlike themselves. We also need to better understand how such behavior is rationalized.

Claude Bernard, regarded as the father of modern physiology, cut up living dogs in his pursuit of knowledge. He explained that as a "man of science (he is) absorbed by the scientific idea which he pursues; he no longer hears the cry of animals, he no longer sees the blood that flows, he sees only his idea and perceives only organisms concealing problems which he intends to solve."

Alfred North Whitehead called this deafness and blindness the "fallacy of misplaced concretism"--abstractions become more important than flesh and blood. In common language, it's alienation. This psychological disorder allows many of us to commit all sorts of acts, from pulling the wings off flies to genocide, and to justify it because living things (human or not) are seen not as subjects with their own intrinsic value, but as objects--and we can do what we want with objects.

The researchers at the Primate Center could usefully focus on trying to answer some questions about this disorder:

*Is this estrangement from and lack of respect for life the same in animal researchers as it is in the military commanders who experimented with nuclear weapons on live human subjects during the Cold War? Is it the same in those who experimented on live human subjects in Germany in the '30s and '40s? Is it the same in those who seek to eradicate wild animals to make the world "safe" for domestic livestock? Is it the same for those engaged in factory farming?

*What are the origins of this alienation? Lack of adequate nurture in childhood? Or is it, as some have argued, a tendency that exists in humans because it confers apparent power over things, and is highly rewarded in our society with lots of material toys? If the latter is the case, then we need to ask whether the treatment of animals is primarily institutionally driven, with profit- or power-seeking organizations simply taking advantage of the alienated to do their dirty work.

*Can this disease be controlled or treated with drugs or other forms of therapy such as electro-shock? Or do we need to take a structural approach, exploring how to put a much tighter leash on the institutions that make money from inflicting pain?

In the interim, we should determine whether people or institutions afflicted with this disorder, given their propensities to inflict injury and rationalize it, should be allowed near animals, children or other creatures unable to defend themselves.

Of course, it's unlikely that researchers at the primate center will be able to answer these questions by studying rhesus monkeys. They'll need to look in the mirror and to each other.

David Johns
Southwest Mill Street

YELLING FIRE IN A COLLAPSING THEATER
Gee, I wonder how many facts you left out of your story ["Shaky Ground," March 21, 2001]? All one has to do is read today's Oregonian to get a little more info on how many buildings have been upgraded since that list of 1,800 was created in the early '90s. And if you have a second to do a little more investigating, you will find that the state/county/city governments have a great post-earthquake evaluation/emergency response system.

I hate this kind of journalism--you skim the facts, inflame the flammable and then hide out. You are not doing the public any good at all with this kind of flaky journalism. In fact, worse, you are contributing to public paranoia and distrust in government. You need to do some more real investigating to find out what's really going on, correct the right facts and develop some kind of moral code before you continue to sling bad information. I wonder how many people you will be responsible for misinforming (with deadly consequences) before you get a spine. You know you have an opportunity to do some real good for the community; why don't you do it?

Marina Wynton
Bainbridge Design Inc.
Southwest Washington Street

News Editor John Schrag responds: I agree that the article should have included an estimate of the number of unreinforced masonry buildings (URMs) that have been upgraded since the list was compiled (approximately 200). But the fact remains that the vast majority of the city's URMs have not been upgraded, nor has the city made any effort to warn residents of buildings at risk of collapse in a major quake.

Despite her vertebracentric slur to the contrary, this particular bit of flaky journalism involved two WW investigators, three weeks of research, dozens of interviews and thousands of pages of seismic analysis. We arrived at our list of seven featured buildings--none of which have been upgraded--after reviewing and rejecting hundreds of others. Ms. Wynton accuses us of stoking paranoia, but the truth is that, while big quakes very seldom occur, they can inflict catastrophic damage on older buildings.

RAVE REVIEW
I would like to thank you for your article about the rave culture in WW ["The Agony and the Ecstasy," March 14, 2001]. As a young person who has been deeply engrossed in and dedicated to the electronic music scene for a number of years now, I have become increasingly disgusted with the local media's response to our community's ups and downs. Both local television and newspapers alike have turned their backs on reality in favor of a more raw, dramatic story to tell those who are curious about what goes on inside warehouses at night. While drug use is a reality at raves (just as it often is wherever kids gather in droves), I have yet to see an article or a newscast admit the less-than-shocking truth: Many kids go to raves to see old friends and meet new ones, get a good dose of their favorite artists, and avoid the drugs that are blackening our reputation all across the country.

It is a heartbreaking tragedy that Peter Vu and Melissa Flaherty had to make the choices they made that eventually led to their deaths. But it is also tragic that these recent deaths have to define our scene. It enrages me time and again that this burgeoning stereotype about ravers being drug-addled freaks is based on negligent and irresponsible media reporting. I want to thank you for doing your job by presenting the facts as they are, instead of crafting a hyped-up version of the truth that is sure to cause a frenzy. Did Melissa Flaherty die of an ecstasy overdose? We don't know, and we may never know. Thank you for dispelling the rumors, and for the special piece on the Temple of Sound. ToS exemplifies why many of us are involved in this scene to begin with: We love the music and are deeply moved by it, we love the atmosphere, and we love each other.

Please keep the straightforward, well-researched articles coming. It is a refreshing change of pace to read an article about rave culture and not feel belittled by the hype.

Sarah Leimert
Northeast Clackamas Street