Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Maybe I Should Host a Call-In Radio Talk Show...Although From the Looks of It Only Family Would Call In

Well, at least it’s good to know that there are people out there reading what I wrote…even if it pisses them off. No, actually I had no intent to piss anyone off, but I did, and so it goes. That’s how opinions work. Some people agree. Some don’t. But gosh, isn’t the great thing about America the fact we’re all free to express them...and then be pissed off by the expression of others’. But while I do stand behind the general premise of what I wrote yesterday…that this proposed biotech lab is a good deal…a great deal…for Louisville, I do want to clear up a few points.

First, I also live in the neighborhood of biotech labs. In fact, I live in the neighborhood of the National Institute of Health…acres and acres of biotech labs. This isn’t a case of well as long as it’s in your neighborhood and not mine. Trust me, I’ve thought about the potential dangers. I’ve thought about the potential of terrorists targeting the nation’s central facility for the research of anything and everything health related. Hell, I leave for work every morning knowing my fiancé is spending his entire day right in the middle of this complex. I’ve thought about contamination…I live with a kid who likes to tell me about how he had blood squirting all over him as he worked on some experiment. But the fact is, he’s safe. The lab’s safe. There aren’t any guarantees regardless and yes, we can do things to safeguard ourselves, but we can’t cower in a corner and quit progressing because of fear. Plus the work that these labs do is much too important to let fear close them. I know, and if you’re reading this blog, I know that you know far too many people who are suffering or have suffered from diseases for which there is currently no cure. I’d rather increase the riskiness of my life by .00001% or whatever in the hopes that their lives will be improved by much more than that.

Secondly, I did not intend for my comments on UL to reflect what I thought about the intelligence or ability of anyone who holds a degree from there. The truth is that the state of Kentucky does not have the type of flagship university it deserves. I would argue that UL has the potential to be that school more than UK does, but I don’t think it currently is. It is no UNC, UVA, UC Berkeley, all also public universities. The University of Louisville has a number of excellent programs, top programs, but overall it ranks, as all rankings of universities will show, as a middle-tier school. The truth is, as I think all of us know, the education you get from any school completely depends on what you put into it. Hell, W went to Yale, a school which is undeniably one of the top schools in the country, but I definitely don’t think of him as a very smart guy, while there are a great many people who have graduated from UL, who I think are extremely intelligent people doing very important things. If you felt personally attacked by my comments on UL, I’m sorry, as that was not the intent at all. My dad went to UL. My brother wants to go there for his Master’s. I obviously respect them and think of them as intelligent. I just don’t think that UL, as an overall institution, has yet lived up to its potential, and I think it would be a shame to strip away an opportunity for it to grow in stature.

And a final point, I did not attribute the adjectives “absurd and ignorant” to the people attending the meeting but to the reasons given for opposition, as reported in the Courier-Journal. I find it encouraging that people make the effort to get informed about the events occurring in their lives. I find it disturbing that people refuse to actually listen to the facts but use their energy to fight a non-battle. Concerns about health and safety are more than justified, but the truth is (and no, not supplied by me or the NIH or Jeff (how he got in this I don’t know), but by an entire history of records on the safety of such government health labs) that these labs are overwhelmingly safe. While there have been terrible health disasters throughout the history of man, it’s important to compare apples to apples here. And no, I nor anyone else, can ever guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen, but no one can ever guarantee that the house you live in won’t burn down with you inside or the car you drive won’t crush you in a crash. We inform ourselves as best as we can, and then make a sound decision. UL isn’t trying to kill anyone. That won’t help their reputation for sure. They’ve done their research. They’ve now shared it with the public. And now we make our judgments. I judge for safe. You can judge it non-safe if you choose, but if so, I’d be interested to hear a pointed argument based on the specifics of this exact lab. Now if anyone wants to oppose it for reasons like property value or traffic or whatnot, they can do that too. They should just be upfront about that being their concern.

Well, that all didn’t come out quite the way I wanted it to, but I think I covered the gist of what I wanted to say. The truth is I want the biotech lab to come to Louisville, and I want it to come for selfish reasons. I want it to spur other biotech industry in the hopes that some of it will be related to the type of work that Jeff does, so one day I can move back home and he can find a job there. So yes, selfish, but at the same time not at all. After all, Luh-vul is the city where I want to live, and you stupid, stupid UL grads and supporters are the ones I want to live by. :-)

Anyhow, all I probably did is put a few more bees in a few more bonnets, but I hope not. My original intent was not to offend anyone, and that is still not my intent. In fact, I’m looking forward to seeing all of you soon and being back in Louisville. And as a final suggestion…why don’t some more of you write blogs. You obviously have plenty of interesting and intelligent things to say, and I’m always looking for a new distraction. Just a thought.

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