Sometimes we're mortified by our own kind. Today is one of those days.
After reports surfaced Monday that the radical group Negotiation is Over's fear-mongering and unwillingness to work with university officials have caused possible criminal action, I'm flat out, face-palming ashamed.
Negotiation is Over is a small collective of, albeit, concerned individuals who, instead of engaging in respectful and productive discussions, resort to trespassing and threatening those even remotely involved in animal testing.
As a previous executive board member of UF's Animal Activists of Alachua and the campaign organizer for the Campaign for a Meat-Free Monday at UF, I too am adamantly opposed to the horrific barbarity inherent in subjecting animals to cruel tests.
But this should be clear: The Animal Activists of Alachua does not, and will never, condone the activities of Negotiation is Over. Its avenue of change is exactly what gives "activists" a negative connotation.
Negotiation is clearly not over, and it never will be.
