One of the many great things about the United States is that we are
still a country in which people are considered innocent until proven
guilty.

That is perhaps the most important cornerstone of our Justice System.

Justice. It's a powerful word. It reminds us all that accusations,
allegations, and even sometimes misinterpretations can be made cheaply,
so the only logical and fair thing to do is to wait for the facts --
all of the facts -- to be reviewed completely by uninvolved parties
who can judge impartially.

Has that always worked? No. We all know of cases where perhaps if there
had been more data, or perhaps if some data had not been barred from
consideration, or perhaps if explanations of forensic science testimony
had been better understood, or... then the verdict might have been
guilty, but maybe there was not further data, or maybe barred things
needed to be barred not because of misuses of legal procedures but
because of a gross abuse that could cause misinterpretation, etc. We
all also know that there have been cases where it originally so much
seemed that the person was guilty that the individual wound up in jail
or even executed, only to later have incontrovertible evidence show
that individual who paid the price was not guilty.

The point is that from the sidelines we can not judge fully or fairly
based on precautions, allegations, and accusations. Okay, we can judge,
and it is only human to jump into doing that, but then we have to
remind ourselves of how very much we don't know, because if we judge
without all of the facts then we not only perform a disservice to all
who are involved, but we perform a disservice to ourselves by behaving
in a way that we would not respect in others. When we try to be fair
in judgements we do the best not only for others but also for our own
self-respect.

I've been on the FML since it began and have read accusations and
interpretations quite a number of times. Most people don't engage in
those at all. Some do on and off. There are even a few who have a
history of doing it often, though I do have to add in all honesty that
such mails seem to have greatly decreased in the current decade or
longer. Maybe they have, or maybe I just have learned who to rarely
read, but I think they have truly decreased in number. When asked
privately why she kept doing that, one person in the past replied to
me with a note that she hated people and therefore felt justified in
doing so. Okay, I am not sure if she used the word "justified" though
I strongly recall that as her drift, and I apologize for using a word
that should be connected with justice in such a way but wanted people
to think about how there is a human inclination to feel like that
because each sees the world through the lens of her own past and
personality.

One of the very best veterinary surgeons we have ever had was someone
who used to live in our state, and who never abused anesthesia, but on
his surgery days he had to be careful to take a nap of several hours
after performing surgery and he had to set a time limit for himself on
how many surgery hours he would allow himself on his surgery mornings.
Why? Well, he was willing to really get in there with the surgeries,
and he checked extremely carefully, plus he did some extremely tricky
surgeries when they were the animals' only chances and the clients were
willing to try. So he wound up with more exposure to the gas than some
others would get -- specifically because he was such a careful and
excellent surgeon. That was an unavoidable, accidental problem to which
no solution existed. It was not something he intended to have happen,
but instead was just a situation that was directly created by his being
a wonderful, careful surgeon, and perhaps by his being a bit more
sensitive to the gas than some others might be. He learned that he
would suffer the side-effects of too much exposure to the gas due to
that great care which made him such an outstanding surgeon, and even
though his drive to do the best for his patients and their people made
him want to stay up and keep pushing afterward, he found that it was
much better to take another vet and at least one tech under his wing,
make sure they knew what was needed, and then put himself on a bed in
a quiet room in the building and sleep off the results of too much
unavoidable and inadvertent exposure to anesthesia gas during the
surgeries. Otherwise, I am sure some people could have come to a very
incorrect conclusion, but that is not why he took such care. He did
so because he knew fully well that he would not be fair to others or
to himself if he did push himself after surgery because he knew what
happened with him personally. Not everyone can perceive such a change
in his or her own personal behavior, whether it is from side-stream
exposure to anesthesia gas, or even from purposeful use of intoxicants
such as alcohol or whatever, but such changes do happen and they happen
more for some individuals than for others. Some risks come with any
job. You all know of risks in your jobs, and therefore know that others
have risks which you may not have even imagined.

So, rather than jumping to personal judgement, I think that this is a
time for people on the FML to remember that while the formal systems
of actual judgement are not perfect that they beat the heck out of
mob rule, dictatorships, vigilanteism, and witch-hunts. Precautions,
allegations and accusations are exactly that; they are not proof and
they are not final.


Sukie (not a vet)

Recommended ferret health links:
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/ferrethealth/
http://ferrethealth.org/archive/
http://www.afip.org/ferrets/index.html
http://www.miamiferret.org/
http://www.ferrethealth.msu.edu/
http://www.ferretcongress.org/
http://www.trifl.org/index.shtml
http://homepage.mac.com/sukie/sukiesferretlinks.html
all ferret topics:
http://listserv.ferretmailinglist.org/archives/ferret-search.html

"All hail the procrastinators for they shall rule the world tomorrow."
(2010, Steve Crandall)

[Posted in FML 7153]