Hold the Beam, Scotty

I like animals. Many of them taste good. However, even as a non-vegetarian, I recognize the real ethical and practical problems that surface when humans undertake the use of animals for our own ends. Last weekend, IU hosted its first conference devoted to exploring the relationship between humans and animals. The masthead for the conference, "Kindred Spirits," could have been the title of an adolescent poem and the photo of baby orangutans a candidate for a children's calendar. The issues dealt with in the conference were challenging, mature and compelling. The packaging of the conference was not.\nThe conference's Web site explains that the conference tries to explore the "complex relationships between humans and nonhuman animals in their myriad forms." The language of the Web site and other literature disseminated before the conference confined itself to academic, professional terminology as befits an academic conference. Keynote speaker Donna Haraway, who opened the conference with her speech "We Have Never Been Human: When Species Meet" insisted that it is important that some of those concerned with animal rights issues not call themselves anti-globalization, since the term could alienate those who misunderstand the term. In the same speech, however, Haraway cheerfully dropped names of Star Trek characters and the sex-capades of the 1960s to illustrate her meandering -- or perhaps I should say organic -- points.\nThose concerned with the relationships of man and animal, or animal rights issues, alienate some with references to hippie culture, neo-paganism or outright cutesiness. The topics of many talks this weekend were compelling -- one talk by Carol Adams was concerned with "The Sexual Politics of Meat." Another dealt with the "Ethical Implications of Research Using Anthropoid Primates." However, the language and style of presentation risked confirming the "hippie" stereotypes that some already attach to those who work on animal concerns. An enthusiastic attendee, junior Emma Young said that while she admired Haraway, unnecessary references to cultural marginalia frustrated her. "We need to understand that these things have been re-appropriated. But it is annoying," Young said. Haraway slid in a knowing joke during her speech comparing her dogs' eagerness for sexual activity with the sexual exploration that was common during the 1960s. At another point during the speech, she made an analogy comparing her dogs to the sexual promiscuity of certain Star Trek characters. \nHow we package an issue is important. By no means does the masthead for the conference negate the importance of the issues discussed last weekend. There was a substantial crowd present at Haraway's inaugural speech on Friday night, although most of those seated in the front half of the auditorium were not the age of traditional students. Many student-age people slipped out early after her speech ran longer than planned -- perhaps they were late for class.\nWe should treat the concerns and conclusions discussed last weekend as what they are: intellectually provoking and at times emotionally wrenching. But conforming to cutesy or new age stereotypes, while it may not discourage those who already are convinced of the importance of the cause, may not help to bring skeptics into the fold.