Over the past month or so, one of my colleagues and I have been accused of murdering mice for our neuroscience research. According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, murder is defined as the crime of unlawfully killing, especially with malice. What my colleague and I do is not maliciously sacrifice mice; we sacrifice them in the pursuit of scientific knowledge so that humanity may benefit from it. While others don't want to get their hands dirty, we have taken it upon ourselves to pursue that knowledge. And as a result, we have received unwarranted accusations.
Taking to Facebook to try to convey my disappointment and hurt at receiving these accusations, I encountered insincerity and mockery from others. One person explicitly downplayed the accusations as something done in a "joking manner." When did accusations of murder become a joke? Not only that but other people didn't seem to understand the severity of the situation. Downplaying this incident is not only an insult to us but also to the mice who are sacrificed for humanity's benefit. This moment is one of the most disappointing instances for me as not only a researcher but also as a human being.
I'm still in shock of how somebody can downplay murder as a joke. It just points to how broken we all are.
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