FW: JUST DON'T LOOK!

["Craven, Jim" <jcraven@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

-----Original Message-----
From: Eugene Johnson [mailto:hewholaughsalot@xxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Saturday, September 16, 2000 4:08 PM
To: Gina Chiala,; Pat and John" Ciminello; Antionette Claypool; Alaine
Cossette; Jana Coyote
Cc: Karen Cravatt; Jim Craven,; Max Defender; Fernando and Marlene
Divina,; Delores Doyle,
Subject: JUST DON'T LOOK!


JUST DON'T LOOK!

Hey Everyone!

On Saturday, September 16, Melodie, Felicia, and I
joined about 150 other protesters in front of the
Oregon Health Science University's (OHSU) Oregon
Primate Center on 185th in Beavreton, Oregon. From my
understanding there will be protests every Saturday
from 11am at the site.

It was fairly easy to explain to Felicia in terms a
5-year-old little girl could understand. "They torture
monkeys here. Do you know what torture is?"

"No."

"Torture is when people deliberately give others pain
either physically or emotionally. That is what these
scientists are doing to these monkeys. They're doing
studies already done numerous times in the past, as
well as their science doesn't help anyone. What they
claim it does it doesn't do. They are lying." I felt
kind of sad that I had to explain to my daughter at
her young age what torture even is, but she handled it
well, knew it was wrong, and wanted those so-called
scientists to stop doing it.

Armed with this information, she carried a sign for
awhile, but mostly she clung to one of our friends who
helped organize the protest.

Across the street there was a policeman with a video
camera and a policewoman with a still camera. They
were doing surveillance of the crowd. To the best of
my knowledge, this is a tactic of intimidation. I've
read and heard that this information is sometimes used
by police in helping to identify and harass
participants in the future (but here in America, these
forms of terrorism are legal). Why? To protect the
great corporations whose useless torture of monkeys
benefit only scientists and their corporate owners by
giving them more wealth taken from "we the people"
whom they claim this so-called science is necessary to
help. When the camera would pause on Felicia and I
(which it did at least 6 times that I'm aware of) I'd
lean down and explain to her that "the police are
willing to crush free speech and are not to be
trusted. They are goons for our corporate nation." To
their benefit, as the rally wore on, one cop sitting
in his cruiser across the street was so bored he was
nearly falling asleep.

When asked by one of the organizers why I was there, I
did my best to explain: Torturing animals is wrong,
but it's especially wrong for a useless science to do
it and lie by saying that it benefits the people when
the only people it really benefits is the scientists
and their corporate masters by filling their pockets
with money. These studies have all been done before.
Scientists have done medical experiments on Indian
children as well which these monkeys have to endure.
Indian children were forced into residential and
boarding schools (which seem similar to the cages for
the monkeys to me) where they were tortured physically
and emotionally as well as sometimes killed, just like
these monkeys. I want Felicia to have a social
conscience so she will know she can stand up and speak
out against something she believes is wrong. I hope
this teaches Felicia not to be afraid to look behind
the lies we are told our whole lives.

America has an unquenchable thirst for blood, and it
crosses all species. America's corporations would
gladly destroy the earth as long as they could make a
few bucks from selling the movie rights.

As I displayed a few signs to the traffic passing by
(one sign was of a monkey with its head screwed into a
nightmarish vice) I heard many differing responses
ranging from honks and screams of "right-on" to being
flipped-off and called a "fucking asshole." Most
showed support, but a little more than that just
ignored us. Maybe they believe the lies that this
science supposedly helps someone. Maybe they're too
busy to be bothered. My theory is they don't want to
know the truth. Maybe they've been convinced by the
liars (including themselves) that if you "just don't
look," it will all be OK. Maybe they're afraid all
their nightmares will be true. "Let's go buy something
at the mall because according to my television, the
more stuff I buy the more of my sins will be
forgiven."

I'll leave you with my favorite line from one of my
favorite movies, "American Beauty:"

"Never underestimate the power of denial."

Eugene Johnson
(He Who Laughs A Lot)


=====
Eugene Johnson
(He Who Laughs A Lot)

Copyright ©2000 Eugene D. Johnson. All rights reserved. Permission is
granted to redistribute this message, with this proviso attached. Written
permission of the author is required to distribute this message through any
medium other than the internet.

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere!
http://mail.yahoo.com/