Braithwaites article talks about the way mankind see some animals as our friends but others as a way to pass the time. I don't think that this is fair to the "lesser animal". "Hooked on a Myth" says that there have been experiments showing that fish do show pain contrary to what some might think. Though the fish have been shown to have the ability to experience pain these are the kinds of experiments that show we need to change the way we conduct experiments in the science profession. In the article it states that the researchers injected bee venom into the fishes lips just to prove that they can feel pain. This procedure also proved that we should be treating the fish better even thought the experiment contradicted that. This may have proven that we should change but I doesn't prove that we will. Many fisherman wont change their ways because of an experiment and I don't plan on them to. they can do what they know they can this article was not written to be become a law but to simply shed light on the situation. 

Scientific research or animal abuse

In response to Rifkin's quote "all creatures that feel pain should have a basic moral status". I believe that most not animal testing is no longer necessary, note that I say most there are a few things in this world that might be used to research. In my anatomy class last year we had a class project where we had to research animal testing. Here is where I found out that I didn't support most of the tests that the animals were forced to be subjected to. Most of the tests performed were unnecessary for research since we learned about it a long time ago, one of them was pouring drops of bleach into a kitten's eye to see what would happen to them. These animals are also kept in containers the smallest possible size for them to survive or cages throughout all of their life. I believe that these animals should be treated better because these conditions are inhumane.

Rifkin helps show how similar these creatures are to us by using pathos when he gave the animals tested names almost making them seem human. He also goes on to explain how physically and emotionally they are similar to us. These examples help give his readers a way to connect with the animals by the characteristics that they also have. In the end if these animals can be called be superior to us in their brains and some of their senses why are they treated so inferior.

Yes, I Am An Agnostic

What is an agnostic or agnosticism, which a lot of you may be asking yourself right about now. Well I will save you the Google search. An agnostic believes it is impossible to know if gods exist or feel that the answer is not important in their life. Now for the reason I bring this topic to attention is because I consider myself a good person without having a religion. Yes, a person who doesn't know or believe in a god is considered good.No I am not "saved" or will I ever be, but does that make me a bad person? I know there are people who believe they need to be "saved" and I don't disagree with them, some people need a crutch in life. A crutch, meaning an idea of some sort to set standards for themselves to become a better person. As for me I don't need a crutch. I believe in science, I believe in my family, I believe in myself; my beliefs are in what I know, not myths, rituals, or symbols. Now don't get me wrong, I have nothing against any religions of any sort. I would love to learn about different beliefs, but that doesn't mean I myself believe in a higher power. The point to all of this is I think its wrong for people to be able to USE something such as, a higher power, to make it okay to judge someone. For example, myself, people will criticize me for not believing in a god to make judgement on my character, thinking maybe i do things that are not highely thought of just because I don't have a religion. I rather be where I am knowing I am a good person at heart rather than be something I am not and take precautions as to "if" there is a god because I know I'm a good individual and if the higher power is as holy as others believe they'd understand where I was coming from. Don't judge others, be considerate to all opinions and beliefs because no one knows everything.

Fish.

   Being an animal lover I was excited to read the article 'Hooked on a myth' by Victoria Braithwaite. In her article she  brings up the question "Do fish feel pain?" . Thinking about that question I got to thinking, yes it's correct that fish can't physically show pain. They can't tell you that they are hurting. But that doesn't prove that they can't and don't feel the same way we, as humans feel. Humans have a more complexed brain, therefore we can feel pain, both physical and mental, and we have the ability to express how we feel. Having the strong feelings I have towards animal rights, I feel that just because fish, or all animals , can't express how they feel they shouldn't be treated any differently than we treat others, because fact of the matter is fish can feel the pain. They just can't express it in the same ways we can. In Hooked on a myth Braithwaite goes on talking about how when she gets a headache she takes aspirin, she then starts to wonder what would happen if we put pain killers in the fishes water. Would that help them?  It turns out that the research she did about this shows that it actually helps an you can see a difference in the fishes behavior.
   I personally think that people take advantage of catching fish because it's easy, and they think that it doesn't hurt them. But  is taking a fish out of water the same thing as drowning a human? Think about it.  Do fish feel the same way when they get air in their lungs as we get water in ours? I wish I could make people change their minds about how they treat animals, but sady I can't force anyone to feel or think a certain way.
    Braithwaite's article will hopefully tell people that fish, just like dogs or sheep , can feel pain. They just can't show it the same way.

Survival of the humanity.

Let's be real here, human lives are far superior to any other species and I know you want to deny this theory but believe it or not, deep down you know this is true. For example, what would you do in this situation: you and your friend are stranded on an island, you're both starving and running low on food. How will you survive? Realistically, those trying to survive in the wild would most likely do anything to stay alive whether if it's to hunt or harvest, find shelter, et cetera. Even though most of us probably learned from Man vs Wild, these are our survival instincts. Truly, humans are no different from animals, especially in our principles of survival. But to be fair, animals aren't just animals, fish aren't just fish, and humans aren't just humans. Just like how we adapted to our own invironment, they have done the same. 

A classmate (we'll call him classmate A) brought up a great example of environmental adaptations, he asked the question "How are we different from monkeys in the wild?" My other classmate (classmate B) quickly responded, "Well we don't poop everywhere." Even though that is true, besides our school boys bathrooms, classmate B implies that if we were raised in that type of invironment we wouldn't do the same, though primitively our great great great... Ancestors undoubtedly started this way.

What logically makes us superior is our complexity, they way our physical attributes are structured, our cognitive features - our brain. Our advancements may be our downfalls but the fact that if we ever stop using these gifts of knowledge and learning would actually make us no different than primitive monkeys, frightens me. Our humanity is great and the fact that we can learn to respect other living creatures is even more astonishing.

This Semester is Coming to an End (I think lol)

Well, this semester is coming to an end...and trust me, I was definitely unorganized. This happened to be the class this year, which everything I did just seemed...wrong. In the beginning, I really thought that I was going to get an A. Ms. Fletcher said, "In order to get an A, you have to be above and beyond." Haha, boy was I wrong. My notebook became dysfunctional in my 6th week of school. (The first two weeks of school, I didn't even have a notebook.) My vocabulary was on point though! I actually believe that the vocabulary and blogging is what made my grade go high. Ms. Fletcher is a really great teacher; with that, I cannot blame her for my horrible concept. I honestly didn't pay attention as much as I should have. Ms. Fletcher is the calmest teacher I know! (I hope you are reading this Ms. Fletcher, I deserve some super extra credit for this!) Haha, well to conclude this blog, I believe I could have done way better this semester. I did not manage to reach my full potential. I hope next semester will get me an A!