How far would you go?

[carrust]

I listened to a prog on R4 yesterday about a woman who'd taken a job at an animal testing centre, as a PR.
She was terrorised for some time by animal right activists...abusive phone calls, house vandalised etc.
How far would you go for your beliefs?

[ddaisy992]

more of a silent protester nowadays, put queens head upsides down on stampd envelopp! Years ago i marched with the CND, but as a pacifist i never support violent methods. Daisy

[daniela31]

I think that sort of behaviour is very wicked and shows an evil minded person, and not someone standing up for what they believe in at all. It's just malicious harrassment under the cover of an activist.

Protesting against what you believe to be wrong is ok, as long as it is within the law. Anyone going above the law are too extreme, and should be punished.

[LoftyLottie]

If I believed strongly enough then I might be tempted to break the law.

e.g. I might well feel inclined to break into a animal testing centre and rescue the animals.

However, that would not include abusing or terrorising individual employees of the establishment.

[carrust]

I can understand people getting violent for human rights issues. But for animals it beggars belief!

[daniela31]

I actually know someone who was on the Jury of a court case for this Lottie, rescuing the animals, but the charge was breaking and entering.
The Jury found them not guilty.....sympathy vote maybe?

[LoftyLottie]

I could probably get violent for human or animal rights if provoked too much!

[LoftyLottie]

I don't think what we would do to protect our family or loved ones is actually the point of this question. I think most of us could get violent over this.

[saxy_jag]

I think, if I felt strongly enough, then I would, like Lottie, consider breaking the law. But only in terms of positive action like, for instance, freeing animals or messing up products.

Putting life at risk, though? No, I don't think so. It's the bosses who are responsible, not their minions, and the way to hurt the bosses is through their pockets.

[andy-hughes]

I couldn't ever do violence in a 'general' scenario, such as activism, but defending a family member, or in a direct situation, is obviously different.

I can't see how anyone can equate violence against one species in defence of another, it seems totally contradictory to me, to terrify and injure humankind in 'defence' of animal kind.

My perception is that extremists in any walk of life are lacking in direction and empathy, and alighn themselves to a cause to affirm themselvesas individuals. Given the choice - and personally I havve no need of it - I'd join a golf club!

[WoWo]

I'm not defending them but... there is an ethical dilemma when you take a job on for a company which uses animals for testing.

This is make me sound like a nutter, but I had to think long and hard about taking my current job as part of it deals with bulk emailing people. I didn't know if ethically it was right to be involved in something I don't agree with.

[LoftyLottie]

Personally WoWo if I were very strongly opposed to anything then I wouldn't take a job with the organisation concerned, so I can see your point. I would have been just the same.

I did leave a well paid job partly because I was having to argue with clients when I actually was on their side!

[Ice.Maiden]

A relative of mine's now working in the science field, and was asked to do some work with the lab animals. She refused, and was secretly commended by her boss at the time!