Here Kitty Kitty Kitty

When I was growing up my father was a scientist. Specifically he was a radiation toxicologist for Pacific Northwest Labs-Battelle in my home state of Washington. He was very successful and held what seemed like a fascinating career.
His work consisted of injecting radioactive isotopes into the lungs of lab rats and then analyzing them under a microscope for the various mutations and tumor activity that would result from these exposures. His work was published and used in association with determining healthy exposure levels among nuclear power plant employees and those affected by nuclear radiation accidents such as Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and the sort. Heady stuff.

One of the 'perks' of this job, besides the quantities of veterinarian-grade antibiotics that came home with him (hey despite the fact they were probably taken home due to their expiration date-- it was still free health care!) was the rare opportunities to bring up a lab rat or two as a pet.

Not the cuddly long-haired variety mind you. For whatever reason their lab used naked mole rats.
Maybe because the aesthetically unappealing rat is easier to kill. Please---no PETA  response needed. Thank you.

Because somebody somewhere loves this rat

While not a common occurrence, we did have one or two rats come home and live with us in a cage that Dad had brought home. 

One summer, he chose for whatever reason to bring home a family of them. Maybe the Lab had ordered too many. Maybe the breeding program had been too successful and therefore there was a 'fire sale' on mole rats. Regardless, my father brought home a family of them. 

My Mother, needless to say, was less than thrilled. 

But he insisted, and extolled the virtues of watching the mole family grow and learn about the life cycle of rats, praising the educational opportunity brought along to our family.  Fine. 

We had the rats for about a month--maybe even a few weeks.

I remember I was in my bedroom one afternoon and my Mom came in, looking very upset. "Kim", she said "Kim I had to do it. I had to do it. I had no other choice. It was wrong. What he was doing was WRONG." 

I asked her what had happened to make her so upset. She then went on to explain that she was worried the rat family was starting to get too big for their cage and she had gone in to check on them. 

She said that she came in on the Daddy rat raping one of his daughters. She said (not to get too graphic) she said "Kim he was making her bleed. It was awful." 

So she said she grabbed the Daddy rat by the tail, called the cat and led the cat outside into the front yard where she let Mother Nature take its natural course. 

And the cat killed the incestuous mole rat. 

While obviously still upset by what she had 'walked in on', I could tell she appreciated the ease in which she dispensed with the aberration. She was able to turn her heel and walk away from the death sentence. 

In this week's social media explosion about marriage rights and equality it prompted a lot of interesting debate. People who supported gay marriage put up the red 'equal' sign as a show of approval. 

I say interesting debate but truthfully it ended up being quite disturbing. One Facebook friend, who was a student at the high school I attended, posed the question on her Wall, "Does anyone really believe that allowing gay marriage to be legalized will lead to a slippery slope of incest/bestiality/pedophilia?"

So I bit. I said, well, I would be interested to know why incest is illegal but homosexuality is not. Can someone please explain the differences?

Circular reasoning ensued. "It's unnatural!" one crowed. Another one claimed "Look what it did to the British royal family!" (I professed to knowing that yes, I had read The Other Boleyn Girl). Another couple, man and wife, decided to rain down upon me a tirade of almost Biblical proportions, even though they were both agnostic/atheist. I was accused of being intolerant, taunting, and passive-aggressive. I called no names, accused no one of illegality. I simply wanted to know their rationale.

(My friend Fabulosa always says about being called passive-aggressive "Well that got that 'half' right." ;)

 All because I simply asked: "Why cannot I not marry my brother? I really want to marry my brother." 

I said, after many people (there were over 60+ comments on the thread) complained that marriage should not be legalized between siblings because it was unnatural and would create birth defects, that we 'needed to stop placing medical qualifications on a marriage certificate'. With the understanding that the two adults realized that they could not have children and would not have children together. Why was it illegal for two siblings to marry? (I did mention to one worried soul that Yes, I agreed. Incest is an abomination. In case there was every any doubt).  

The original poster then stated a lengthy response that quailed against my supposedly 'Biblical reasoning' 

( I never mentioned a Bible verse nor a Scripture. Didn't mention God, Jesus, Buddha or Muhammad. Didn't mention prayer, chanting, catechism or salaaming. What I did mention time and again? Nature. Because apparently Nature backs up Biblically-backed principles. And vice versa) 

She then went on to say that she didn't think incest was an unnatural act.

 Just like she didn't think homosexuality was an unnatural act. 

I wanted to say that what she just did by equating those two sexual activities was set back the call for marriage equality about fifty years. But I did not. 

I  deleted her as a friend. In four years I have deleted three people, and she was one of them. 

 I wasn't even claiming to prevent the legalization of gay marriage. All I simply did was answer a question to the best of my abilities that would cause one to think. Natural progression might tend in some people, I include myself in this, to take a modest claim or a simple query to its ultimate conclusion. 

That might be the scientist gene in me. That might the research chromosome. The 'Why' Chromosome. 

Yet despite her seemingly good heart, and her calm demeanor, and her openness to new ideas and discussions, all I could think of when I saw her is that rat cage. Her response  is what ultimately divides us on the equality spectrum. 

On one side is this woman.  

While she is probably not applauding the two rats caught en flagrante, she is probably nodding and then moving on. Extolling the 'virtues' of 'self-actualization' and 'appreciating the differences that makes us all who we are'....

Meanwhile 

I am calling the cat.