From: R. Harrill (brixman@erols.com)
Date: Thu Jul 20 2000 - 14:36:23 MDT
Lee Daniel Crocker wrote:
Asshole said...
> > > The anti-GMO side is ignorant to the extreme (hell, they can't even
> >
I asked...
>
> > It that a name?
>
You said...
>
> No, it's an adjective.
>
Sorry, I thought he was saying that *I* was anti-GMO and then he started in on
the strong language so I assumed he was calling me yet more names. I really
didn't see that line as a break in the whole outburst.
For the record, I don't think for a minute that the GMO juggernaut can be
stopped. It's just that I want each new GMO properly and scientifically
studied before it is let loose in the environment. Is that too much to ask?
I've been fortunate enough to see the beautiful interplay of nature, really
close---much more than most people, and perhaps a bit more than the few. The
books are full of disasters where something gets loose without good thought
(sometimes after good thought). Rabbits in Australia might serve for a simple
illustration. They have been no end of trouble and they spelled the end for
some species.
Life forms reproduce. If we are going to turn them loose, we need to test,
experiment, study, and *really* think before we toss them out there to see what
happens.
What is so Luddite about that? Now, again for the record, I understand
Luddites were people in early industrial age England who did things like
tossing monkey wrenches into expensive machinery to f*ck things up. How can I
possibly fit that category? What I'm against is people tossing scary things
into the machinery of *my* world that can f*ck me up. So, I ain't no
Luddite---but some of you GMO-tosser people may be.
The burden for testing has to be on whoever wants to first pitch the lifeform
out there. It won't be too long until high school kids can gene splice in the
basement. If you think the 48,000 known computer viruses weirdos dreamed up
are a pain in the rear, can you imagine the trouble when the type of kid who
can gun down a dozen of his schoolmates finally figures out how to remap a few
common bacteria so they are immune to anything in the docs' arsenals? You
people might want to worry about the ethics of GMO release instead of trying to
figure how to get around one simple dirt farmer.
BTW, this really is my last comment on this thread. You can't reason with a
howling mob. I want to discuss Kurt Vonnegut's "Cat's Cradle" and see if
anyone would help me figure if ice-nine is possible---now or in the future.
Regards,
Rex Harrill
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