Whale Wars : Where are the good guys?

[hourglassfull]

At 5 AM this morning, the birds began to sing, and I hadn't yet achieved sleep. I jogged the remote, searching for any channel that was not showing "Paid Programming". The pickings were slim. Cartoon Network had switched over from Adult Swim to its early morning buffet of bastardized abominations of an 80's classics, so I went with Whale Wars on

Comments

[voiceofanangel]

You make me glad I don't watch tv...

[hourglassfull]

I wonder how many protesters you'd get if you stuck a McDonald's right in the middle of Inuit territory as an alternative to killing seals?

[hourglassfull]

SEALS CAUSE DIABETES IN RATS!

[ursus_trollkin]

I've never much cared for environmentalist, and "Animal Rights Activists" are a subspecies that have always managed to arouse my utter contempt. To understand the ARA you must grab one simple fact: they're misanthropes(mis⋅an⋅thrope [mis-uhn-throhp, miz-] -noun a hater of humankind.) That pretty much sums up an ARA. They value the life of any slug, maggot or gnat more then the life of a human being. Consequently they see nothing wrong with employing terrorist tactics to achieve their ends (whatever those may be). Like most environmentalists the vast majority are spoiled, college age kids who have never had to hold a real job, budget, or manage a household, yet they somehow feel qualified to dictate how other people should live their lives. The ARA like most environmentalists despite believing that humans are products of evolution, hypocritically also view humans as separate from nature. Consequently anything that humans do is “unnatural.” Therefore a beaver building a dam across a river to suit its purposes is fine, but a human

[hourglassfull]

I try not to paint all animal rights activists with the same brush. I think many have their hearts in the right place. I think many of them mellow out with age, like I have, and realize that toting signs or chucking stink bombs has little effect on the state of the world other than to make protesters look like nutjobs, ultimately hurting the cause. Then again, I don't really consider myself an "activist". Gods, I hate that term... I think I feel another rant coming on.

[ayellowbirds]

I'm reminded of two other whaling cultures and the controversy around them- northwest coast indigenous peoples in North America, and Faroe Islanders. The former often come into conflict with anti-whaling groups, and the conflict really highlights a frequent problem in politics, in which neither side is actually arguing with the other (just what they believe the other side is doing), and setting up straw men. Indigenous groups often advocate for whaling rights on the assertion that it's part of their traditional culture and diet, and that a large part of their identity is wrapped up in the practice of small-scale whaling for food. They also tend to take the position that whales are not some magical, super-intelligent race of Sea People, with just about any article on the topic including quotes comparing them to cattle. Of course, this turns into attacks on anti-whaling groups as being racist

[hourglassfull]

"...neither side is actually arguing with the other (just what they believe the other side is doing"...

I definitely agree with you. There is a huge cultural divide here that neither camp of the whaling argument tend to address. What I find interesting is that, at least in the case of the tribal cultures you refer to, both camps probably do believe there is something special and mystical about whales. The tribal cultures, however, also see the role of "hunter" as sacred, and I completely grok that.

I also agree that a much more effective tactic to reduce whaling would be to make whale meat and products less desirable to those who consume it. That's basic economics, and it's non-violent. Everybody wins.

[moominmuppet]

When I caught the ads for that, I had the same feeling... Those are the same tactics used against abortion clinics. I may hate the whaling that happens, but I'd be an utter hypocrite to support this and condemn clinic violence.