Dissection of Logic

So we've been dissecting a cat in my Bio 201 class this semester. I can't even begin to describe the ways in which this disturbs me. I talked to my professor about it at the beginning of class and was basically told that in order to get credit for this class at this college, I had to participate. So there you go, which is it going to be? Cling to my long-held & cherished beliefs about animal rights or go with the flow and get the degree our family needs to move forward financially? Fifteen years ago I had the luxury of ideals and of following them wherever they led, and although I think I still live a very animal-friendly and -conscious lifestyle, I caved on this issue. I have continued to voice my complete and utter disgust for the task of dissection however, much to my lab partners' delight. :) I don't mind being the "wuss" in the class, the one who is visibly grossed out by each new insult we have to visit on our poor cat's remains. But I feel like a schmuck really, unable to be amazed and awed by seeing internal organs up close, yet powerless to change a policy that leads to this useless death. And it is useless, I completely believe that. Seeing what I've seen will have no impact whatsoever on my success as an ultrasound technician. If anything, it's just reinforced my belief that using animals for dissection is wasteful and lazy, and that we as students and people in general should never, ever take life for granted, no matter its source. Our instructor and fellow students encouraged me to just anesthetize myself to the fact that we're dealing with something that was once alive, but I'm not sure how anyone can do that and still be a thoughtful, sensitive human being. So anyway, I dread each tuesday night when we have to pull an increasingly odiferous cat out of its bag and hack away at it in our infinite lack of experience. I think to myself that even if this kitty didn't have the best life, its death has accomplished nothing, and I feel really sad & empty.

Now on the other side of that coin, Holly, Kristi & I made the trip to Denver to see "Body Worlds 2" at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. This is a show where "plastinates" of human bodies are on display, each one dissected and reassembled in some fantastic way to show another facet of our body's anatomy. The bodies were donated by the people who inhabited them in life, people who wanted others to learn from their remains, and I was absolutely in awe of what I saw. It was an incredible experience and I feel immense gratitude to both Dr. von Hagens for his dedication to showing the human body in this way, and those who donated their remains so he could continue his work. Again, it made me realize the vast difference between murdering thousands of animals so Bio students can hack away at them and the enlightened, informed consent a human gives to use their body in the interest of science. I don't know if I really have a point here, just an expression of digust at the way things are. I know I know, be an agent for the change you want. Or just bitch about it on your blog..........*sigh*